Pettersson lifts Canucks past Red Wings in return

VANCOUVER -- Elias Pettersson had a goal and an assist in his return for the Vancouver Canucks in a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Arena on Sunday.

Pettersson, who leads the Canucks and NHL rookies with 44 points (23 goals, 21 assists) in 39 games, missed the previous five games with a sprained knee. He gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 10:16 of the first period with a redirection of Brock Boeser's point shot.
"It's great to be back," Pettersson said. "I felt I lost the puck a few times, made some bad decisions, some turnovers, but I've just got to play it simple."
WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Canucks highlights]
Bo Horvat and Antoine Roussel scored in the third period, Boeser had two assists, and Jacob Markstrom made 35 saves for Vancouver (23-21-6), which extended its point streak to five games (3-0-2).
"Coming to the rink when you're winning versus coming to the rink when you're losing is a huge difference," Markstrom said. "I feel like it makes everything easier."
Thomas Vanek and Frans Nielsen each had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Bernier made 28 saves for Detroit (18-25-7), which lost in regulation despite leading in the third period for the second straight game. The Red Wings are 3-9-2 in their past 14 games.
"When you lose a lot, your confidence sags," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "That's the League right now. It's so tight that when you get on a roll you can really get on a roll, but that goes both ways, winning and losing, and right now we're on a roll the wrong way. We just keep finding ways to lose hockey games."
Horvat tied it 2-2 at 7:27 of the third period with his first goal since Dec. 20 (12 games). He swept a loose puck five-hole on Bernier from the left hash marks after Boeser's initial shot hit Pettersson in the back of the leg.

"It definitely put a smile on my face," Horvat said. "It's funny how it works. You have all these Grade A chances that should have gone in and that one goes in."
Less than three minutes after he was stopped on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box, Roussel gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead on a redirection in the slot at 13:13.
"It wasn't our prettiest game, but for us to stay composed and keep at it and get those two huge goals in the third was big," Horvat said.
Nielsen scored on a one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Anthony Mantha to tie it 1-1 at 8:34 of the second period. The goal was Nielsen's 450th NHL point.

Vanek converted a backdoor pass from Danny DeKeyser shortly after Pettersson failed to get the puck out of his own zone to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 14:24.
"We were OK, but OK doesn't get the job done again," said Vanek, who has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. "It's just very frustrating right now when you play good hockey and the result isn't there."

Detroit outshot Vancouver 29-22 through two periods but wasn't able to build on its lead.
"We're playing well. Their goalie made some great saves in the first and second period. It should be 4-1 or 5-1, but it's not," Vanek said. "But then there's no panic. We played OK but the tying goal, we do our job, we block it, takes a few bounces and goes in."

They said it

"We proved to ourselves and know we can play with these teams, we just got to learn how to win games now. We are a good hockey team, we got to realize that. We've got talent, we can skate, we're big, we have strong guys on the team. All we can do right now is just stick with it. This team is going to be really good really soon." -- Red Wings center Frans Nielsen
"I just said, 'Hey, we've got a chance to win. If you haven't been good tonight, look in the mirror.' And give them credit, they did. They found their game. And when a team responds, you're proud of them." -- Canucks coach Travis Green on his message after the second period

Need to know

Red Wings rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski, who has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 47 games, was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. … The Canucks sent center Tanner Kero back to Utica of the American Hockey League before the game to clear a roster spot for Pettersson.

What's next

Red Wings:At the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, NHL.TV)
Canucks:Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNP, FS-CR, NHL.TV)