Boston came out with a lack of urgency and jump in the third and Viktor Arvidsson’s early penalty led to Mikael Granlund’s go-ahead power-play strike. Sam Colangelo added another goal as the Bruins were still reeling from the Granlund goal.
Boston finally started to show some fight over the last 10 minutes after Marco Sturm shuffled his lines in search of a spark.
David Pastrnak’s power-play goal with 5:28 left and Morgan Geekie’s follow up tally evened things at 5.
The Bruins failed to build on the momentum and the Ducks swarmed Boston’s end with Terry connecting for the winner.
Granlund added an empty netter to seal it.
The Bruins struck first with Casey Mittelstadt potting his third goal of the season.
Viktor Arvidsson got the sequence started, slithering through the slot before sliding the puck to Pavel Zacha, who ripped the puck on Petr Mrazek. The Anaheim goalie stopped it, but left a juicy rebound for an unchecked Mittelstadt who pumped in the vacant left side just 2:10 in.
Newly minted third liner Jeffrey Viel nearly doubled the lead, but Tanner Jeannot’s feed slipped off his blade in close.
Joonas Korpisalo kept the Ducks off the board with a pair of back-to-back saves from the slot, first off Alex Killorn and then former Boston College star Cutter Gauthier.
The Ducks tied it with a little puck luck.
Drew Helleson drifted in from the left point unmarked and zipped one toward the slot that deflected off defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s skate at the top of the crease and past Korpisalo.
The second line almost restored the Bruins lead when Zacha chipped a puck from behind the net to Mrazek’s doorstep where Arvidsson and Mittelstadt both had whacks at it but couldn’t get it across the line.
Korpisalo made the save of the period when he flashed the glove to rob defenseman Pavel Mintyukov at the end of long sequence where the Bruins repeatedly failed to get the puck out of their own end.
Anaheim earned the first power play of the night (Elias Lindholm for interference) but survived thanks to some nifty killing by Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic.
Just after the kill, Viel sent a clearing attempt so high it bounced off the center-ice Jumbotron.
Nikita Zadorov sent Kuraly in on a partial breakaway in the closing moments, but the Boston center, at the end of a lengthy shift, was denied by Mrazek, one of his 17 saves over the first 20 minutes.
Pastrnak had a partial breakaway early in the second, but the winger was gassed and his drop pass to Geekie was batted away but kept it in the zone.
It sparked a spirited sequence that saw Pastrnak, Geekie, and McAvoy unleash shots that found bodies and/or skates but not the net.
Korpisalo continued to flash his glove, catching a rising wrister from Jacob Trouba at the top of the circle.
The Bruins took their second lead, 2-1, when Geekie connected for his fourth.
Ducks budding star Leo Carlsson fumbled the puck at center ice and McAvoy pounced on the loose piggy and shuffled it to Pastrnak. Boston’s All-Star winger deflected it to Geekie, who settled it and ripped it under Mrazek’s blocker at 8:49.
As has been so often the case this season, however, the Bruins couldn’t hold the lead for long as Gauthier uncorked one from the top of the circles past an unscreened Korpisalo at 11:29.
Jeannot brought the crowd back into the game with a big-time bout with big boy Ross Johnston.
Despite giving up a few inches and some pounds to the 6-foot-5-inch, 232-pound Johnston, the 6-2, 221-pound Jeannot earned the decision by unleashing a flurry of roundhouse rights to Johnston’s chin.
The Bruins couldn’t build on that momentum, either, as the visitors took their first lead, 3-2, when Jacob Trouba coasted in from the point (Viel was late marking him) and buried a rebound for his first goal of the season.
Zadorov took an awkward tumble into the boards behind Korpisalo and after some quick skate repairs headed to the room for some other maintenance.
Boston fought back and evened things at 3 when Mason Lohrei connected for his first of the campaign.
With Mintyukov in the box for a high stick on Lindholm, the second power-play unit started, and Lohrei snapped it home from the blue line. Henri Jokiharju picked up the primary assist, the 100th point of the defenseman’s career.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.