Utah escapes two-goal hole, stuns Canucks in OT

Mikhail Sergachev scored with 11.4 seconds left in overtime for the Utah Hockey Club, which scored three unanswered goals to rally for a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Sergachev backhanded a crossing pass from Logan Cooley under the pads of Thatcher Demko at the end of a two-on-one break for his second overtime winner of the season.

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist and Dylan Guenther also scored for Utah, which won its third straight game. Cooley added a pair of assists and Karel Vejmelka finished with 24 saves as Utah extended its point streak to a season-best six games (5-0-1).

Danton Heinen and Dakota Joshua scored goals, Quinn Hughes had two assists and Demko made 28 saves for Vancouver. It was the ninth multi-assist game of the season for Hughes, the reigning Norris Trophy winner who leads all NHL defensemen with 30 assists.

Vancouver managed just one shot on goal in the first 15 minutes during a scoreless first period. Demko make a pad save on Cooley’s five-hole try on a breakaway near the end of the period.

Demko came up big again midway through the second period to keep the game scoreless when he turned away Alexander Kerfoot’s close-in shorthand try at the end of a three-on-one rush.

Heinen put Vancouver in front 1-0 on a power play at 12:39 of the middle period. He took advantage of a Hughes shot attempt that caromed straight to him off the back boards, roofing a shot from the middle of the right circle past Vejmelka’s blocker side.

Joshua made it 2-0 at the 2:45 mark of the third period when he broke in free and wrapped a wrist shot around Vejmelka.

Keller cut the deficit to 2-1 midway through the period when he snatched a rebound of a Nick Schmaltz shot away from in front of Demko and put it into an open net.

Guenther then tied it 2-2 with 4:30 to go on a power play after Tyler Myers was called for cross-checking Keller.

–Field Level Media