Canucks 6, Stars 5 (OT): A comeback for the ages to stave off playoff elimination

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They fought to the end and now live to fight another day.

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The Vancouver Canucks looked like their minuscule chance of avoiding mathematical elimination Tuesday from the chase for the final Western Conference wild-card playoff spot was going quietly into the Dallas night.

They needed a point but were down 3-0 in the second period and 5-2 in the third before scoring three goals in 54 seconds to force overtime. Then they got a second point by proving their never-quit attitude is the real deal in a stunning 6-5 overtime triumph over the Stars.

The Stars had a three-goal cushion with 2:21 remaining in regulation time after Mikael Granlund scored an empty-net goal. Then Aatu Raty struck. Then Pius Suter. And then Suter again with six seconds remaining in regulation to force the extra session.

That’s where Kiefer Sherwood scored with 1:16 remaining in overtime. It was simply stunning. And it’s the first time in NHL history a team has rallied from a three-goal deficit in the final minute of the third period to win a game.

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“It was 4-on-4 in overtime and we were just trying to possess the puck and see what opening we could get,” said Sherwood. “Half the time, you just want to get it in Huggy’s hands (Quinn Hughes) but after we lost the puck, (Conor) Garland just made an absolutely crazy play — almost like slow motion — and put it on my tape and I tried to put it in.

“It’s crazy, the resilience. I’ve never been a part of a team that just has so many crazy comebacks and so many rollercoaster come-from-behind games. It says a lot about the quality of the group. When adversity hits, we just dig in and execute and make things happen.”

Suter now has a career high 24 goals and the unrestricted free agent is making a good case to gain a contract extension here. The way he dug in when it counted most won’t be forgotten.

“It wasn’t easy but we stuck with it,” said Suter. “It’s battling and believing to the end and making plays. There wasn’t much time left to tie it and it was just throwing it at the net and a fun game for us.

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“Guys worked hard. There’s excitement and just glad to get the win.”

The Canucks now have 85 points and trail Minnesota by six points for the final wild-card spot, which is actually seven because the Wild hold the tie-breaker. Each team has four games left.

The chase could end Wednesday, depending on what Minnesota does against the San Jose Sharks, but the resolve resonated with Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet.

“I love the fight in the third period and to do that is a character win for a lot of guys,” he said. “It’s huge for development. You’re sitting on the bench as a young kid and it’s 5-2 and it looks like we’re going to lose.

“We score a goal and you see the fight and there wasn’t guys hanging their heads. They were up on the bench and alive and cheering guys who were on the ice. That’s big for development.

“And Quinn was so good tonight. He controlled a lot of the play and willed himself to control the game and everybody kind of jumped on his back.”

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Hughes logged a massive 30:51 and had a pair of assists.

It was one of those nights where we were starting to wonder about a loss and what could have been if Hughes didn’t miss 14 games to injury instead of what did miraculously occur. Hughes was looking like the story because the odds overcoming the deficit seemed too great.

The lament was going to be if Hughes doesn’t suffer a series of injury setbacks while being treated like a piñata — cross-check to the face, slash to the wrist, oblique-muscle strain and trickle-down effect of that nagging and lasting ailment — are the Canucks still playing?

Well, they still are.

So save the Hughes effect story for another day. They’re not dead. They’re not done.

Here’s what we learned as Mikko Rantanen, Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene and Mavrik Bourque also scored for the Stars, while Jake DeBrusk and Victor Mancini struck on the power play for the Canucks:

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Triple penalty kill trouble

It’s been one of the best stories in a season beset by everything that has gone wrong.

A third-ranked penalty kill operating at 83.3 per cent is light-years away from those laughable days in November of 2021 when the Canucks had a historically low rate of 63.8. It kept penalty killer Jason Dickinson up at night.

Buoyed by the top pairing of Teddy Blueger and Pius Suter — so good at reading plays and getting sticks in lanes — the Canucks were on an incredible success run of 24-for-26 in their previous 12 games. Then came triple trouble in the first two periods Tuesday.

First it was Rantanen taking a cross-ice feed and his one-timer beat Thatcher Demko to the glove side to open scoring. And when the Canucks were fatigued on the next kill, Jamie Benn fed Marchment in tight and he found the short side.

In the second period, Benn was at it again. His backhand pass in the slot got to Duchene and another short-side goal.

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Timely power in their play

DeBrusk was having one of those nights.

The big winger was denied from the slot in the second period and was then banging away at a loose puck to try to get the Canucks on the board. He did on a power play early in the third period with a cheeky play.

He looked to be rounding the net for a wraparound attempt but stopped short and banked a shot off the skate of former Canucks stopper Casey DeSmith for his 25th goal, 18th on the road and 13th on the power play. He finished with four shots and six attempts.

The Canucks then came right back on a four-minute advantage. Mancini’s point shot got through a maze to find the net and, all of a sudden, there was hope to at least gain a point and stay in the playoff fight. The Canucks held a 10-0 shot advantage in the frame before the big late rally.

Every shift on every night

That coaching directive usually applies to prospects pushing for a roster spot, especially as the season winds down, to make a lasting impression.

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And if they needed incentive to see was it takes to stick in The Show, then Nils Hoglander provided it early and often. The bowling-ball winger has been much better by staying engaged rather than taking retaliatory penalties that drove Tocchet crazy.

Hoglander snapped a 34-game goal drought on Jan. 14 at Winnipeg and scored Sunday after missing six games to injury. It’s been his forechecking and playmaking that have impressed. You can’t teach that stuff, it has to come from within.

On Tuesday, he was denied on an early backhander from the slot and then did a series of twists and turns to get another shot away. He then set up Conor Garland for a heavy one-timer. All of this in the first period. He was buzzing and denied at side of he net on a third-period power play chance.

Rookie defenceman Elias Pettersson was also noticeable. His down-low positioning in the first period denied a sure goal for Sam Steel. And his moxie in the second period to drop Rantanen with a heavy endboards check — and he received a cheap shot in return — showed he has plenty of game.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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