Hronek stopped on OT penalty shot as Canucks fall to Coyotes
Published
The Vancouver Canucks lost 4-3 in overtime against the Arizona Coyotes Wednesday, with Logan Cooley's game-winner coming just 30 seconds after defenceman Filip Hronek was stopped on a penalty shot.
Hronek was pulled to the ground after he got behind the Coyotes defence with the Canucks shorthanded in overtime. He faked a slapshot on his shootout attempt before eventually being outwaited by Connor Ingram as he worked to the Coyotes goaltender's glove side.
“When you have a chance to end the game like that, especially in overtime, you want to capitalize on that chance,” Cooley said, per NHL.com. “If [Ingram] doesn't make that save, we are not having this conversation, so props to him and props to (Dylan Guenther) too, for making a [heck] of a play and finding me.”
The Canucks, who lead the Pacific Division, trailed 3-1 against the Coyotes in the third period before rallying with two goals in the final nine minutes of the frame to force overtime.
After picking up a key win over the Vegas Golden Knights Monday, the Canucks failed once again to post consecutive wins, having last done so in a three-game winning streak from March 19-23.
“Obviously, the way we played today wasn’t playoff hockey and wasn’t good enough,” said forward Elias Lindholm, who returned from injury Wednesday. “And obviously we have three more games to put ourselves in a good spot and feel good about our game and get some confidence. We’re going to play some good teams, so it’s going to be a big stretch for us here.”
“We made a push at the end,” head coach Rick Tocchet added, critiquing his team's performance. “ I don’t think we went to the net in the first two periods. Third period we had urgency.”
With the Edmonton Oilers earning a 5-1 win on the Golden Knights, the Canucks lead in the division race dropped to four points, with Edmonton holding two games in hand. The two teams will meet Saturday in the third last game of the season for the Canucks.