WATCH: Dakota Joshua's between-the-legs goal against Anaheim Ducks
Dakota Joshua was one of the stars for the Vancouver Canucks in their 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place on Sunday night. The 27-year-old forward netted twice in the matchup.
Dakota Joshua's first goal helped the Canucks take a 2-0 lead with a powerplay at 9:34 in the second period. He received the pass near the post, spun, moved the puck between his legs, and fired over Lukas Dostal's blocker into the back of the net.
Watch the video below:
The Ducks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie it in the third period. At 17:47, Joshua scored his second goal of the night, securing the Canucks win. With that, Vancouver ended its two-game losing streak.
This was the only second game for Dakota Joshua, who had to miss 18 games due to a hand injury. In the post-game interview, the center said (via NHL.com):
"That was big,” said Joshua. It was nice to get on the score sheet again. Maybe not my overall best game, but nice to see the puck go in.”
Apart from Joshua, Brock Boeser was the other scorer for the Canucks in the contest. Meanwhile, Arturs Silvos displayed a solid performance between the pipes with 20 saves.
Dakota Joshua's Canucks qualify for playoffs
Following the St. Louis Blues' 4-0 defeat to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks punched their ticket for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Notably, this is the first time in four years the Canucks have qualified for the postseason and only twice in the last nine years.
Moreover, with 100 points, the Canucks are also the only Canadian team to have made it to the playoffs so far. In total, eight teams have booked their spot in the playoffs, with eight more to go.
Canucks HC Rick Tocchet expressed his delight on making it to the postseason, saying:
“Coming into the situation, we were supposed to be a bubble [team], whatever the people were saying, and it was good that the players didn't hear the outside noise or at least believe it themselves,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “You can't sit on 'Hey we're a playoff team and we're at 100-point team.’ You can enjoy it for a moment, but we really got to work on our game."
Dakota Joshua and the Canucks next face the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.