Vancouver Canucks' Chase Wouters (81) and William Lockwood (58) celebrate Wouters' goal against the Calgary Flames during the first period of a pre-season NHL hockey game in Abbotsford, B.C., Monday, Sept. 27, 2021.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
J.T. Miller buried the game-winning goal Monday as the Vancouver Canucks topped the Calgary Flames 4-2 in pre-season action in Abbotsford, B.C.
Conor Garland, Chase Wouters and Tanner Pearson also scored for the home side, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson registered a pair of assists.
Calgary’s goals came from Dillon Dube and Connor Mackey.
Michael DiPietro – who spent much of last season on the Canucks’ taxi squad – was solid in net for Vancouver with 25 saves.
Adam Werner stopped 13-of-16 shots for the Flames before being replaced midway through the second period. Daniel Vladar had 12 saves in relief.
The Canucks came into Monday’s matchup after opening the pre-season with a 5-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken in Spokane, Wash., on Sunday. The Edmonton Oilers blanked the Flames 4-0 in Calgary the same night.
Vancouver jumped out to a three-goal lead Monday but the Flames battled back with two strikes of their own in the second frame.
Pearson gave the Canucks some insurance 13:31 into the third period, picking up a drop pass from Ekman-Larsson and riffling it in past Vladar to make it 4-2.
The Flames pulled the goalie in a bid to make a late comeback but couldn’t finish with the extra attacker.
Mackey cut Calgary’s deficit to 3-2 with less than a minute to go in the second period, sneaking a shot past Di Pietro from the blue line.
The Flames’ first tally of the night came on a two-man advantage earlier in the frame.
Canucks captain Bo Horvat was sent to the box for cross checking at 10:59 and his teammates steadily worked to kill off the penalty until defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was sanctioned for the same offence in front of the net. Boos emanated from the crowd as the Flames were given 23 seconds of five-on-three hockey.
Dube scored 11 seconds in with a long bomb through DiPietro’s legs.
The Flames were 1-for-3 on the power play Monday, while the Canucks went 2-for-3 with the man advantage.
A pair of power-play goals helped Vancouver to a 3-0 lead after the first period.
Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane was called for cross-checking at the Canuck’s bench 15:18 into the opening frame and the home team wasted little time in capitalizing.
A scramble in front of the Flames’ net saw Horvat blast a shot at Werner and the rebound pop out to Miller, who fired it back in over the past the netminder at 15:34.
Three minutes earlier, Vancouver’s Jonah Gadjovich streaked deep into Calgary territory, out waited a sprawled out Juuso Valimaki, then dished the puck to Wouters from the goal-line. The 21-year-old forward popped a shot in from the low slot to give the Canucks a 2-0 lead.
A pair of new additions teamed up for Vancouver’s first strike of the night after Flames centre Glenn Gawdin was called for high-sticking 1:41 into the game.
Stationed at the top of the slot, Garland sent a shot screaming through heavy traffic and found the back of the net to open the scoring at 2:28.
Ekman-Larsson was credited with an assist on the play.
Arizona dealt the duo to Vancouver in July in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft. The Coyotes also received veteran forwards Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson and Antoine Roussel in the deal, as well as the Canucks’ second-round pick in 2022 and its seventh-round pick in 2023.
The Flames are set to host the Seattle Kraken Wednesday. The Canucks get a brief reprieve before heading to Alberta for a rematch with Calgary on Friday.
NOTES: Vancouver moved its American Hockey League affiliate to Abbotsford earlier this year. The team – known as the Abbotsford Canucks – is set to play their first game against the Bakersfield Condors on Oct. 16. … Pre-game ceremonies marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which is being marked for the first time on Thursday.