The Anaheim Ducks are the best team in the National Hockey League the last eight weeks and the Vancouver Canucks are not. Thursday’s game was not close, but these days the Canucks seldom are.
The Ducks scored four times in a span of 23 minutes in the middle of the game and endured a late, hopeless surge by the Canucks to win 5-2, extending Vancouver’s losing streak at Rogers Arena to six games.
The Ducks, who started the season 1-7-2 and sputtered through the fall without goals or inspiration, are 18-4-2 since Christmas to lead the NHL.