Hughes, Canucks win in OT, hand Islanders 6th straight loss

VANCOUVER -- Quinn Hughes scored at 2:36 of overtime for the Vancouver Canucks, who handed the New York Islanders their sixth straight loss with a 4-3 win at Rogers Arena on Wednesday.

Hughes, who also had two assists, took a pass from J.T. Miller and beat Ilya Sorokin high glove side on a breakaway.

“[Miller] just saw me and made a great pass,” Hughes said. “We want those moments. [Elias Pettersson] wants those moments. I want them. [Miller], Brock (Boeser) and [Filip Hronek], we're excited to be out there."

Miller and Boeser each also had a goal and two assists, and Thatcher Demko made 30 saves for the Canucks (12-3-1), who are 10-1-1 in their past 12 games.

“We believe in ourselves,” said Hughes, the Vancouver captain. “We think we have a really good team, and there was a feeling we were going to win that game the entire game (despite falling behind by two goals).”

Bo Horvat scored in his return to Vancouver for the Islanders (5-6-4), who are 0-4-2 during their losing streak. Sorokin made 39 saves.

“It's tough not to feel [like here we go again] when things are going the way they are,” Horvat said. “The frustrating part is 5-on-5 we're not playing bad hockey.”

Pierre Engvall scored his first goal of the season to give New York a 1-0 lead at 7:30 of the first period. He took a cross-ice pass from Oliver Wahlstrom on a power play and scored five-hole from the left circle after his shot deflected off the stick of Canucks forward Dakota Joshua.

Brock Nelson made it 2-0 with another power-play goal at 8:52, getting his own rebound along the goal line and scoring with a backhand that deflected in off the stick of Hughes.

It was the first game this season with two goals on the power play for the Islanders, who didn't get another opportunity with the man-advantage the rest of the game.

“It's a shame we didn't get another one or two opportunities to add to that,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “Both units looked good."

Miller cut it to 2-1 on a power play at 4:39 of the second period. He buried a one-timer from the right face-off dot off a cross-ice pass from Pettersson.

Horvat responded to make it 3-1 at 8:33, scoring with his own one-timer from the right face-off dot off a return pass from Mathew Barzal.

Horvat, who played his first nine NHL seasons with the Canucks before he was traded to the Islanders on Jan. 30, received a standing ovation from fans and players on both benches following a video tribute at 6:11 of the first period.

“It definitely felt good, I'm not going to lie,” Horvat said. “It was an emotional night.

“It brought back a ton of memories and the whole tribute and everybody, the way they reacted, it just meant a lot to me. It was pretty special and I had a lot of good times here, a lot of firsts and a lot of memories, so it was a special night. Too bad we couldn't get the two points, but one I won't forget.”

Boeser cut it to 3-2 at 11:03 with a one-timer from the right hash marks off a saucer pass from Miller on a power play.

“Against these diamond [penalty kills], you got to have motion,” Miller said. “I know [coach Rick Tocchet] really likes motion. He calls it road hockey sometimes. When we do that, sometimes our skill takes over.”

Hronek tied it 3-3 at 8:30 of the third period with a slap shot through a screen during a 5-on-3 power play. It was his first goal of the season and extended his point streak to 11 games (one goal, 13 assists).

Hronek’s goal came after Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson (slashing) and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (tripping) were assessed penalties on the same play.

“You can't take two penalties on the same play. It just can't happen. Too good of a power player to do that," Lambert said.

“I didn't like our penalty killing. I thought we were too passive. I think when you are getting scored on, you start to sit back. That's what happened a little bit.”

NOTES: Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko left at 7:35 of the third period after he was hit on the chin by a slap shot from Miller. Tocchet said he would likely go to the hospital but that “the good thing, if there’s any positive, is he walked to where he was going." … Miller (10 goals, 16 assists), Hughes (six goals, 20 assists) and Pettersson (seven goals, 19 assists) are tied for the NHL lead with 26 points this season. ... Boeser's goal was his 13th this season, tying him with Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets for the NHL lead. ... Vancouver is 13-for-33 (39.4 percent) on the power play in its past seven games. ... Canucks center Pius Suter (undisclosed) was a late scratch. Tocchet said he is day to day. ... Sorokin made his second straight start after splitting the previous nine games with Semyon Varlamov, who is likely to start Thursday in the second of a back-to-back against the Seattle Kraken.