Canucks playoff hopes take a hit with overtime loss

DENVER, CO (NEWS1130) – Tyson Barrie’s 10th goal of the season was his third overtime winner, as he scored 55 seconds into the extra frame to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Barrie, a Victoria native, came in from the blue line and deflected a Matt Duchene pass from the corner, up and over the shoulder of Eddie Lack just 55 seconds into the extra period, on Colorado’s 28th shot of the game.

The Canucks had a three-game winning streak snapped with the result, after beating Nashville, Buffalo and Minnesota. The single point moves Vancouver one point further from a playoff spot after the Coyotes beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout. Phoenix leads Vancouver by five points in the standings, and has one game in hand.

Vancouver opened the scoring on a powerplay in the first period. Yannick Weber jumped in from the blue line and fired a loose puck home. Nicklas Jensen and Daniel Sedin drew the assists.

Colorado tied the game before the first period was up. Duchene buried his 23rd goal of the season as he knocked a rebound in past Lack.

A little under nine minutes into the second period, the Avs took their first lead of the night. Paul Stastny got the puck behind the net and set up Gabriel Landeskog for the go-ahead marker. Stastny caught Lack looking the wrong way when he sent the pass out, giving Landeskog plenty of net to shoot at.

Despite not registering a shot for nearly eight minutes, the Canucks pulled even just before the second frame was up. Zack Kassian was in the right place at the right time as a loose puck came to him at the side of the crease and he just had to poke it in past Semyon Varlamov. The tally gave Kassian goals in back-to-back games and six points over a three-game span.

Neither side scored in the third period, which Vancouver outshot Colorado 10-7 in, and had the better chances.

The Canucks now return home for a five-game homestand. Their next game is on Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks.