VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Tyler Myers' goal with just over five minutes remaining proved to be the winner and the Vancouver Canucks snapped a six-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.
Quinn Hughes opened the scoring for Vancouver with a second-period goal and Brandon Sutter added some insurance for the Canucks, scoring into an empty net.
“We just wanted the result. We kept playing, didn’t fall asleep,” Hughes said. “And we played a good game.”
Myers' excitement was evident as he pumped his fist and yelled following his goal.
“The emotion, it was just because we got the lead at the end of the game and it’s been a while,” Myers said.
“I thought we deserved a better fate in the last couple of games. We stuck with it, we came out hard tonight, played a real consistent game, (goalie Thatcher Demko) made some big saves for us. It was a huge win for the group.”
Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 43 of 45 shots. Thatcher Demko had 18 saves for Vancouver.
“Vancouver is a desperate team and they threw a lot of pucks at the net and there’s a lot of volume,” Markstrom said. “But, you know, at the end of the day it’s my job to stop the puck and it’s frustrating for me to feel like I’m playing a really good game and then five minutes left not come up with one more save to at least take it to overtime and get a point and give the team a chance.”
Sam Bennett scored for Calgary. Johnny Gaudreau and Rasmus Andersson recorded assists.
Calgary coach Geoff Ward said his squad simply wasn’t competitive.
“We got what we deserved tonight,” he said. “We got out worked, out skated, out competed. So usually when that happens, you don’t get the result you want.”
Calgary opened the four-game series Thursday night with a 3-1 victory. The teams will meet again in Vancouver on Monday night and finish the series in Calgary on Wednesday night.
Vancouver’s last win came against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 30.
Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini said in a series of tweets Saturday that he supports general manager Jim Benning and coach Travis Green, despite the team’s dismal 7-11-0 start to the season.
NOTES: Calgary’s Mikael Backlund was injured in the first period and did not return. … Flames defenseman Connor Mackey made his NHL debut. The 24-year-old signed with Calgary last March after playing three seasons at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
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