In Conor Garland’s 400th NHL game, he scored his 100th career goal and then scored his 101st for the game-winning goal.
His energy was infectious throughout the game and Rogers Arena erupted in “Conor Garland” chants during the game.
“The [number of] games are nice, obviously I don't take any for granted, I worked pretty hard to get here so I enjoy every day of it. Hopefully there's a lot more but like I said, it's just a nice number to get to but there's a long way to go and just try and play well each and every day,” Garland said.
Head Coach Rick Tocchet praised Garland’s work on the ice, saying he was “terrific” and drove play, and doesn’t shy away from getting to the areas where points are hard-earned.
Vancouver was down 2-0 early in the game and the Canucks forward said against a tough team like Vegas it can be hard to come back, but there’s a lot of belief in the room with the way their team can play.
“To do that was big time job by our power play. They were snapping it around up top and just good to get a couple shots that ended up going through,” he said.
J.T. Miller had an assist on Garland’s second goal, bringing his point total to 100 this season. In the 2021-2022 season, he had 99 points and Garland shared that in a game against Edmonton he missed three or four shots in the third period that could have put his linemate into the triple-digit club, so it was fitting that he scored off Miller’s assist.
It’s the first time in Miller’s career he’s hit the century club for points in a season.
“We put in too much work in the summer and during the season to become a good hockey team to worry about milestones. They're great now, something we can celebrate in summer, but we have work to do, and I was really just happy that when we gave up two tonight, we didn't crumble. We persevered and stayed with it. And even if we didn't come out with a winner like the way we played out after that tonight it was a step in the right direction for the group,” Miller said.
Tocchet said it was a well-balanced game in all respects and put together a solid third period against the defending Stanley Cup champs. The Canucks were calm when the pressure hits which will help them in the playoffs.
"If you want to go far, you're going to have to come from behind, and you're going have to do special things. And that's just the way it is,” Tocchet said.
Artūrs Šilovs stuck with a tough start to get the win, turning aside 20 of the 23 shots he faced.
Game Recap
In the first the Golden Knights got two goals from Jack Eichel for a quick two-goal lead, but Garland scored off a rebound on the power play and Hughes scored on a subsequent power play to tie the game 2-2 heading into the first break.
