Third-period explosion lifts Vancouver Canucks to 4-1 win over Calgary Flames
Published 10:11 pm Saturday, October 3, 2026
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The Vancouver Canucks erupted for four third-period goals, erasing a 1-0 deficit and earning a 4-1 win over the visiting Calgary Flames in NHL action Saturday at Rogers Arena.
Liam Ohgren, defenceman Elias Pettersson, Drew O’Connor and Aatu Räty scored for the Canucks (2-1-0), with Linus Karlsson and Tom Willander each dishing out a pair of assists. Leevi Merilainen made 23 saves to earn the win in goal, his first as a Canuck.
Matt Coronato had the lone goal for Calgary (0-2-0), with Devin Cooley stopping 23 of 26 shots in a losing cause.
The game between Pacific Division rivals become spirited quickly, with Vancouver’s Luke Schenn and Calgary’s Adam Klapka engaging in a solid scrap less than three minutes in.
Coronado opened the scoring on the power play at 14:51, slotting a shot over the right shoulder of Merilainen for his first goal of the season.
Shots after one period favoured the Flames 11-5.
The teams battled through a scoreless second frame, with Calgary still maintaining a 19-14 shots advantage.
In the third, Ohgren pulled the Canucks even at 1:28, when his redirection slipped behind Cooley. The officials ruled Cooley had stopped the puck before it crossed the goal-line, but replay confirmed it was a good goal, Ohgren’s first of the year.
Defenceman Pettersson gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead midway through the third period, taking a nifty pass from Ohgren and beating Cooley with a backhand.
After a big hit from centre Elias Pettersson (who had eight hits on the night) on Calgary’s Zayne Parekh, O’Connor sealed the deal at 16:23, breaking loose down the right wing and sniping a shot past Cooley.
PETEY HIT TO O’CONNOR GOAL! https://t.co/Ew7NKWwCDL
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 4, 2026
After the play, the home crowd started chanting “Let’s go, Petey!” for Pettersson.
Räty, making his season debut, rounded out the scoring with an empty-net goal at 17:15.
NOTES:
Jake DeBrusk (illness), Thatcher Demko (hip) and Filip Chytil (shoulder) missed the game for Vancouver, while Guillaume Brisebois and Victor Mancini were healthy scratches… The Canucks clamped down defensively, after giving up 14 goals in their first two game… Vancouver d-man Filip Hronek had eight blocked shots in nearly 29 minutes of ice time… Calgary was 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Canucks were 0-for-5… Vancouver hosts the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday (6 p.m.) at Rogers Arena.