Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves Wednesday night in Las Vegas to help the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 win over th3e Golden Knights in a shootout.
The Canucks were without two mainstays in the lineup and then lost three more players to injury during the game.
“It was a gutty performance by a lot of our guys tonight,” Vancouver coach Travis Green said. “I like how our guys responded and gutted it out. The guys played hard tonight.”
Bo Horvat scored twice for the Canucks.
“I think everyone’s jelling together,” Horvat said. “Everyone’s ambitious to prove ourselves, that we can be a good contender, and so far, we’re proving that.”
Markus Granlund potted the deciding goal in the skills competition.
“I’m just trying to win hockey games. The whole team is. Part of my success is playing good at both ends of the rink. My defensive game is feeding my offense. If I keep doing that, and keep simplifying my game and being that complete player, good things will happen,” Horvat said.
Max Pacioretty and Ryan Reaves scored for the Knights.
“It was one of those things where we got off to a slow start. The guys battled hard, got it to 2-2 and had some chances. You’ve just got to take the positives from it,” the Knights’ Brad Huntsaid after the game.
Horvat scored his goals in a 64-second span.
“He’s a confident player, and he should be,” Green said. “He’s a good player in the League, and I think Bo’s game has really picked up over the last stretch here. He’d be the first to admit that his game was a little loose early. He’s tightened things up defensively, and when you do that, usually good things happen.”
[WATCH: All Canucks vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves in the loss as the Knights dropped to 4-4-1.
“They were quick. They were fast, quick on the forecheck,” Fleury said. “They put a lot of pressure on our guys. I liked the way we battled back though.”
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