Granlund caps Canucks comeback vs. Stars
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Markus Granlund's goal at 1:27 of overtime gave the Vancouver Canucks a stunning 5-4 comeback victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
Granlund fired in a wrist shot on a pass from Brandon Sutter off a face-off, enabling the Canucks to overcome a two-goal deficit after the second period and another one-goal deficit in the third. With the assist, Sutter made amends for being foiled on a breakaway early in overtime.
The Canucks (6-9-1) posted only their second victory in the past 12 games. They might have kept coach Willie Desjardins' job safe for a little while.
Bo Horvat, former Star Loui Eriksson, Sutter and Troy Stecher with his first NHL career goal tallied for the Canucks in regulation, who were again hampered by a lack of scoring finish.
Patrick Eaves led the Stars with two goals. Usually a grinder, Eaves now has three goals in his past two games and eight points in his last four games. With 12 points in 15 games, he is well-positioned to surpass the 17 he mustered in 54 contests last season.
Dominic Roussel and Lauri Korpikoski also scored for the Stars.
Dallas saw its winning streak against Vancouver end at 10 games. It was the second-longest active victory run in the NHL.
Stecher, who began the season in the minors and is on his second call-up, forced overtime as he blasted home a slapshot from just inside the blue line at 18:20 of the third period.
Roussel broke open a 3-3 deadlock at 11:49 of third period as he slapped the puck in after it got caught underneath Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller's skates. In the process, Roussel extended his scoring streak to three games. The game-winner was his third of the season.
Miller had tried to block a pass from Dallas center Tyler Seguin that had deflected off Vancouver defenseman Nikita Tryamkin's skate.
Vancouver appeared to tie the game at 12:52 of the third as he stuffed the puck and Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen's right leg pad and the puck into the net. But Stars coach Lindy Ruff successfully challenged the goal on grounds of inadvertent interference with the goaltender, and it was disallowed.
Miller recorded 17 saves while Lehtonen posted 25 saves.
After Dallas built period leads of 2-1 and 3-1, Eriksson and Sutter, on a power play, scored two minutes and 40 seconds apart early in the third period to create a tie. Former Star Eriksson reduced Vancouver's deficit to 3-2 at 3:26 of the third as his wrist shot squeezed through Lehtonen. Then Sutter fired home a shot from the high slot after taking a pass from Daniel Sedin.
The power-play marker was Vancouver's first in 11 games.
The Canucks played a video tribute to former defenseman Dan Hamhuis, who played his first game in Vancouver after signing as a free agent with the Stars in the offseason. Hamhuis drew an assist as Eaves put Dallas ahead 5:43 into the game after tucking in a loose puck during a scramble.
Horvat created a 1-1 tie just 22 seconds later as he turned Hamhuis inside-out and lifted a high shot over Lehtonen. But Korpikoski put the Stars back up 2-1 just 20 seconds later, converting a pass from Radek Faksa on a rush.
Eaves gave the Stars a two-goal advantage at 15:04 of the second period as he one-timed a cross-ice pass from Tyler Seguin.
NOTES: The Canucks recalled LW Jake Virtanen from their AHL farm team in Utica, N.Y., earlier Sunday. ... Stars C Patrick Sharp is considered close to returning from a concussion, but remained out of the lineup. He was the Stars' leading scorer against the Canucks last season, producing three goals and two assists in three games. Altogether, he has seven points in his last six games against Vancouver. ... The Stars and Canucks have many inter-connections. ... Sunday's game marked the end of a three-game road trip through Western Canada for the Stars.