Canucks double up Flames, 4-2 Miller, Lindholm ice win late in third period

In Vancouver, the Canucks scored twice in the latter stages of the third period on Saturday to break open a tight 2-1 game with the Calgary Flames.

J.T. Miller and Elias Lindholm hit for the pair of markers for a 4-1 lead to Vancouver.

The Flames got one back with a marker from Joel Hanley with 18 seconds left on the game clock for the 4-2 final.

Casey DeSmith made 22 saves in the win.

The Canucks moved to 45-18-8.

Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland kicked in two assists apiece in the win.

“That line was feeling it tonight,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said of Pettersson, Garland and Hoglander.

Nils Hoglander  hit for a double for the Canucks, his first came with just 48 seconds gone in the game for a 1-0 lead to the Canucks, scoring off a tip in.

“We try to work hard, make plays, play smart, and today we did,” Pettersson said of his line.

Hoglander collected his double at 8:16 of the middle frame for a 2-0 advantage to Vancouver, forcing the Flames to chase the game the rest of the way.

“I just tried to get [Markstrom] down on his knees and get it up high, and it worked,” Hoglander said.

The Flames got on back when Rasmus Andersson scored from the right circle to trim the deficit to 2-1 at 18:31 of the second.

“These are games that you want to find a way to win,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “We got a late goal in the second period, and you want to build on some of that momentum, and we weren’t able to do that tonight.”

The Flames dropped to 33-31-5.

“We fought hard to the end,” Flames forward Nazem Kadri said. “Obviously, there’s a couple plays in there that kind of decide the game and we’d like back, but we fought hard, and we gave it a good effort tonight.”

Miller hit at 16:42 of the third for the 3-1 lead.

“Our finish wasn’t there for us, and they scored on the power play, and we didn’t,” Huska said. “When you’re playing tight-checking games and there’s not a lot of room on the ice, that will be the difference almost 100 percent of the time.”

Lindholm hit an empty net with 70 seconds left on the game clock.

“My first day here, my first year here I couldn’t believe how good he was three years ago,” Garland said. “And I think he’s just really found his game all around the ice. It’s hard when you’re younger and there’s not really much structure in place and you’re kind of just trying to feel the game. Now we’re a very structured team, play a hard style of hockey, and I think it’s coming along for him. … He’s going to be a good player in this league for a long, long time.”

Jacob Markstrom made 22 saves in the loss.