CALGARY — It took extra time, but the much improved Vancouver Canucks kept on rolling Wednesday night.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored the lone goal and Spencer Martin didn't allow a puck past him in the shootout as Vancouver made it six straight road wins with a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.
"It's good. I like it because I helped to win the game,” said Kuzmenko, who also assisted on the tying goal.
With four wins in its last five, and nine in its last 13, Vancouver is playing its best hockey of the season.
"I was proud of the way we played tonight. It's a tough building to come into and they've got a good team over there,” said Canucks centre Bo Horvat.
Horvat, Conor Garland and Sheldon Dries scored in regulation for Vancouver (13-13-3).
Martin made 35 saves between regulation and overtime, improving to 9-3-1.
“They had a game plan to funnel pucks at me, lot of shots from the goal line, awkward angles like that," said Martin. "Just fighting those off and when there's a chance to make a Grade A save you've got to be ready."
Mikael Backlund, Andrew Mangiapane and Trevor Lewis scored for Calgary (13-11-6). Jacob Markstrom, who had 24 stops, saw his record drop to 8-7-4.
The Flames have points in six of their last seven, but only three wins to show for it. They've lost three straight games in extra time.
“We've got to bear down, we need these points,” said Dube. “When you're playing good in tight games, you've got to find a way to win. That's what really good teams to and we need to get to that.”
In the shootout, Jonathan Huberdeau stepped up first and got stopped for the first time this season. Kuzmenko then put Vancouver on the board with a quick shot over Markstrom's glove.
Dillon Dube and Backlund both missed the net on the Flames' next two attempts to seal their fate.
Vancouver outshot Calgary 5-2 in overtime but even a Ilya Mikheyev breakaway shot couldn't beat Markstrom.
Attempting to take the lead in the third period, Dries sent a backhand shot from in front but it was gloved down by Markstrom. Later in the frame, Markstrom denied Curtis Lazar on a two-on-one.
Martin also stopped all nine shots he faced in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
“The best thing I thought was the way we played the third period. I don't think we gave up too many chances and we were really conscientious defensively,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “Sometimes this year that hasn't happened. I really liked that.”
Dries knotted the game 5:31 into the second period. Taking a pass along the side boards from Nils Hoglander, Dries whipped a shot inside the post.
Just under two minutes earlier, Lewis gave Calgary its first lead of the game when his attempted pass from behind the net banked off Martin's glove and in.
The Flames cut the deficit in half at 9:40 of the first when Backlund steered in Dube's perfectly placed centring pass for a power-play goal.
With 3:51 remaining in the frame, Calgary pulled even with Mangiapane one-timing Nazem Kadri's centring pass inside the goalpost.
“Not ideal to be down 2-0 right away, but leaving the first period a tied hockey game was a great effort by us. Unfortunately, we can't get the win,” said Markstrom. “It's as frustrating as a loss, it doesn't matter how it comes. You want to win and you play to win and when you don't, it's frustrating.”
The Flames fell behind 2-0 before even registering a shot on goal.
Horvat netted his 21st of the campaign when he deflected Oliver Ekman-Larsson's point shot past Markstrom 1:14 into the contest.
Thirty-four seconds later, Garland curled out of the corner unchecked and zipped a 25-foot wrist shot into the top corner.
PENALTY PARADE
After a road trip in which Calgary was shorthanded 20 times in three games, the parade to the penalty box continued in the first period. The Canucks went on the power play twice. The Flames have been shorthanded 115 times, which is tied for second-most behind the Edmonton Oilers (116). The St. Louis Blues, have been shorthanded the fewest times at 65.
LINEUP SHUFFLES
Flames defenceman MacKenzie Weegar (non-COVID illness) returned after missing one game while defenceman Chris Tanev (upper body) sat out after taking a shot to the side of the head in Montreal on Monday. Calgary also got centre Elias Lindholm (upper body) back after a one-game absence and inserted Ritchie for rookie winger Matthew Phillips. For the Canucks, forward Brock Boeser (non-COVID illness) did not play, which opened up a spot for Dries' return.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Open a three-game homestand against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Flames: Play host to the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2022.
Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press
