VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Elias Pettersson can be a tough critic.
Pettersson was asked how good goaltender Jacob Markstrom was in the Vancouver Canucks’ 1-0 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night.
“He can always be better,” said Pettersson, managing to keep a straight face for a few seconds.
“I’m just kidding. He was awesome.”
Pettersson won the game with a goal 40 seconds into overtime to collect his 100th NHL point and Markstrom made 43 saves for his first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career.
“It’s not a pretty win, but it’s a huge two points for us,” said Pettersson, last year’s rookie of the year who played in his 103rd game. “Maybe they had the most chances (but) Marky stood on his head all game long. It’s just great we can win a game like this.”Carolina outshot Vancouver 42-24, yet the teams were still locked in a scoreless tie through regulation.
The Canucks (16-12-4) improved to 4-4-0 in their last eight games.
The Hurricanes (19-11-2) had their three-game win streak snapped. Carolina is 10-4-1 in the last 15 games.
Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 43 saves for first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career.
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said Markstrom was the difference.
“We just didn’t capitalize,” he said. “We had plenty of opportunities and just didn’t find a way to get it in.
“We hit a hot goalie. He was the difference in the game. He was phenomenal. So, you tip your hat and you move on.”
Hurricane goalie Petr Mrazek stopped 25 shots.
The Hurricanes looked poised to score the game’s first goal when defenseman Brett Pesce had a breakaway at 8:40 of the third, but Markstrom made a stop with his blocker. Just a few minutes later, Vancouver’s Jake Virtanen had a breakaway. Mrazek made the stop, but still looked behind him to make sure the puck hadn’t squeezed through his pads.
The Hurricanes outshot Vancouver 22-7 in the second period.
Besides making several big saves, Markstrom provided some excitement in the second period when he dashed from his net in a bid to beat Carolina’s Warren Foegele to a loose puck. Foegele attempted to chip the puck over a sprawling Markstrom, but the netminder got a piece of it. The puck rolled into the corner and Markstrom managed to scramble back to his net.
There was a comical moment later in the period when, after making another stop, Markstrom lost the puck in his equipment. Tim Schaller finally retrieved it by reaching down the goaltender’s back.
Carolina had three second-period power plays. Sebastian Aho looked to have scored on a delayed penalty at 7:53, but the whistle had blown a fraction of a second earlier when the referee believed the Canucks had gained control of the puck.
In the third period, Aho had good scoring chance from the slot, but Markstrom denied him with a glove save.
Despite being on the power play three times, the Canucks were outshot 8-5 in a scoreless first period.
Early on, Canucks captain Bo Horvat had a breakaway from the hashmarks, but Mrazek made a blocker save. A few minutes later, Carolina’s Julien Gauthier stole the puck from defenseman Tyler Myers at the blue line. Gauthier skated into the Canucks zone, fought off a check by Myers, and fired a low, hard shot that Markstrom gloved.
Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers said the game was closer than the shots indicated.
“It was a strange one,” he said. “It wasn’t as lopsided as the shots showed. Marky made some Grade A saves and kept us in it.”
NOTES: The Canucks called up goaltender Michael DiPietro from Utica of the AHL after Thatcher Demko suffered a concussion in practice Wednesday. … Vancouver forward Micheal Ferland (upper body) was injured Tuesday night in his second game back after missing 17 games with a concussion. Head coach Travis Green said he is not in concussion protocol. … Carolina forward Ryan Dzingel played in his 300th NHL game. …The Hurricanes have never beaten the Canucks in overtime, having lost nine times and tied six times.
Up Next
Hurricanes: At Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Canucks: At San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
