Boeser wore a jersey honoring his late father, Duke, who died in May, in warmups for the Canucks' Hockey Fights Cancer night. He said he had the date circled on his calendar, making the planned scratch even worse.
"It hurt hard and it hurt bad," said Boeser, who got a call at 3 p.m. that he was back in the lineup. "So when I got the call, it was a moment. Everything happens for a reason. I knew I needed to make the most of it. … It felt really good, and obviously it's a night that means a lot to me and my family. So I'm just happy I got in, and to be able to score was the cherry on top."
Vejmelka stopped Pettersson on a partial breakaway with 15 seconds left in the third period and Boeser in alone two minutes into overtime.
"Really key saves at crunch time, for sure," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said.