LOS ANGELES — Despite all the crap the Vancouver Canucks have been through this season, they had seen nothing like the river of filth that poured along the entrance to their dressing room when a sewage pipe burst at Crypto.com Arena just before their game Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Everything but Andy Dufresne spilled across the hallway that takes players out of the rink. And just like Tim Robbins’ character from Shawshank Redemption, the Canucks came out clean on the other side. Just.
Conor Garland sniped a goal at 4:26 of overtime, shooting through Los Angeles defenceman Brandt Clarke and past goalie David Rittich, as the Canucks beat the Kings 3-2 to claim both vital points after blowing a 2-0 lead halfway though the third period.
After losing 10 games this season during three-on-three (or four-on-three) overtime, the Canucks found a novel way to win in the tie-breaker: skating four-on-four in the aftermath of Drew O’Connor’s tripping penalty 52 seconds into the extra frame.
Not only was it Vancouver’s first win since the 4 Nations tournament, it was captain Quinn Hughes’ first game since suffering what has been reported as an oblique muscle injury on Jan. 31.
So, two points for the Canucks, 21:38 of ice time for Hughes, and a win against a Kings team that Vancouver is chasing in the National Hockey League standings.
No wonder the stink was gone from the dressing room by the time the game ended.
“We know where we’re at,” Garland told reporters post-game. “We’ve got to win hockey games. When they scored two in the third, obviously you can get nervous. But we’re a veteran group and guys enjoy that kind of hockey — that kind of tightness (in) a game, so it’s nice to pull out a win like that.”
“I mean, it’s a massive win,” Hughes said. “We need it. Now we can finish the trip 3-2, so that’s what we’ll try to do.”
Back in the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Canucks can even their five-game road trip at 2-2 by beating the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. Their tour ends Saturday in Seattle against the Kraken.
In 25 home games this season, the Kings have dropped only nine of 50 points. But the Canucks have taken three of them, which is why they are within five of Los Angeles in the standings.
“We needed those points to get back on track here,” Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen said. “It feels like every game is like a playoff game now. That’s our mentality, at least. I was proud of the battle tonight. The PK was unreal, and Mysie leading the way there in overtime, showing everybody what it takes to win. Just a huge, huge leadership example for us.”
The Canucks killed eight minutes of power-play time for the Kings, including two late in the third period after coach Rick Tocchet unsuccessfully challenged for goalie interference on Warren Foegele’s tying goal for Los Angeles at 14:01, and the two in OT after O’Connor tripped Kevin Fiala while knocking the puck off the King’s stick on a scoring chance.
“Mysie” is defenceman Tyler Myers, a key penalty-killer who had to be helped off the ice in OT after Fiala’s close-range power-play shot struck the Canuck on the side of his throat.
Myers was gasping and coughing as he was led to the dressing room, but said later he was OK. With a large red welt on his neck, Myers said the puck struck a nerve, causing dizziness that had the veteran close to passing out.
But he should be available to play against the Ducks. So should Hughes, who was a late inclusion in the lineup as Tocchet went with seven defencemen and 11 forwards.
“The back to back, coming off the injury, I’ve got to be a little bit careful,” Hughes said. “I think I just felt good enough in warmups where I felt like I could, you know, play smart and get through the game. As the next couple of days go, (I want to) ramp my game up.”
Hughes missed nearly four weeks with the most serious injury of his career, but only six games for the Canucks due to the NHL’s February break.
“I mean, very frustrating,” he said. “It’s a slow process, day by day. I’m really thankful to our medical group who did a great job with me. I’m just going to have to keep building. Can’t say I felt my best tonight, but I got through the game and hopefully I can build confidence from there.”
“I think it boosts everybody’s confidence,” Lankinen said of the return of one of the best players in hockey. “The other team must be more alert when he’s on the ice as well, so that creates more space for everybody else. He’s just a really special player and a really big piece of us.”
Foegele’s tying goal came on a deflection less than five minutes after Adrian Kempe had snatched a goal back for the Kings by backing up the Canucks defence with his speed before lasering a shot past Lankinen’s glove at 9:16.
Nils Hoglander opened scoring for Vancouver at 9:56 of the first period, cutting across the top of the slot on a two-on-two rush started by defenceman Derek Forbort’s crisp lead pass and flipping the puck into the top corner.
With his first point in seven games, Garland made it 2-0 at 13:07 of the middle period, charging to the net on a power play to convert Filip Chytil’s pass to the low slot. Chytil nearly won the game for Vancouver late in regulation time, but his shot through Rittich’s pads tumbled off the post and settled near the goal line before Kings defenceman Jordan Spence cleared the puck.
Shots were 13-12 for Los Angeles through two periods. It was low-event hockey that was close to no-event hockey at times, which was perfect for a road team leading 2-0. But shots in the third period were 11-4 for the Kings, which was far from perfect.
The Canucks have been far from perfect most of the season, but here they are still in a playoff spot despite the excrement they have endured.
