Garland completes 1st NHL hat trick in OT, lifts Canucks past Coyotes

TEMPE, Ariz. --Conor Garland completed a hat trick in overtime, and the Vancouver Canucks recovered for a 5-4 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Thursday.

Garland scored at 1:19 on a backhand after he cut down the slot. It was his first NHL hat trick in 322 games, including 164 with the Coyotes.
"'Gars' has been working hard. He's a guy that for his size (5-foot-10) plays with a lot of heart. He was a good player for me in Arizona (2018-21), and he's been a good player for me in Vancouver," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said.

J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, Quinn Hughes had three assists, and Collin Delia made 24 saves for Vancouver (38-37-7), which won four of its final five games.
"It was kind of a weird game," Tocchet said. "I thought the Coyotes worked really hard, especially in the second and third [periods]. We got the win, but it was one of those games where I think both teams wanted to get the season over with."
Liam O'Brien scored twice, Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist, and Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves for Arizona (28-40-14), which lost 11 of its final 12 games (1-8-3).
"We wanted to be as professional as possible and keep your focus on the game and play 82 games, not 81 or 80," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "I'm really proud of the way we battled, the boys they never quit; and it would have been easy tonight, they were down (4-1) early."
O'Brien cut it to 4-3 at 9:54 of the second when he deflected a point shot by Michael Kesselring, who had two assists for his first NHL multipoint game.
Schmaltz tied it 4-4 at 16:40 of the third, scoring from the left face-off dot through a screen.
"We came back from 4-1 and I thought we had control of the game too, so it's kind of tough to lose that one in overtime," O'Brien said.

Elias Pettersson gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 3:53 of the first period when he cut across the crease and scored on a backhand after receiving a pass from Hughes.
O'Brien tied it 1-1 at 5:08 by batting the rebound of a point shot by Kesselring for his first goal in 44 games (Nov. 8).
"'O.B.' was great tonight, got some big hits, some big goals there," Arizona forward Clayton Keller said. "[He] got the bench going and I was proud with the way we fought there."
Garland restored Vancouver's lead to 2-1 at 8:03 on a power play, scoring on a one-timer glove side from the right circle off a pass from Anthony Beauvillier.
Miller made it 3-1 on a power play at 12:21. He scored with a wrist shot short side from above the left circle that got through a screen by Brock Boeser.

Garland extended it to 4-1 at 14:16 when a shot-pass by Kyle Burroughs deflected off his skate in the slot before Travis Boyd cut it to 4-2 at 19:53, scoring from the low slot on a pass by Keller from behind the goal line.
"There were a lot of good things, and some stuff we have to work on," Tocchet said. "We have a ways to go. We've got four months to get ourselves ready for training camp. That's what the teams that don't make the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs do, you've got to utilize those four months off."
NOTES:Arizona defenseman Patrik Nemeth was a late scratch due to illness. Kesselring played in his place after being recalled earlier Thursday from Tucson of the American Hockey League. … Keller had 86 points (37 goals, 49 assists) in 82 games this season, tying Keith Tkuchuk (1996-97) for the most points in a season since the Coyotes moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix for the 1996-97 season. … Beauvillier had a career-high 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 82 games this season with the Canucks and New York Islanders.