Vancouver centre Elias Pettersson tied the game late in the third period and Conor Garland notched the shootout winner as the Canucks prevailed 4-3 over the Calgary Flames in thrilling NHL action on Wednesday night.
Pius Suter and Jake DeBrusk also scored for Vancouver (30-24-11), which tied Calgary with 71 points in the Western Conference standings. Pettersson added an assist on DeBrusk’s goal.
The Flames still held the West’s second wild-card spot having played one less game than the Canucks, who were outside the playoffs.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored two goals to lead the offence for Calgary (30-23-11). Nazem Kadri added a goal and an assist while MacKenzie Weegar chipped in with two helpers.
Flames rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf made 28 saves and Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen, starting on back-to-back nights, stopped 20 shots.
Both teams lost a player to injury early in the game. Flames captain Mikael Backlund (upper body) left just past the midway point of the first period after playing five shifts.
Vancouver defenceman Elias Pettersson (undisclosed) played the entire first period, but did not return for the second.
Canucks: Captain and leading scorer Quinn Hughes (lower body) made an impact in his return to the lineup after missing four games. The defenceman led both teams with 29:48 in ice time. DeBrusk deflected Hughes’s shot into the net, briefly giving the Canucks a 2-1 second period lead.
Flames: Kadri was sent flying by a heavy open-ice hit from defenceman Elias Pettersson midway through the first. Four minutes later, Kadri got his revenge when he split the Canucks defence — including Pettersson — and scored on a pretty deke.
Centre Elias Pettersson made it 3-3 at 13:16 of third. After sending the puck back to Victor Mancini at the blue line, Pettersson went to the net and buried the rebound after Wolf couldn’t control Mancini’s shot through a crowd.
Vancouver is the last NHL team this season to win a game in which it trailed after 40 minutes. The Canucks improved to 1-19-4 in that scenario.
Canucks: Host to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
Flames: Wrap up their three-game homestand on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche.
