Canucks beat Kraken, will miss playoffs 2nd straight year
Apr 26, 2022, 10:13 AM | Updated: 10:18 pm
Vancouver Canucks' Sheldon Dries, left, and Spencer Martin celebrate after the Canucks defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-2 in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 26, 2022, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists to set a franchise record for points by a Vancouver defenseman, and the Canucks beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Tuesday night, but were eliminated from playoff contention.
Dallas ensured Vancouver would miss the playoffs for a second year in a row with a 3-2 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and an assist for Vancover, while Sheldon Dries, J.T. Miller and Luke Schenn all scored and Conor Garland contributed three assists. The Canucks were playing without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko, whom coach Bruce Boudreau said had a “little bit of an ouch.” Spencer Martin stopped 31 shots for his second NHL win.
Jordan Eberle and Connor Geekie scored for the Kraken in a penalty-filled second period. Joey Daccord made 22 saves for Seattle, who lost their third straight.
Hughes capped his milestone night with a goal with four minutes left in the third. Garland sliced a pass across the slot to Hughes who tapped it in for his eighth goal of the season and his 66th point.
Hughes has 64 points, passing a mark set by Doug Lidster in 1986-87. Hughes on Saturday set a franchise record for assists by a defenseman with 56.
A lucky bounce helped the Canucks put away their fourth goal of the night.
Daccord stopped a shot in tight from Matthew Highmore, but saw the puck bounce off his stick and up over his head, landing in the crease behind him. Schenn knocked it in over the goal line 13:08 into the third to make it 4-2.
Vancouver took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission but struggled to protect the lead. The home side was outshot 26-14 across the second and third periods.
Penalties dismantled the Canucks’ game in the second. Vancouver was called for five separate infractions and had to weather three minutes and 42 seconds of five-on-three play.
The Kraken cut the deficit to a single goal 9:12 into the second. Riley Sheahan dished a puck to Geekie from along the end boards and the forward sent a shot up and over Martin’s glove to make it 3-2.
Seattle got on the board with a power-play tally 4:59 into the period after Brad Richardson was called for tripping.
Eberle sent a shot into the top corner from in tight for his 20th goal in a Kraken jersey.
Vancouver was 1 for 3 with the man advantage Tuesday and Seattle went 1 for 8.
Ekman-Larsson gave the Canucks a 3-0 advantage with a power-play goal midway through the first after Carson Soucy was called for cross-checking.
NOTES
Seattle defenSeman Vince Dunn missed the game and is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. … Kraken right-winger Daniel Sprong played his 200th NHL regular-season game. … The Canucks, playing their first game in Vancouver since the death of Guy Lafleur on Friday, played a video tribute for the hockey legend.
UP NEXT
Kraken: Host Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.
Canucks: Host Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
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