Canucks Beat Flames 4-1 With Four-Goal Third Period

Vancouver scored four times in the third period to beat Calgary 4-1, with Liam Öhgren and Elias Pettersson leading the comeback.

Vancouver spent its first two games of the season proving it could score almost as quickly as it could give goals back. Saturday night finally looked different. The Canucks trailed Calgary 1-0 through two periods, scored four times in the third and beat the Flames 4-1 at Rogers Arena.

Liam Öhgren tied the game 1:28 into the third, Elias Pettersson scored the winner less than eight minutes later, Drew O’Connor added insurance and Aatu Räty finished it into an empty net. Leevi Meriläinen allowed only Matt Coronato’s first-period power-play goal in his first start since Vancouver claimed him off waivers, giving the Canucks the kind of quiet night in goal they had been missing.

Calgary Controlled the First 40 Minutes

The Flames entered Vancouver after a 6-1 home loss to Seattle, and the opening two periods looked much more like the response Ryan Huska had been asking for. Calgary was more aggressive on the puck, spent longer stretches in the offensive zone and had built an 18-9 advantage in shots midway through the second period.

Coronato gave that pressure a result at 14:51 of the first. With Vancouver on the penalty kill, Zayne Parekh and Joel Farabee moved the puck into position for Coronato to finish the power-play sequence and give Calgary its first lead of the season.

The Flames protected that 1-0 margin through the entire second period. Vancouver had already scored 13 goals through its first two games, yet Calgary kept the Canucks off the scoreboard for 40 minutes and put itself in position to turn a difficult opening weekend into a road win.

Öhgren Changed the Game Immediately

Whatever Calgary had controlled through two periods disappeared almost immediately after the second intermission. Öhgren tied the game at 1:28 of the third, finishing a play from Paul Cotter and Tom Willander before the Flames had time to settle back into the structure that had protected their lead.

The goal gave Öhgren his first of the season and opened the third period for a Vancouver lineup that had spent most of the night searching for space. It also started an excellent period for the 22-year-old winger, who would contribute again on the go-ahead goal.

Vancouver’s first two games had featured constant scoring runs in both directions. This comeback developed more patiently. The Canucks tied the game, avoided immediately surrendering another goal and kept building pressure until Calgary’s one-goal lead had become a deficit.

Pettersson Put Vancouver Ahead

Pettersson broke the tie at 9:04, with Öhgren and Willander collecting the assists. The goal continued Pettersson’s productive opening week and gave Vancouver its first lead after spending more than half the game chasing Calgary.

Öhgren finished the night with a goal and an assist, while Willander assisted on both of Vancouver’s first two goals. The sequence gave the Canucks exactly the kind of young secondary production a rebuilding roster needs around Pettersson, Brock Boeser and the established veterans.

Pettersson had already produced against Edmonton in Vancouver’s first two games, including power-play goals in both. Saturday’s goal arrived at even strength and mattered more because of the game state. Calgary had made offense difficult all night, and Pettersson finished one of the few clean third-period openings Vancouver created.

O’Connor Gave Vancouver Separation

A 2-1 lead still left Calgary one bounce from forcing overtime. Drew O’Connor removed much of that pressure at 16:33, scoring from Linus Karlsson to stretch Vancouver’s advantage to two goals with less than four minutes remaining.

The goal completed a period in which Vancouver steadily took control rather than exploding all at once. Calgary had spent 40 minutes limiting the Canucks to nothing, then watched three different Vancouver forwards score over a 15-minute span.

Räty added the empty-net goal 43 seconds later, again with Karlsson earning the assist. Räty had entered the lineup with Jake DeBrusk unavailable because of illness, and his first appearance of the season ended with a goal that officially closed Vancouver’s second win in three games.

Meriläinen Gave Vancouver a Quiet Night

Vancouver’s first two games had made its goaltending situation impossible to ignore. The Canucks beat Edmonton 6-5 in overtime to open the season, then surrendered nine goals in the rematch at Rogers Arena. Kevin Lankinen was pulled from that second game after Edmonton scored eight times on 20 shots.

Meriläinen entered that loss in relief and stopped 10 of 11 shots. Vancouver then gave the 24-year-old his first start with the organization Saturday, only days after claiming him off waivers from Ottawa.

He gave the Canucks exactly what they needed. Calgary generated the better chances through long portions of the first two periods and scored once on the power play, but Meriläinen kept the deficit at one until Vancouver’s offense arrived. There was no early avalanche to chase and no late collapse to survive.

Vancouver Finally Won a Normal Game

The Canucks’ first two games produced 27 combined goals. Vancouver won 6-5 in overtime in Edmonton, then lost the rematch 9-7 despite scoring five times after falling behind 8-2. The team had demonstrated plenty of offensive ability without establishing any reliable way to keep a game under control.

Saturday offered the first evidence that Vancouver can win without participating in a nightly scoring contest. Calgary led for more than two periods, the Canucks stayed within one goal and Meriläinen allowed the offense enough time to find its way into the game.

Manny Malhotra had identified defensive-zone play as a problem after the Edmonton games, saying Vancouver could enjoy the goals while still recognizing that needing so many of them created its own problem. The Calgary game looked much closer to the kind of hockey he was describing. One goal against gave the Canucks room to win with an ordinary offensive night.

Calgary’s Offense Is Already a Problem

Calgary leaves Vancouver with a much more uncomfortable early-season pattern. The Flames followed a 6-1 loss to Seattle with another game in which they produced one goal, giving them two goals scored and 10 allowed through their first two games.

Saturday was more frustrating because the performance itself was significantly better. Calgary led after the first period, carried that lead through the second and did enough during the opening 40 minutes to make Vancouver work for every offensive possession. The game was still lost decisively once the Canucks found their first goal.

Jonathan Huberdeau remains unavailable following hip surgery, leaving an already limited Calgary attack without one of its most experienced creators. Huska also changed the lineup after the Seattle loss, sitting Connor Zary and Yan Kuznetsov while bringing Brennan Othmann and Joel Hanley into the team. The changes improved Calgary’s competitiveness for much of the night without producing the additional scoring it needed.

Coronato Remains Central to Calgary’s Offense

Coronato’s power-play goal was another reminder of how much Calgary needs from him this season. The 23-year-old winger has become one of the clearest offensive focal points on a roster whose veteran scoring depth has thinned considerably.

Parekh’s assist carried similar significance. Calgary needs the young defenseman to create offense from the blue line, especially with the forward group struggling to generate enough at even strength. His ability to move the puck into dangerous areas gives the Flames another way to manufacture goals when sustained five-on-five pressure fails to finish.

That combination produced Calgary’s only goal Saturday. The Flames will need far more of it quickly, because one goal per game leaves almost no margin for a defensive mistake, a bad bounce or a strong period from the opponent.

The Third Period Changed the Entire Night

For 40 minutes, Calgary had done most of what it needed to do. The Flames had the lead, had kept Vancouver’s dangerous scorers quiet and were giving Cooley enough support to protect a one-goal game. Eighteen minutes later, the Canucks were ahead by three.

Öhgren started the reversal, Pettersson completed it and Vancouver’s depth made sure Calgary could not answer. The Canucks received points from Willander, Karlsson, Cotter and Räty during the four-goal period, spreading the offense through a lineup still missing DeBrusk.

Final: Vancouver Canucks 4, Calgary Flames 1. Calgary controlled enough of the first two periods to make the night competitive, but Vancouver finally paired its scoring ability with a game it could defend. After two nights of chaos against Edmonton, the Canucks discovered that four goals feel like plenty when the other team only gets one.

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