VANCOUVER — Alex Galchenyuk scored 1:54 into overtime to give the Arizona Coyotes a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Bo Horvat and Adam Gaudette scored for Vancouver (26-27-8) in regulation.
Jakob Chychrun and Lawson Crouse responded for Arizona (28-28-5).
Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 35-of-38 shots while Darcy Keumper had 30 saves for the Coyotes.
The victory moves Arizona within a point of the Minnesota Wild, who hold the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver lingers a single point behind the Coyotes.
Thursday’s extra time followed a feisty third period that saw Arizona put up 20 shots, compared to four from the Canucks.
Crouse gave the Coyotes the lead with 4:15 seconds to go in the game, taking a behind-the-net pass from Josh Archibald and rocketing a wrist shot past Markstrom.
Gaudette responded with a wicked one-timer less than two minutes later, forcing overtime.
Vancouver opened the scoring 9:47 into the first period after Markus Granlund made a between-the-legs pass to Antoine Roussel along the boards.
The left-winger got tripped up as he streaked to the net but still managed to slice a backhander across the crease to Horvat.
Horvat popped the puck up and in past Keumper.
Vancouver dominated across the first two periods but couldn’t maintain control in the third.
Canucks defenceman Derrick Pouliout was called for hooking midway through the third period and the Coyotes capitalized on the man advantage.
A shot from Chychrun flew over Markstrom’s glove, appearing to bounce off the stick of Vancouver’s Jay Beagle on the way in.
The Canucks had three of their own power-play opportunities on Thursday but couldn’t finish.
Special teams have been a struggle for the squad recently, with the power play capitalizing on just 7.5 per cent of their chances over the last 18 games.
The Coyotes boast the top penalty kill in the league and went into Thursday’s game having shutdown 86 per cent of their opponents power plays this season.
The Canucks will be back in action on Saturday when they host the New York Islanders.
The Coyotes are headed back to Arizona, where they’ll battle the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
NOTES: Ryan Spooner made his Canucks debut on Thursday. The Edmonton Oilers traded the 27-year-old to Vancouver last week in exchange for Sam Gagner. … Forward Tim Schaller returned to the Canucks lineup after being healthy scratched for 10 of the team’s last 11 games.
[relatedlinks]
