CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – Sam Bennett scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:10 left in regulation and the Calgary Flames rallied for a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Matthew Tkachuk scored the tying goal with 8 1/2 minutes left to start the Flames’ comeback from a 2-1 deficit and added an empty-netter in the final minute. Troy Brouwer had a goal in the first period and Mike Smith finished with 22 saves.
On the go-ahead goal, Bennett took the puck hard to the front of the net from the side boards and backhanded a shot past Anders Nilsson, electrifying the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Flames’ second third-period comeback in two games moved them two points ahead of the Canucks in the Pacific Division and into the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Vancouver Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson, right, from Sweden, stops Calgary Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk from scoring during first-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Jake Virtanen and Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver, and Nilsson stopped 31 shots.
The Canucks took a 2-1 lead on the power play with 55 seconds left in the second period. Markus Granlund put a slick centering pass right on the tape of Boeser’s stick and he neatly steered it in for his 15th of the season. The impressive 20-year-old has 10 goals in his last 12 games.
It came on the first shot Vancouver had generated in four power-play chances. Up until that point, Calgary had done an excellent job stifling the Canucks’ ninth-ranked power play.
Calgary tied it when Garnet Hathaway’s alert pass found Tkachuk in the slot and the 19-year-old sent a backhander into the top corner.
Vancouver opened the scoring 2:02 into the game as Michael Del Zotto’s point shot was going wide when it hit the skate of Virtanen and stopped there. Virtanen then fired in his fourth.
The Flames tied it with 1:32 remaining in the opening period when Curtis Lazar set up Brouwer for a one-timer on a 2-on-1.
NOTES: Smith was playing in his 500th game. … Canucks LW Sven Baertschi took a puck in the face early in the second period and did not return. .. Tkachuk returned after serving a one-game suspension for a spearing incident in Wednesday’s game against Toronto. … Granlund played in his 200th career game. … Nic Dowd made his Canucks debut after being acquired Thursday in a trade with Los Angeles. … Michael Chaput, recalled from Utica (AHL) on Thursday, made his season debut for Vancouver. … Del Zotto’s assist was his 200th NHL point.
UP NEXT
Canucks: At Winnipeg on Monday night.
Flames: At Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Vancouver Canucks’ Michael Chaput, left, and Brendan Gaunce lose track of the puck as Calgary Flames goalie Mike Smith, right, guards the net during first-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson, left, from Sweden, blocks the net against Calgary Flames’ Garnet Hathaway during first-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Troy Stecher, right, checks Calgary Flames’ Troy Brouwer during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser, right, is knocked to the ice by Calgary Flames’ Troy Brouwer during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Calgary Flames’ Sam Bennett, center, celebrates his goal with teammates Garnet Hathaway, left, and T.J. Brodie against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson, right, from Sweden, looks back at a Calgary Flames goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser, center, celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames with teammates Markus Granlund, left, from Finland, and Henrik Sedin, from Sweden, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks’ Jake Virtanen, right, celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames during first-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson, left, from Sweden, traps a shot from Calgary Flames’ Mikael Backlund, also from Sweden, during first-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
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