Conor Garland’s goal clinched a shootout in a 4-3 comeback victory for the Vancouver Canucks over the host Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
Elias Pettersson had a goal and an assist in regulation, and also scored Vancouver’s first goal of the shootout. Pius Suter and Jake DeBrusk added goals and Kevin Lankinen made 20 saves through overtime and three of four in the shootout. The Canucks snapped a two-game skid.
The Flames and Canucks are tied in points for the second wild-card berth, but Calgary has played one fewer game.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice, and then scored Calgary’s only goal in the shootout. Nazem Kadri collected one goal and one assist, and Dustin Wolf stopped 28 shots through overtime. MacKenzie Weegar netted a pair of assists.
Garland became the hero by snapping a forehand shot from his off wing for Vancouver, which for the first time this season won a game when trailing after two periods. His goal ended an intense, back-and-forth affair between the Pacific Division rivals.
Suter opened the scoring at the 13:33 mark thanks to a second effort, stepping into the rebound when his first shot was blocked, but Kadri evened the count at 17:53 with a breakaway tally.
DeBrusk restored Vancouver’s lead just past the midpoint of the second period when he deflected a Quinn Hughes point shot, but Huberdeau again tied the clash at 13:58 of the second period, netting a short-handed goal set up by Kevin Rooney on a two-on-zero rush.
Huberdeau put Calgary ahead for the first time with a power-play goal two minutes later, finding the mark with a rocket of a wrist shot from the left circle, but Pettersson tied the clash at 3-3 at 13:16 of the third period when he pounced on a rebound for his third goal in four games.
Flames captain Mikael Backlund left the game after the first period due to an upper-body injury.
On a night the Canucks saw Hughes, their captain, return to action after missing four games due to injury, fellow defenseman Elias Pettersson left the clash in the first period after he was hit in the head by Calgary’s Connor Zary.
