Canucks force OT, but fall to Islanders
Ladd scores winner to down Vancouver, 4-3
VANCOUVER — Andrew Ladd scored at 1:33 of overtime as the New York Islanders defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Thursday night.
Calvin de Haan fed Ladd in the extra period for a tap-in winner after the Canucks had a couple of chances at the other end.
John Tavares, Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson scored in regulation for New York (32-23-11). Thomas Greiss made 36 saves.
Josh Bailey added three assists for the Islanders, who moved a point ahead of Toronto for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after briefly dropping out of a playoff position following the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers earlier Thursday.
Troy Stecher, with a goal and an assist, Reid Boucher and Sven Baertschi had the goals for Vancouver (28-30-9). Ryan Miller made 24 saves.
New York improved to 15-6-3 since Doug Weight was named interim head coach after Jack Capuano was fired Jan. 17. The Islanders are also 5-2-1 on their season-high nine-game road trip, which wraps up on Saturday in St. Louis.
Down 3-2 late in the third, Stecher ripped a shot past Greiss for his third of the season with just 19.3 left in regulation to tie it.
The Canucks turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage early in the second when Boucher scored his third after collecting his rebound and banging a shot past Greiss.
Baertschi then gave Vancouver its first lead just 1:56 later on a play that left Tavares wearing goat horns. The Islanders captain threw a blind pass into the slot that Baertschi intercepted before quickly beating a surprised Greiss with a slick move to the backhand. The goal was Baertschi’s 16th of the season and third in five games since returning from a concussion.
But the Islanders got back even at 9:44 when Vancouver’s Jason Megna lost the puck in the offensive zone and New York quickly turned the other way, with Beauvillier dekeing Miller on a breakaway for his seventh.
Nelson’s goal came on a weird play with 23.8 seconds left in the second when the Islanders’ centre tipped a point shot that deflected off Stecher and bounced past a helpless Miller for his 15th of the season.
The play was eerily similar to the overtime goal scored by Montreal’s Paul Byron in the Canadiens’ 2-1 victory in Vancouver on Tuesday.
After Nelson gave his team the a 3-2 edge late in the second, Miller kept the Canucks in it by stopping Tavares on a 2-on-1 midway through the third. The Vancouver goalie also blocked Tavares on the rebound and then another follow-up chance off the stick of Anders Lee.
Greiss made a diving stick save on Henrik Sedin with about six minutes remaining in regulation, but he couldn’t stop Stecher’s last-minute blast.
The Islanders led 1-0 after the first despite getting outshot 14-4 and thoroughly outplayed for long stretches.
Following a number of stellar stops from Greiss, New York broke through when Tavares took a cross-ice feed from Bailey and beat an out-of-position Miller for his 25th at 15:01.
Sitting seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the West thanks to a 2-0-1 run following four straight losses, the Canucks came out flying and will feel hard done by they weren’t able to grab the lead.
Greiss stopped Megna on a breakaway, Markus Granlund on a chance off the rush and Baertschi from the slot as Vancouver held a 9-2 shot edge just over eight minutes into the game.
NOTES: Greiss made his eighth straight start . . . . Vancouver defenceman Nikita Tryamkin returned to the lineup after missing six games with the mumps . . . . The Canucks host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.