VANCOUVER — Daniel Sedin scored 4:05 into overtime as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Tuesday night.
The upstart Canucks (12-5-0) gained a share of first place overall as they posted their eighth win in 10 games under new coach Willie Desjardins. The Senators (7-4-4) suffered their third-consecutive loss.
Daniel Sedin put in a pass from his twin brother Henrik as they each earned their second point of the night.
Shawn Matthias, Alex Burrows and Kevin Bieksa scored for the Canucks in regulation time.
Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris and Mark Stone tallied for the Senators.
The Canucks outshot the Senators 37-24. Ottawa did not record a shot in overtime.
Neither team could score in the first period and the contest was tied 2-2 after the second.
The game was the first between the teams since Ottawa beat the Canucks in the Heritage Classic at B.C. Place Stadium in March. Former Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was subsequently traded to Florida after expressing concern to then general manager Mike Gillis about his backup role behind Eddie Lack in that contest.
Ryan Miller received the start over Lack on Tuesday, but faced little action early as Vancouver limited the Senators to three shots in the opening 16:35. While his teammates struggled, Senators goaltender Craig Anderson was unbeatable in the first period as the Canucks enjoyed a 12-6 edge in shots.
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Matthias opened the scoring 6:13 into the second as he took Linden Vey’s pass off the boards, rushed down right wing, cut to the net and beat Anderson with a quick shot. Anderson’s strong play prevented the Canucks from taking a sizable lead early in the second period as the hosts again held a large shots advantage.
Hoffman drew the Sens even midway through the second as he put in rookie Curtis Lazar’s rebound. Burrows gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead at 16:17 of the second as he tapped in Nick Bonino’s goalmouth pass.
But Turris created a 2-2 tie a minute and a half later following a failed clearing attempt by the Canucks.
Bieksa put the Canucks ahead 3-2 at 5:36 of the third on a shot from the point that appeared to go in off an Ottawa player. But just under three minutes later, Stone forged another deadlock as he knocked home a Turris rebound off a rush to force the extra session.
Notes: Vancouver first-line winger Radim Vrbata and defenceman Luca Sbisa missed their second-consecutive game with undisclosed injuries. … Ottawa winger Alex Chiasson returned to the lineup after missing three games with a foot injury. … Senators rookie centre Lazar, a 20-year-old Salmon Arm, B.C., native, played an NHL game in his home province for the first time. … The Canucks will host Arizona on Friday. … The Senators move on to Edmonton on Thursday and Calgary on Saturday to complete a three-games tour of Western Canada.
