DALLAS — Kiefer Sherwood scored with 1:16 left in overtime after Pius Suter scored two of Vancouver’s three 6-on-5 goals in the final minute of regulation, and the Canucks made NHL history by stunning the Dallas Stars 6-5 on Tuesday night.
Suter’s second goal tied the score 5-5 with 5.2 seconds remaining and sent Vancouver into the record books. According to ESPN Research, the Canucks are the first team in NHL history to overcome a three-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation.
“It was not easy, but we stuck with it,” Suter said in his postgame interview for Vancouver’s official website. “We had a couple of nice power-play goals, and then at the end, we were just battling and believing until the end.”
Aatu Raty began the late rally by scoring with exactly a minute left in the third period, while Jake DeBrusk and Victor Mancini scored power-play goals early in the third for the Canucks, who preserved their slim playoff hopes. Thatcher Demko made 23 saves for Vancouver.
“Obviously, it was a fun game for us,” Suter said. “There’s a lot of excitement, and we’re just glad to get one of those, especially because that was a really good team over there.”
Sherwood concurred.
“Says a lot about the group,” Sherwood said in the Canucks locker room. “When adversity hits, we just dig in. Guys were able to execute and make stuff happen.”
With the win, Vancouver is six points behind the Minnesota Wild for the Western Conference’s No. 2 wild-card slot.
Mikko Rantanen, Mason Marchment and Matt Duchene scored power-play goals for the Stars during the first two periods, while Mavrik Bourque and Mikael Granlund scored in the final three minutes. Casey DeSmith stopped 26 shots for Dallas, which is four points behind first-place Winnipeg in the Central Division and will host the Jets on Thursday.
Granlund, whose goal was an empty-netter, also had two assists for the Stars. Duchene became Dallas’ fourth 30-goal scorer; the Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning are the only NHL clubs in that category this season.
But the home team wasn’t in the mood to talk about statistics after this one.
“I’ve won and lost a lot of games in this league,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “I don’t think I’ve ever lost one in that fashion before.”
Stars captain Jamie Benn, who grew up about 70 miles west of Vancouver, in Victoria, British Columbia, called the loss “unacceptable.”
“That game should have been wrapped up,” Benn said. “We should have found a way to get it done there.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
