Hurricanes pepper Anaheim with 53 shots, but third-period rally falls short in 3-2 loss

With 86 points this season, the Carolina Hurricanes had twice as many as the Anaheim Ducks when the two teams took the ice Saturday — which meant nothing once the puck dropped to start the game.

The Ducks had the best goalie in the game, John Gibson, and a team willing to play strong defense in front of him. That was enough as Anaheim ended a four-game road trip by holding off the Hurricanes 3-2, ending the Canes’ five-game winning streak.

John Klingberg, Jakob Silfverberg and Troy Terry scored for the Ducks (19-34-7) and Gibson finished with 51 saves — the 11th time this season Gibson has had 40 or more stops, tops in the NHL.

The Canes’ Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored in the third — the center’s 11th of the season and fourth in the last seven games — after Anaheim had taken a 2-0 lead. Jaccob Slavin lifted a puck out of the Carolina zone to Kotkaniemi, who beat the Ducks down the ice and beat Gibson to the blocker side.

Terry’s goal, on a spinning shot to Andersen’s right, pushed the Duck ahead 3-1, but the Canes’ Jesper Fast quickly answered with a redirection of a Brett Pesce shot.

The Canes had a late power play when Sebastian Aho was tripped with 2:18 left in the third. But Gibson made a sensational toe save on Andrei Svechnikov after the Canes emptied the net for a 6-on-4 advantage.

“If we played that game 10 times, you’re going to win nine of them,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “This was the one (and) that’s unfortunate. We gave up some chances but you’ve got to give up some in a game. Their goalie was good.”

A week after the Stadium Series extravaganza and all that outdoor excitement, the Canes (39-11-8) lost despite having 90 total shooting attempts to the Ducks’ 30 and a huge 53-15 edge in shots on goal.

“It was frustrating for us,” Kotkaniemi said. “Fifty pucks at the net, we just hope a couple more go in.”

The Ducks blocked 20 shots. They battled hard in front of their net, clearing the puck. They made the little plays needed to win and took advantage of their scoring chances against Canes goalie Frederik Andersen.

“We had our chances,” Slavin said. “It was just one of those games where the bounces just don’t go your way. We can still bear down and bury those, and I had one myself. It’s just the way the game goes sometimes.”

The Canes played Friday, shutting out Ottawa 4-0 behind Antti Raanta’s 32 saves. They went into Saturday’s game 7-0-1 in the second of back-to-back sets and with a 21-6-2 home record — which meant nothing once the puck dropped.

“That’s an elite team,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “They’re going to be a handful down the stretch and into the playoffs. (Gibson) knew he was going to be tested. He’s a highly competitive kid. I think he showed again tonight the kind of impact he can have on a game.”

Gibson had 41 saves Thursday as the Ducks won 3-2 in Washington. He faced 40 shots in the final two periods Saturday.

After a scoreless first, Klingberg gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead in the second, taking a pass from Trevor Zegras and blasting a shot from the right circle.

The Canes had two power plays in the second but were more dangerous 4-on-5 on their penalty kill. Jordan Martinook and Aho both had shorthanded chances in the second, and Aho’s rush down the ice drew a penalty.

Gibson made a save on a Seth Jarvis shot early in the third. Silfverberg, unmarked in the low slot, then pushed the margin to 2-0 at 4:06 of the third.

The Slavin-to-Kotkaniemi combination clicked 13 seconds later and the Canes made it interesting, but the Ducks completed a sweep of the two games this season.

“I like how we kept fighting,” Brind’Amour said. “We got down two and all of a sudden we’re in the game, we’re in the game. That’s just the way it went tonight.”