Canucks Use 5-Goal 3rd Period to Win 6-2 vs. Lightning

The Vancouver Canucks (9-9-2) snapped a three-game losing streak with a wacky win against the Tampa Bay Lightning (9-7-2). The Canucks used a dominant five-goal period to seal victory and get to 20 points on their season. Tampa Bay stays put at 20 points, and with the competitiveness of the Eastern Conference this season, they find themselves out of a playoff spot.

Game Recap

In the first period, the Lightning looked like they would cruise to a victory, with Nikita Kucherov scoring on a tee from Darren Raddysh to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the last minute of the period. The Lightning expanded that lead to 2-0 in the second with a Jake Guentzel deflection up close.

Vancouver responded by finding the back of the net on the power play, with Canucks right-winger Jake DeBrusk shooting it in. But with the Lightning having a 2-1 lead entering the third, and goaltender Jonas Johansson looking sturdy this season, Tampa Bay looked like they were going to win it.

Then, the Canucks caught fire, scoring five goals in the third. Lightning winger Scott Sabourin took an interference penalty on goaltender Kevin Lankinen, and the Canucks took advantage. Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood tied it up on a deflection off a broken stick to tie it 2-2 with 15:49 left to go. Canucks winger Linus Karlsson gave Vancouver the lead just 43 seconds later, steering a shot from winger Mackenzie MacEachern to put it past Johansson.

Drew O’Connor grew the lead to 4-2 with a tip-in from defenseman Quinn Hughes with 14:09 left in the period. It looked like Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous had a goal to cut the deficit to one, but a coach’s challenge by the Canucks’ Adam Foote negated that goal. That was the closest the Lightning ever got to making it a one-goal game.

The Canucks kept attacking offensively. MacEachern deflected another Hughes assist with 6:08 left to go in the third, and when the Lightning pulled Johansson, Canucks defenseman Marcus Pettersson potted in the empty-netter to seal the 6-2 win.

Schedule

The Canucks travel down to Sunrise to play the Florida Panthers (9-8-1) on Monday, Nov. 17. They get to return home to Vancouver to face the Dallas Stars (12-4-3) on Thursday, Nov. 20, and the Calgary Flames (5-12-3) on Sunday, Nov. 23, before going on the road again. They’re in striking distance of a wild-card spot, with the Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights (both 22 points) occupying those spots.

The Lightning have an extended home stay, still facing the New Jersey Devils (13-4-1, Tuesday, Nov. 18) and Edmonton Oilers (9-7-4, Thursday, Nov. 20) in Tampa Bay, but the home stretch couldn’t have started worse for them; they’re still a win from being above the playoff line.