Canucks 2, Islanders 1 (SO)
NEW YORK -- Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller made 45 regulation saves in a spectacular effort Sunday night and right winger Radim Vrbata scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Canucks a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders at Barclays Center.
Miller entered Sunday having allowed 19 goals in his previous five games. But against the Islanders, he stopped the first 45 shots he faced, including 21 in the third period, before New York center Ryan Strome tied the game with 50.8 seconds left.
Rookie defenseman Ben Hutton scored his first NHL goal in the second period for the Canucks (19-17-10), who improved to 2-1-0 on a five-game Eastern Conference road trip and moved into a tie with the San Jose Sharks for the third and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
Goalie Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves in regulation and overtime for the Islanders (24-16-5), who were trying to sweep a three-game homestand for the third time this season.
Hutton's goal 9:46 into the second came at the end of a furious flurry by the Canucks. Halak gloved, at eye level, a point-blank shot from left winger Sven Baertschi. Following the faceoff, Halak deflected a shot by center Jared McCann. The puck bounced to left winger Daniel Sedin, who was stationed behind the net.
Sedin passed to Hutton, who managed to fire a shot through three Islanders -- right winger Kyle Okposo, center Anders Lee and defenseman Nick Leddy -- and past Halak.
Miller made a series of impressive saves in the third period to preserve the shutout. He turned back center Josh Bailey at close range with 18:14 to go, after which a follow-up by defenseman Calvin de Haan sailed high. Less than a minute later, a shot by de Haan bounced off the boards and behind Miller, but he managed to cover it up with his body.
Miller made a handful of spectacular saves with about six minutes left. First, he deflected a shot by center Brock Nelson before a rebound attempt by center Anders Lee bounced off the post. Seconds later, the Islanders forced a turnover in the Canucks zone and Miller turned back left winger Kyle Okposo, who was all alone no more than two feet in front of him.
With 2:01 left, Miller gloved a slap shot by Okposo.
The Islanders held an 11-5 shot advantage during a first period that turned feisty over the final two minutes. With 1:44 remaining, New York center Mikhail Grabovski received a game misconduct for boarding after leveling Canucks center Henrik Sedin, who didn't return to the game. A subsequent fracas involved everyone on the ice except the goalies, during which Canucks defenseman Matt Bartkowski was whistled for roughing.
Another skirmish broke out with 5.4 seconds left, when Islanders center John Tavares was involved in a pileup along the boards in front of the team benches before he was hit in the face by the stick of Canucks center Jared McCann. Strome went after McCann and ended up nearly coming to blows with Vancouver defenseman Alex Biega. Both players were charged with roughing.
NOTES: The Islanders scratched D Travis Hamonic (lower body), D Adam Pelech (upper body) and RW Steve Bernier. ... USA Hockey announced Friday that Islanders head coach Jack Capuano will be an assistant coach for Team USA in the World Cup of Hockey, which will take place Sept. 17 through Oct. 1. ... The Islanders won't play a home game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the first time since the 2005-06 season. ... The Canucks scratched RW Adam Cracknell, RW Jake Virtanen and D Yannick Weber. ... Canucks D Luca Sbisa (hand injury) and RW Jannik Hansen (upper body) each returned to the lineup. Sbisa missed the previous 19 games while Hansen was sidelined for four games. ... The Canucks assigned D Taylor Feun to Utica of the AHL.