Canucks stay alive for at least one more day after unprecedented rally

Through bad luck and poor play, the Vancouver Canucks did enough the last few weeks to kill their National Hockey League season. But faced with its mortality on Tuesday, the team incredibly — miraculously — extended it by at least one day.

The Canucks scored five times in the third period, including an inconceivable three-goal surge in the final minute, before beating the Dallas Stars 6-5 on Kiefer Sherwood’s goal in overtime.

“I don’t know what just happened,” Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko said.

Neither did anyone else because no team in NHL history had ever won a game by overcoming a three-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation time.

“We didn’t quit,” winger Conor Garland said. “We have a lot of pride in here. A lot of our leaders, myself included, are proud people. And you don’t want to look like that (down 3-0 going into the third period). I think you can get a lesson from this. I think the lesson is you never stop playing.”

The miracle comeback on Victory Lane, where American Airlines Center stands in downtown Dallas, saved the Canucks from elimination in the Western Conference playoff race. They could still be out on Wednesday if the Minnesota Wild take care of the last-overall San Jose Sharks on home ice.

But at least the Canucks earned themselves another day by rallying from a 5-2 deficit in the final minute against a Stars team that is among the favourites to lift the Stanley Cup two and a half months from now.

Garland said Tuesday’s lesson should help next season. For all their flaws, the Canucks are not idiots. They realize the position they’re in — that, six points behind in the standings with four games to go, their season is not going to end well.

But there was still genuine joy in their dressing room Tuesday night, satisfaction and pride that they didn’t meekly surrender and achieved something that maybe even they thought was beyond them by scoring three times in the final 59.1 seconds of regulation.

They had the right to be happy in a season that has been woefully short of that feeling in Vancouver.

“That was something,” Demko said. “I mean, I think it’s important to not pack it in. We all know what position we’re in and going into the third down 3-0, it’d be very easy for our group to just kind of pack it in, get a practice in tomorrow and kind of move along. But, I mean, we’re pro athletes. We all want to compete, no matter the situation.”

The message in the second intermission, down three goals and facing elimination?

“We were just talking about getting one,” Demko said. “We get a quick one there and you never know what’s going to happen . . . and the game just unfolded as evidence of that. You know you’re not going to tie it up in the first minute. It’s going to take a solid period of just waves of attack and smart play. I thought that was one of our best third periods of the year. So yeah, I’m proud of this group, for sure. But it was a weird one.”

“You can talk a lot about culture and resilience, but there’s a lot of lessons to be had there,” Sherwood said. “Until that final whistle blows, like, you never say never. Yeah, it’s a crazy win. But it’s also, I think, a huge life lesson, too, that hopefully guys can continue to build on.”

Jake DeBrusk banked a puck in off former Canuck goalie Casey DeSmith to get Vancouver on the scoreboard 17 seconds into the final period, and defenceman Vittorio Mancini’s first goal as a Canuck made it 3-2 during a power play at 4:39.

But Mavrik Bourque made it 4-2 for the Stars with 2:45 remaining in regulation time, and when Mikael Granlund scored into an empty net 24 seconds later, surely the game was over.

Demko was still in his net when minor-league callup Aatu Raty scored from Marcus Pettersson’s pass to bring the Canucks back within two goals, down 5-3, with 59.1 seconds to go.

Vancouver was skating six-against-five when Pius Suter then scored twice from similar spots in the low slot, first from Garland’s pass with 28.4 seconds remaining, then from Filip Hronek’s with just 5.2 ticks left.

Coach Rick Tocchet sent out Raty to win the critical draw at centre ice after Suter’s first score made it 5-4.

Sherwood scored the winner from the slot at 3:44 of overtime after Garland stole the puck behind the Dallas net from defenceman Matt Dumba. The teams were skating four-on-four after a failed Vancouver power play.

“I think it’s huge for development,” Tocchet said of the experience for the handful of Canuck prospects finishing the season in the NHL. “You’re sitting on the bench as a young kid, you know, it’s 5-2 with whatever time was left. It looks like we’re going to lose. We score a goal and you see the fight. There wasn’t guys hanging their head. I think it’s huge for the young guys. And to be honest, they were up on the bench and they were alive; they were cheering the guys on who were on the ice. So, yeah, that’s big for development.”

Raty said: “I feel like probably for the rest of my career, whenever you’re down 5-2 or 5-3, you still keep believing.”

The Canucks have always believed in themselves. That was never the problem this season.

“We always say that we’ve had a lot of adversity,” Sherwood said. “But when push comes to shove and we’re down and out, we still find a way to claw back. I think it was (the team’s) character from last year and, whether we make the playoffs or not, that’s a huge trait. It’s a character statement. Those things are special, special traits. Clutch moments from clutch guys.”

Tocchet said: “My son texted me, ‘You looked like last year’s team in the third.’ But yeah, it was nice to see the fight and the guys come back.”