Pettersson scores twice in Canucks win against Stars

DALLAS --Elias Pettersson scored two goals for the Vancouver Canucks in a 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

"Lately, I've been feeling good," Pettersson said. "Me, Bo [Horvat], and Brock [Boeser] taking steps every game. Whenever I get the chance, I will try to score. Lately, I've been feeling better, especially with shooting, too."
Thatcher Demko made 35 saves for the Canucks (32-26-9), who are 2-0-1 on a four-game road trip that will conclude at the St. Louis Blues on Monday.
"You've got to bring confidence every night," Demko said. "Guys are too good, they're going to expose you. You try to go into every game with the same mindset. The outcome is not really in your control. You can just focus on each individual moment, each shot, each chance against, and go from there."
Jacob Peterson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves for the Stars (36-25-3), who had won three in a row.
"It's a little bit hard not to score on the chances you have," Peterson said. "We're just going to keep going out there. We probably win those games in the longer run."

Peterson gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 5:42 of the second period, taking a return pass from Jamie Benn and scoring with a backhand after Vancouver turned the puck over trying to clear its zone.
Pettersson tied it 1-1 at 15:25 with a one-timer from the left circle on a power play. He then made it 2-1 at 1:15 of the third period when he skated into the top of the right circle, used Joe Pavelski as a screen, and shot bar down over Oettinger's blocker.
"I think I told [Pettersson] especially to shoot the puck," Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He's got such a great shot ... and he doesn't use it. He wants to be a playmaker most of the time, and when he shoots the puck, they go in. The second [goal] was a perfect example of how his shot is electric. The first [goal], when he keeps shooting, it finds ways to get in because he has such a good release."
Demko kept the Canucks in front when he made a scorpion save on Esa Lindell's chance in front on the power play at 11:56 of the third.
On the ensuing scramble, Lindell received a pass with Demko out of position, but his shot at an open net hit off the left post.
"When we needed a good power play, we got it. We just didn't score," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "You have wide-open nets or you're hitting posts or you're shooting at [Demko]. It's 2-1 and that game should have been tied 2-2 right there."

Bo Horvat shot into an empty net to extend the lead to 3-1 at 18:54, and J.T. Miller scored off his own rebound 27 seconds later for the 4-1 final.
"We had enough to tie that game up at the end," Pavelski said. "You score one goal and you expect more. Chances or not, you've got to finish. We had some chances early, second [period] wasn't our best. We pushed at the end, it was there, but the result we didn't get."
NOTES:Pettersson's second goal was his 200th NHL point (85 goals, 115 assists in 230 games). … Miller has scored in four straight games and has seven points (four goals, three assists) in that span.