VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Tyler Toffoli scored his second goal of the game 3:27 into overtime and the Calgary Flames rallied to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Friday night.
Troy Stecher had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Huberdeau and Blake Coleman also scored for the Flames, who faced deficits of 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3 before getting their first three-game win streak since Dec. 7. Mikael Backlund had two assists and Jacob Markstrom finished with 14 saves.
Calgary remained two points out of a playoff spot with five games left in the regular season.
Elias Pettersson, Conor Garland, Anthony Beauvillier and Aidan McDonough all scored for Vancouver, which lost its second straight in overtime to fall to 3-0-2 in its last five games. Thatcher Demko stopped 36 shots.
In the extra period, Backlund sprung Toffoli for a breakaway and the Flames forward made no mistakes, putting a shot up and over Demko to end the game.
The Flames forced overtime with a late power-play goal after Pettersson was called for high-sticking. Noah Hanifin sent a hard shot off the end boards from the point and the puck bounced to Huberdeau, who fired it past Demko from the bottom of the faceoff circle, tying the score 4-4 with 3:13 remaining in the third period.
Flames were 1 for 6 with the man advantage and the Canucks went 1 for 2.
Vancouver was outshot 11-6 in the first period, but led 1-0 going into the first intermission.
Garland picked the puck off Backlund’s stick 8:30 into the game and sprinted into Calgary territory on a breakaway, firing a shot under Markstrom’s glove to open the scoring with his 14th goal of the season.
Pettersson made it 2-0 with a power-play goal 36 seconds into the second as he blasted a rocket past Markstrom from the top of the faceoff circle for his 36th goal of the season. It extended his point streak to a career-high 14 games, with eight goals and 12 assists in the stretch.
Andrew Mangiapane sent Toffoli a pass across the slot and the former Canucks player tucked a backhanded shot in for his career-high 32nd to get the Flames on the scoreboard at 2:55 of the second.
The Flames tied it about six minutes later as Backlund’s shot ricocheted of Demko’s pad and Coleman batted the puck in from the top of the crease for his 18th. Stecher, a British Columbia native, had an assist on the play for his 100th regular-season NHL point.
The Canucks took a 3-2 lead when McDonough got his first NHL goal with 7:48 remaining in the middle period. Sheldon Dries set up the goal, taking a backhanded shot from his knees at the side of the crease that Markstrom stopped. However, the rebound popped out to McDonough, who fired a wrist shot.
Stecher tied it with 4:08 left in the period as he got a cross-ice pass from Nazem Kadri and fired a shot past Demko for his second.
The Canucks went ahead again just 14 seconds later as Nils Aman found Beauvillier at the side of the net on a 2-on-1, and Beauvillier fired a quick shot in behind Markstrom.
Vancouver led 4-3 after 40 minutes despite being outshot 26-12. Calgary had 11-2 edge in the third period.
HOCKEY PRIDE
The Canucks held their annual Pride night, featuring themed warm-up jerseys, special entertainment before and during the game, and video messages from people in the LGBTQ community.
Vancouver forward Andrei Kuzmenko skipped warm-ups in order to avoid wearing the special uniforms, designed by a local artist. He’s the latest NHL player to refuse to wear a Pride jersey this season.
HRONEK OUT
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said defenseman Filip Hronek is likely done for the season as he works his way back from a shoulder injury.
“There’s really no reason for him to come back,” Tocchet said. “If this were a playoff game, he’d be in the game. But it’s not a playoff game. … He’s going to have a long time to get his shoulder perfect.”
The 25-year-old has one assist in four games for Vancouver since being acquired by the Canucks ahead of the NHL trade deadline in March. He didn’t play for his new team until March 28 because of the shoulder injury.
UP NEXT
Flames: Host Anaheim on Sunday in the opener of a two-game homestand.
Canucks: Host Los Angeles on Sunday in the second of a five-game homestand.
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The Associated Press