Sutter leads Canucks to shootout win over Flames
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Center Brandon Sutter scored in a shootout to give the Vancouver Canucks a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames in a strange NHL game Saturday night.
Sutter, the fourth Canucks shooter of the night, beat Calgary goaltender Chad Johnson with a shot through the five hole.
Vancouver had a chance to win the game when Calgary defenseman Dougie Hamilton was called for hooking with 1:24 left in the three-on-three, five-minute overtime period. The Canucks didn't manage a shot on net during the power play.
Left winger Daniel Sedin tied the game late in the third period.
The Flames took a 1-0, first-period lead when Canucks right winger Loui Eriksson scored into his own goal. Right winger Troy Brouwer was credited with the Calgary goal.
Johnson, the former Buffalo Sabre who came to Calgary as a free agent, stopped 30 shots in his first start as a Flame. Calgary drops to 0-3-0 on the season.
Goaltender Ryan Miller made 24 saves in the season-opening game for the Canucks.
Sedin tied the game with 3:51 remaining in the third and Eriksson managed to redeem himself.
Henrik Sedin started the play with a pretty pass between his legs to Eriksson at the side of the net. He fed the puck to Daniel Sedin, who scored into a wide-open net. The play came at the end of a two-minute shift where the Canucks controlled the puck in the Calgary end.
Calgary's goal came at 9:14 of the first period.
Miller left his net for an extra attacker when the referee raised his arm for a delayed holding penalty being called on Brouwer.
Eriksson, the former Dallas Star who signed a six-year, $36 million deal over the summer, was handling the puck near center ice when he attempted a pass back into the Canucks zone. The puck slid past several players and rolled into the Vancouver net before defenseman Erik Gudbranson could stop it.
Brouwer was credited with his second goal of the season.
The goal was officially credited as an empty net goal, which meant Miller was credited with stopping all the shots he faced in the game.
Calgary left winger Johnny Gaudreau had two good scoring chances on a third-period power play. First, he broke through the Canucks defense but flipped a shot just over the crossbar. Later, he was left alone at the side of the net but stumbled and fell before he could put the puck past a sprawled Miller.
NOTES: C Bo Horvat, who led the Canucks with 30 points in the final 43 games of last season, started the night on a checking line with LW Alex Burrows and RW Derek Dorsett. ... C Markus Granlund, obtained in a trade from Calgary last year, skated on a second line with LW Sven Baertschi and RW Jake Virtanen. ... Vancouver's healthy scratches were RW Jack Skille, D Alex Biega and D Nikita Tryamkin. ... The Canucks play the Carolina Hurricanes Sunday, making it the first time in franchise history that the team has opened the season with back-to-back home games. ... G Brian Elliott, acquired from St. Louis, allowed 10 goals on 55 shots in back-to-back losses to Edmonton. ... Calgary D Ladislav Smid missed the game with a neck injury. ... Calgary's healthy scratches were D Dennis Wideman, D Nicklas Grossmann and C Freddie Hamilton. ... Calgary was playing its third game in four nights. ... The Flames return home to face Buffalo on Tuesday.