Canucks 5, Senators 3
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Right winger Jake Virtanen broke a 3-3 tie with a power-play goal midway through the third period and added an assist as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 Thursday night.
Virtanen put the Canucks ahead at 10:59. Center Bo Horvat took a shot that Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson stopped. Virtanen found the rebound and shot it through a sea of legs for his fifth goal of the season.
Defenseman Matt Bartkowski scored twice and added an assist for the Canucks (24-24-12). It was the first three-point game of Bartkowski’s career.
Right winger Emerson Etem also scored twice, once into an empty net, while center Markus Granlund, playing in his first game for Vancouver, earned an assist as the Canucks won back-to-back home games for the first time since December.
Right wingers Mark Stone, shorthanded, and Bobby Ryan scored for Ottawa (29-27-6). Left winger Mike Hoffman also scored for the Senators, who saw a season-high four-game win streak end.
Defenseman Dion Phaneuf and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau had two assists each.
Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller stopped 27 shots. Anderson, starting his 50th game of the season, made 31 saves.
Bartkowski tied the game at 4:01 of the third period with his second of the night. He took a pass from Virtanen and blasted a shot past Anderson.
The Senators scored late in the second to take a 3-2 lead into the third period.
Stone put Ottawa ahead 2-1 at 13:02 of the second while the Senators were killing a penalty. Phaneuf fed Stone with a long pass to set up a two-on-one break. Stone beat Miller with a low shot under his glove.
The Canucks tied the game 1:23 later. Bartkowski's shot from the blue line through a crowd looked to be tipped by Ottawa center Kyle Turris and past Anderson.
Ryan restored Ottawa's lead at 17:23. Defenseman Marc Methot shook off a check along the boards from Etem and skated deep into the Canucks zone. He passed into the slot to Ryan, who put a shot through Miller's five-hole.
The teams exchanged goals in a fast-paced opening period.
The Canucks took a 1-0 lead at 4:38. Anderson stopped a shot from right winger Linden Vey. Etem fought through the check of left winger Ryan Dzingel to get the rebound and scored his second of the year on a backhand.
Ottawa tied the game at 9:25. Phaneuf unloaded a shot from just inside the blue line that Hoffman tipped past Miller for his team-leading 25th of the season.
NOTES: Vancouver RW Radim Vrbata, the subject of trade rumors, missed the game with a lower-back injury and could be out a week. ... C Markus Granlund, obtained in a trade from Calgary Monday, became the first player in Canucks franchise history to wear No. 60. ... There is a report that Chicago might be interested in obtaining Vancouver D Dan Hamhuis in a trade. ... Canucks RW Adam Cracknell and D Yannick Weber were scratches. ... Vancouver's next game is Sunday at home against San Jose. ... Ottawa scratches were D Patrick Wiercioch and LW Shane Prince. ... Of the Senators' final 20 games, 14 are against Eastern Conference teams. ... Making the playoffs is made even more difficult because Ottawa plays a combined five games against Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo and Philadelphia, teams behind them in the standings. ... The Senators end their three-game road trip Saturday in Calgary.