Canucks Score Three Times in the Final Minute to Earn an Overtime Win Against the Stars
With their season pretty much over, the Canucks traveled to Dallas to face off against the Stars for the third time this season. The Canucks were coming off a three-game series at home in which Vancouver came out with only one win, along with a devastating shutout loss. As a result, Vancouver needed a win to stay in playoff contention. Despite a rocky start, the Canucks made a fiery comeback to defeat the Stars in overtime.
The first period was off to a slow start for the Canucks, setting the Stars up for a two-goal lead. Early in the period, Kiefer Sherwood was called for slashing against Lian Bichsel, sending the Stars on a two-minute power play. This set Mikko Rantanen up for a snapshot assisted by Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley, putting Dallas up by one. Not too long after, Filip Hronek earned two minutes in the box for delay of game. During this Dallas power play, Mason Marchment extended the Stars’ lead to 2-0 with assists from Jamie Benn and Mikael Granlund.
The next 20 minutes continued to favor the Stars. The period opened with a high-sticking penalty against Marcus Pettersson, sending the Stars on a power play once again. The Stars were quick to take advantage of this as Matt Duchene fired a snapshot assisted by Jamie Benn and Mikael Granlund to extend the lead to 3-0 in favor of Dallas. After several power plays for Dallas, Vancouver finally had a two-minute power play opportunity following a call against Mathew Dumba for cross-checking. However, the Canucks were unable to fire back against the Stars, and Vancouver failed to get themselves on the board by the end of the second.
In a quick turnaround, Jake DeBrusk opened the period with a goal assisted by Quinn Hughes and Conor Garland in the last few seconds of the power play that started in the second period. Following the goal for Vancouver, the Canucks went on a four-minute power play after Mason Marchment was called for high-sticking against Teddy Blueger. The Canucks were quick to take advantage of the powerplay as Victor Mancini brought it to a one-point game, finding the net with assists from Aatu Raty and Linus Karlsson. Shortly after, Mavrik Bourque scored with an assist from Jason Robertson and Cody Ceci to bring the score to 4-2. Almost immediately after Bourque’s goal, Mikael Granlund earned his third point of the night on an empty netter, extending the lead to 5-2 in favor of Dallas.
In a wildly unexpected turn of events, Aatu Raty found the goal with around a minute left in the game with an assist from Marcus Pettersson to put the Canucks within two points of the Stars. Shortly after, Pius Suter fired a snapshot with assists from Conor Garland and Filip Hronek to make it a one-point game. Finally, with around five seconds left in the third, with assists from Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes, Pius Suter scored once more to tie the game. As a result, the game would be sent into overtime.
Starting off overtime, the Canucks went on a power play after a slashing call against Mikko Rantanen, but Vancouver was unable to do anything with this advantage. However, this didn’t stop the Canucks. Kiefer Sherwood fired a snapshot assisted by Conor Garland to win the game for the Canucks. What was once a three-point lead for the Stars turned into an overtime loss in a matter of minutes.
If the Canucks had finished this game with a regulation loss, they would officially be eliminated from playoff contention. Additionally, the Stars would have clinched a home-ice advantage for the first round. With several key players out for the Canucks, it seemed very unlikely that they would be able to pull through and win against the Stars, but it was a whole team effort that showed that Vancouver still has it in them. Though it is highly unlikely that the Canucks clinch a spot in the playoffs this year, you can’t count them out just yet.
