Quinn Hughes rescues Canucks, keeps slim playoff hopes alive in 5-4 win over Vegas

When Shea Theodore tied the game with 41 seconds left to go on Tuesday night, it felt like a backbreaker for the Vancouver Canucks.

One of those goals that sucked the life out of Rogers Arena, with an overtime win seemingly inevitable for the Golden Knights.

But then along came Quinn Hughes, Bo Horvat and Conor Garland. It was Horvat leaving the puck for Garland while also setting the perfect pick, Garland driving the net, and Hughes waiting out the sprawled Robin Lehner before elevating the puck for his first goal in almost two months.

On a night where Dallas and Los Angeles also won, it was a two points that the Canucks desperately needed in order to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, even though the blown 4-2 lead did give Vegas one point as well.

Vancouver got off and running quickly in the first period, right after an early penalty was called on the Golden Knights. Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the puck eventually made its way to Horvat in the bumper, who buried his 31st goal of the year, with the assists going to Alex Chiasson and J.T. Miller.

Unfortunately, Vegas answered back, as Alec Martinez redirected a shot that Thatcher Demko never saw, evening the score at 1-1 after the first period.

Enter Elias Pettersson.

The young Swede first hit the scoreboard on the powerplay, finding Vasily Podkolzin in front of the net for the pretty tap-in tally.

It was the first goal in a month for the Russia rookie, but that doesn’t even begin to depict his play over the past few contests.

Podkolzin has elevated his game and then some lately, looking more and more like the player the Canucks want him to be. He’s oozing confidence and probably could have had a couple more goals in this game.

Hughes also got an assist on the goal, giving him a new career high with 54 points, a number he’d later add onto with the OT winner.

Less than two minutes later, it was Pettersson again. The former Calder Trophy winner exploded into the offensive zone and uncorked a shot from the point. After bouncing around behind Lehner, the goal was originally ruled against Vancouver but, upon review, it was clear the puck had crossed the line, giving Pettersson his 26th goal of the season.

But just over a minute later, Vegas pulled back within one when a pinball shot deflected off of Horvat, then off of Mike Amadio and past Demko.

It tightened things up, with Vegas pushing to knot the game in the second.

Fortunately, Pettersson wasn’t done.

After breaking up a play in the defensive zone and accelerating up the ice, Pettersson was able to create a 2-on-1 with Brad Richardson.

Pettersson waited and waited and waited, drawing Lehner out to challenge. Everyone in the building naturally thought he was going to shoot but, with all eyes on him, Pettersson casually slid the puck over to Richardson for the easy tap-in, giving him three points, five shots on goal and a pair of hits on the night.

More importantly, Pettersson now has 32 points in his last 23 games and, at this rate, may even hit 30 goals for the first time in his career. Pretty good for a guy who “may as well have been playing in the AHL” a few months ago, according to a few analysts.

But Vegas didn’t go away, caving the Canucks in for most of the third period while also forcing Demko to stand on his head. While it wasn’t Lehner’s best game, he did make a crucial late stop on Pettersson in the final minutes which led to Theodore tying the game.

Even with the Hughes’ OT winner, there is still a cold, hard truth that looms over the organization: time is running out on Vancouver.

The Canucks are six points back of the Stars in the wildcard and six points back of the Kings in the Pacific Division. Vancouver does have a game in hand on Los Angeles, but also has one less game remaining than Dallas.

Simply put, the Canucks are running out of real estate.

Their margin for error is almost none, and Monday’s game against Dallas could either open the door a little more, or be the last nail in the coffin.

Of course, Thursday’s game against Arizona is incredibly important as well. Lose that, and Monday’s game won’t matter at all.

Puck drop is set for 7:00pm PST.

What are your thoughts from Tuesday’s 5-4 OT win against Vegas? Let us know in the comments!