CALGARY — Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»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 Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»(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.
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»defenceman Elias Pettersson (undisclosed) played the entire first period, but did not return for the second.
Takeaways
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.
Key moment
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.
Key stat
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»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.
Up next
Canucks: Host to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
Flames: Wrap up their three-game homestand on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2025.
Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press
