Ducks take charge in OT

Beaten to the punch much of the night by a gritty underdog Vancouver Canucks team desperate to even the Western Conference semifinals, the Ducks rose from the mat and landed a haymaker.

Facing a two-goal deficit entering the third period Tuesday night, the Ducks’ Chris Pronger and Teemu Selanne scored to stun a nervous sellout crowd at General Motors Place and Travis Moen hit the Canucks in the gut with the winner 2:07 into overtime for a 3-2 victory in Game 4.

As the shellshocked crowd of 18,630 headed for the exits, the Ducks headed for Anaheim with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with the chance to close it out Thursday night.

It will rank among their more improbable wins in their postseason history. Roberto Luongo was hot in goal and Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison had given the Canucks a 2-0 lead as the Ducks fought through their mistakes.

“Obviously we were talking after the second that we wanted to be a little bit better in the third,” Selanne said. “If we get one, you never know what’s going to happen.

“This team has been working the whole year. We don’t give up. We just keep pushing and good things happen.”

Pronger started the comeback at 3:58 of the third without the need of his usual booming slapshot. The towering defenseman threw the puck on net and Luongo couldn’t see it through a screen set by Corey Perry.

Selanne has the cuts and the bruises on his face to show for the battles and sacrifices he’s made for the Ducks this postseason but it may have been the challenge issued to him by his coach, Randy Carlyle, after Game 3 that hurt the most.

Not one to take the criticism personally, at least for all to see, the star winger responded with an emphatic answer.

Selanne got the tying goal with 5:42 remaining in regulation when he pounced on a rebound left by Luongo after the goalie stopped Pronger’s shot.

“To be honest, I didn’t really exactly know what he meant,” Selanne said of Carlyle’s remarks. “I try to play my normal game. It’s no secret. I’m not worried about circling or whatever. I’m more critical on myself than anybody else.”

Moen didn’t waste any time in overtime. Normally a grinding winger on the shutdown line with Samuel Pahlsson and Rob Niedermayer, Moen jumped on a rebound after Scott Niedermayer’s shot from the point hit a scramble of bodies in front of Luongo.

It is Moen’s third goal of the playoffs but easily the biggest in his young career.

“It feels pretty good,” the 25-year-old said. “I haven’t had a feeling like this in hockey. I’ll probably remember it for a long time.”

Luongo had been brilliant until the third period. But the Hart and Vezina Trophy candidate, who made 27 saves, has met his match in Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was strong again in stopping 24 shots.

The Ducks again managed to prosper even as Vancouver has shown as much grit and tenacity, if not more, in the last three games.

“We asked each individual if we could all be 10% better for the third period,” Carlyle said. “And they were a very determined group. We found a way.

“We got back to playing the style of hockey that we’re capable of playing. It’s not always pretty but at times can be very effective.”

The Ducks have persevered even as they haven’t been close to playing their best.

“We were pretty positive on the bench,” Moen said. “Sometimes you just got to work a little harder and I think we did that.

“Prongs goal was huge. And then we were able to get the second one.”

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eric.stephens@latimes.com