It was a tight game for the Vancouver Canucks and Arizona Coyotes in Tempe, with the Canucks coming up clutch late in the third to take the game 2-1.
Conor Garland scored the go-ahead goal for the Canucks against his former team and said the team put together a gutsy effort.
“That’s a big win for us. Our kill did a great job for us all night. It’s tough not to get that last one, it’s a tough penalty there but it is what it is. We rebounded, we played really well today, and we deserved to win that game so it’s nice to come out on top,” the Canucks forward said.
Garland talked about goaltender Arturs Silovs’ strong play between the pipes for Vancouver who made key saves on Arizona’s power plays.
“He’s a confident kid, he beat me at Worlds [last year] he stood on his head and took a medal from us so it’s good to see him playing for us, he’s playing great. He’s talented and he’s just going to keep getting better,” Garland said.
Silovs got the win, stopping 22 of 23 shots he faced and getting his second win since being recalled by Abbotsford. Silovs only faced seven shots in the first two periods, but saw 16 in the third.
Silovs said he knew Arizona was going to make a push in the third and feels being able to help the team get a win when it matters is big for his confidence.
“That’s a lot of confidence, especially getting a win is the most important thing. It’s [about] building the game and the practices every single day, working with great coaching staff and I think everything adds up,” the 23-year-old goaltender said.
Quinn Hughes continues to climb the Canucks franchise lists, he scored his 16th goal this season tying him for 5th place with Kevin McCarthy and Jocelyn Guevremont. The goal also moves him past Mattias Öhlund to take second place in the all-time list for points scored by a defenceman in franchise history with 327 points and counting.
He also had an assist on Conor Garland’s go-ahead goal to put him at 70 on the season.
