Emerson Etem, Vancouver Canucks stun Ducks in third period, 3-2

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau knew bad news was on the horizon as he saw players head to the dressing room one after the other.

The full injury report?

The Ducks practically need a stretcher for the home stretch.

Already without two defensemen, the Ducks announced several injuries and illnesses Friday before a 3-2 loss to Vancouver at Honda Center.

The most serious was a concussion sustained by goalie Frederik Andersen, who is half of their two-headed goaltending monster alongside John Gibson. Center Rickard Rakell will be out about a week because of an appendectomy, and left wing David Perron until late April or early May with a separated shoulder.

Adding to the bad news was a squandered 2-1 lead in the third period and a game-winning goal by former Ducks winger Emerson Etem, who swiped home a loose puck in the slot with 6:37 remaining.

The Ducks had a good start but were uneven the rest of the way and couldn’t tie it despite 20 shots in the third.

“We had spurts where we were good, and then we had other times where we were sloppy,” Nate Thompson said. “We weren’t good in all different areas of the ice, and it caught up to us.”

Long Beach product Etem broke into a big smile upon his goal. It was his first Anaheim appearance since the Ducks traded him last summer after five years in the organization, and he had family and friends in attendance.

“I’ve had a lot of special moments in this building,” Etem said. “A lot of guys over there [are] good buddies of mine.… It’s just nice to get one in my former arena, for sure.”

The Ducks missed a chance to move past the Kings for first place in the Pacific Division, and their injury front got worse. Forward Brandon Pirri left the game in the second period after a hit by 6-foot-7, 228-pound Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin and is day to day with an upper-body injury, Boudreau said.

Boudreau was more immediately upset at the lack of finish.

“It’s a game we should have had,” Boudreau said. “We should have had two points today. But you need 20 guys playing. We didn’t have 20 going.”

The line of Thompson, Ryan Garbutt and newly recalled Chris Wagner was the Ducks’ most effective.

Wagner, whose two-year contract extension was announced earlier in the day, drove hard to the net and created a rebound that Thompson converted to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead with 11:18 remaining.

The Ducks beat Calgary, 8-3, on Wednesday and defenseman Josh Manson’s goal 48 seconds into the game seemed to signal another rout against a non-playoff team. But inconsistency felled the Ducks.

“They came in ready tonight, and we weren’t,” Thompson said.

Gibson started Friday and was backed up by Anton Khudobin, recalled from San Diego with Wagner. Gibson had taken turns with Andersen in a rotation but will assume the No.1 role.

Andersen was hit in the second period of Wednesday’s game and, as with most head injuries, is out indefinitely. It was unclear how the injury occurred.

Rakell, their third-leading goal scorer, was initially ill and later determined to need his appendix removed. He is the second Ducks player to have the procedure this season after Ryan Getzlaf in October.

“That doesn’t happen too often,” Boudreau said. “I don’t know what’s in the water out here, but ...”

The Ducks are also without injured defensemen Kevin Bieksa and Simon Despres, although both are skating. Another defenseman, Hampus Lindholm, missed Friday with illness.

Boudreau doesn’t want to use the injuries and ailments as an excuse.

“The one thing you can’t do is have a pity party and say, ‘Woe is me,’” Boudreau said. “We sit there and another guy comes in and his job is to do as well as the guy before him.”

Follow Curtis Zupke on Twitter @CurtisZupke