Hoglander scores twice as Canucks too hot for Flames
Nils Hoglander scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks doused the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Saturday.
J.T. Miller recorded his team-leading 34th goal of the season, Elias Lindholm scored into an empty net, and Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland each contributed a pair of assists for the Canucks (45-18-8).
Rasmus Andersson and Joel Hanley replied for the Flames (33-31-5), who hadn’t played since suffering a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday.
Making his fifth-straight start in place of the injured Thatcher Demko, Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith stopped 22-of-24 shots and improved to 11-5-6 on the season.
Jacob Markstrom had 22 saves in his first start since March 9. The Flames netminder missed five games with a lower-body injury
The Canucks remain at the top of the Western Conference standings, three points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
Calgary pulled Markstrom after the Canucks went up 3-1 late in the third period and Lindholm capitalized, sending a shot into the empty net for his 13th goal of the campaign at the 18:50 mark.
Vancouver boosted its cushion to two goals with a power-play tally 16:42 into the final frame.
Miller went one-on-one with Oliver Kylington and the Calgary blue liner took out the Canucks forward as he charged the net, drawing a call for tripping. Nine seconds into the man advantage, Miller blasted a one-timer up and over Markstrom’s glove.
DeSmith preserved Vancouver’s lead with just under seven minutes to go in the game, knocking down a Jonathan Huberdeau shot from the slot. He then swept the rebound out of the crease before Martin Pospisil could tip it into the net.
The Flames had an opportunity to level the score when Miller was called for tripping midway through the third.
Weegar blasted a shot on net from just inside the blue line, only to see DeSmith pluck the puck out of the air with his glove.
The Flames went 0-for-2 on the power play Saturday while the Canucks were 1-for-2.
Vancouver has killed 10 penalties in a row going back to a 4-3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on March 13.