Canucks lose to Senators in shootout, gain in wild card race

VANCOUVER -- The Ottawa Senators ended the Vancouver Canucks' six-game winning streak with a 4-3 shootout victory at Rogers Arena on Tuesday.

Alex Formenton scored twice, and Nikita Zaitsev had two assists for the Senators (29-41-7), who were coming off a 4-2 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Monday. Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves for his first win since Nov. 13 (lost previous eight games).
"We just played with way more emotion," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "We knew it was an important game for them, and we haven't played in a whole lot of them, and you can see our guys, we got down early but we stayed with it."
Former Canucks forward Adam Gaudette scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout, making a quick move to change the angle before shooting under Demko's glove.
"I thought he was going to be cheating a little more, to be honest," said Gaudette, who hadn't played since the second period but got the shootout call because he was familiar with Demko.
"I worked on that move a lot when I was here. I worked close with [goaltending coach] Ian Clark, who sat me down, showed me some video on that type of move, so I had it in mind and I just stuck with it."

J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser each had a goal and an assist, and Quinn Hughes had two assists in his 200th NHL game for the Canucks (38-28-11), who defeated the Dallas Stars 6-2 on Monday.
The Canucks moved four points behind the Stars for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference but fell five points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific Division after the Kings defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 on Tuesday.
"We still have to win," Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Nothing's really changed. We were going to be allowed one mulligan somewhere along the road. We've responded really well in the past. … This is a group that's fought for four-and-a-half months, almost five months now, and they're not going to quit now."
Jaroslav Halak saved all 14 shots in the first period before leaving with an upper-body injury. He was replaced at the start of the second period by Thatcher Demko, who made 14 saves.
Halak threw off his blocker and shook out his hand after a scramble in the crease with 1:30 left but played the rest of the period. Boudreau said Halak likely won't travel with the team for a two-game road trip that starts against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Miller put the Canucks ahead 1-0 six seconds into a power play at 1:55 of the first period, using a Boeser screen to score his 30th goal of the season.

Boeser made it 2-0 at 15:14, one-timing a pass from defenseman Brad Hunt below the goal line into the slot shortly after another power play ended, but Gustavsson saved all 16 shots in the second period.
"What I liked the most is that he battled back from 2-0," Smith said. "The first goal wasn't a good goal, he's peaking the wrong way, and then you want him to maybe have the second one, and then he just shuts the door. So that's huge confidence for him, the players behind him, everyone involved. That's a great, gutsy win."
Formenton deflected Zaitsev's point shot past Demko from the top of the crease to cut the lead to 2-1 at 4:04. It was his first goal in 12 games.
Parker Kelly tied it 2-2 at 2:17 of the third period with a one-timer from the slot that hit the crossbar and bounced in off the back of Demko, and Formenton scored on a breakaway at 3:49 to put the Senators ahead 3-2.
"It was really nice to get the two [goals]," Formenton said. "It was even better for us to pull off that win. … Every time we win I think it's a confidence builder for us."

Travis Dermott scored his first goal in 13 games with the Canucks to tie it 3-3 at 6:47, pinching into the slot to convert a Boeser pass from behind the net.
"We need every point but not much changes for us," Miller said. "It's pretty unrealistic to think you're going to win 13 games in a row to get into the playoffs. Got a point, came from behind there. We've played a lot of hockey. That team plays really hard, pushed us all the way to the end."
NOTES:Gustavsson, who was making his first start since March 19, had been sent to Belleville of the American Hockey League four times since his last win. … Vancouver called up goalie Spencer Martin on an emergency basis before the game, but Boudreau wouldn't say which goalie wasn't completely healthy, only that Martin was sent back down when it was determined he wasn't needed. … Canucks forward Alex Chiasson missed a second straight game after being a late scratch with a non-COVID illness Monday. … Hughes has 61 points to become the third defenseman in Canucks history to top 60 (Doug Lidster, 63, 1986-87; Dennis Kearns, 60, 1976-77), and he tied Kearns for the most assists by a Canucks defenseman with 55. … Miller has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in the past 14 games. … Dermott was acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 20. … Vancouver forward Conor Garland had his six-game point streak end (eight points; three goals, five assists). … It was the 1,000th win in Senators history. They are 1,000-981-176 with 115 ties in 2,272 games in 30 NHL seasons.