Rakell's late tiebreaker pushes Ducks past Bruins
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Rickard Rakell's second goal of the game with 2:34 to play broke a tie and led the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-3 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday at the Honda Center.
Ondrej Kase, Josh Manson and Andrew Cogliano also scored for the Ducks, who joined the Edmonton Oilers in a tie for second place in the Pacific Division. Both teams are three points behind the first-place San Jose Sharks.
Nick Ritchie and Corey Perry each added two assists for Anaheim (32-20-10), while goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped 26 shots.
Brandon Carlo, Zdeno Chara and Frank Vatrano scored for the Bruins, who saw their longest winning streak of the season end at four games. Boston (30-24-6) also got two assists from David Backes and 20 saves from goalie Tuukka Rask.
Rakell snapped a 3-3 tie with his team-leading 24th goal. Kevin Bieksa's shot from the top of the slot deflected off Perry's left skate at the left post and slid across the crease to Rakell, who tapped it inside the right post.
Cogliano's empty-net goal with 49 seconds left ended the scoring.
Vatrano tied the score with 8:25 left in regulation. Krejci's pass from the right boards in the neutral zone freed Vatrano for a breakaway. Vatrano beat Manson and scored his ninth goal on a wrist shot.
Manson gave Anaheim a 3-2 lead at 13:12 of the second period. Ritchie skated behind the net and tried to stuff the puck inside the left post. Rask used his stick to block Ritchie's shot, but Manson converted the rebound for his second goal in three games.
Carlo's fifth goal of the season gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead 9:02 into the game. Backes secured a puck that skipped off Perry's skate, and he passed to Carlo, who fired a slap shot from the blue line inside the left post.
Kase tied the score 2:03 into the second period. After receiving Ritchie's return pass on a give-and-go, Kase deposited a wrist shot off Rask's glove for his fifth of the season.
Boston almost tied the score on David Pastrnak's power-play goal at 5:38 of the middle period, but officials nullified it because of goaltender interference. Bruins interim coach Bruce Cassidy challenged the call, which video reply upheld.
The Bruins did take a 2-1 lead at 6:55 when Chara scored his sixth on a slap shot from the blue line. Rakell responded 47 seconds later by scoring in unusual fashion.
Rask used his right leg to stop Rakell's wrist shot. However, the puck squirted free, and as the goalie turned to look over his left shoulder, Rask kicked the puck into the net with his left skate.
NOTES: Willie O'Ree, the NHL's first black player, dropped the puck in a pregame ceremony. O'Ree made his debut with the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958. ... Boston scratched D John-Michael Liles, D Joe Morrow and C Tim Schaller. ... Bruins D Zdeno Chara played his 798th game for the club to move past P.J. Axelsson for the most in team history by any player born outside North America. ... Anaheim scratched RW Jared Boll, G John Gibson (lower body) and D Brandon Montour. Gibson is day-to-day. ... Ducks C Antoine Vermette will meet NHL officials in New York for a hearing on his 10-game suspension Thursday. Vermette, who appealed the league's decision, received the punishment for slashing linesman Shandor Alphonso's legs while waiting for a faceoff Feb. 14 against the Minnesota Wild. ... The Ducks recalled G Jhonas Enroth and LW Nicolas Kerdiles from AHL San Diego. Kerdiles, Anaheim's first draft choice raised in Orange County, Calif. to make the club, finished a plus-1 on Wednesday in his NHL debut.