Ducks rally for first win of season, beating Canucks, 4-3

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The Ducks looked, well, dead. Out-skated, out-shot and out-hit for two periods of their home opener against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, they awoke when their big line of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry stirred and carried them back from the abyss.

Ryan stripped the puck from Henrik Sedin, the NHL’s most valuable player last season, at the Canucks’ blue line to start a give-and-go with Getzlaf and finished it off with the goal that lifted the Ducks to a 4-3 victory in their opener at the Honda Center. Ryan’s goal, at 10:12, was his first of the season and capped the first demonstration of the firepower the team was supposed to have but hadn’t shown in losing its first three games by a combined 13-2.

Ryan had been in the penalty box on a weak hooking call in the offensive zone when the Canucks took at 3-2 lead, at 5:23 of the third period. Christian Ehrhoff’s slap shot from the right point deflected off Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler and past Jonas Hiller, deflating the announced sellout crowd and, seemingly, dooming the Ducks to another loss.

But moments after Ducks defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky had cleared the puck out of his own crease, the Ducks went up ice and pulled even, with Getzlaf finding Perry with a perfect pass by the left post. With Roberto Luongo on the other side, Perry had the entire left half of the net — and he didn’t miss, raising his arms in celebration and relief at 8:54.

Hiller was solid in facing 39 shots for the Ducks, who are 9-8-0 in home openers in franchise history.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott