Garland breaks tie late, Canucks defeat Coyotes

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Conor Garland scored the go-ahead goal with 1:51 left in the third period, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 at Mullett Arena on Wednesday.

Garland scored past a sprawling Connor Ingram after Quinn Hughes' shot from the left point caromed to him off the end boards.

“It was a big goal by 'Gars' there. He loves [Arizona]. He loves playing here,” said Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, who coached Garland in Arizona from 2018-21.

Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Arturs Silovs made 20 saves for the Canucks (47-21-8), who had lost three of four and were coming off a 6-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

The Canucks moved seven points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, who lost 5-0 to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, for first place in the Pacific Division.

“We rebounded. We played really well tonight and we deserved to win that game,” Garland said. “We had a good talk with the group after the game last night. We weren’t happy with ourselves but we felt like we were going to put forth a good effort tonight.”

Dylan Guenther scored, and Ingram made 31 saves for the Coyotes (31-39-5), who have lost two straight.

“We didn’t play well enough, we didn’t play fast enough. They’re very good defensively, and we weren’t able to break that,” Guenther said. “They’re stingy on the lines and we have to be able to get through them sometimes. Not every game we’re going to get a ton of chances. I thought we played well defensively, they just played a little faster, a little more connected.”

Hughes gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 9:43 of the second period. He scored with a wrist shot from the point that went between Garland’s skates and Ingram’s pads.

It was Hughes' third goal in the past two games.

“I'm going to definitely try [to elevate my play down the stretch],” Hughes said. “That's what I expect for myself. I think I'm really getting there. I'm playing some really serious hockey.”

Tocchet agreed.

“He played really well. He was moving his feet all night and he controlled a lot of the play,” he said. “And he obviously made a great play on the Garland goal.”

Vancouver outshot Arizona 23-7 in the first two periods.

“That’s a tough team to play against. They’ve got a lot of skill up front and they’ve got guys who can make some plays,” Garland said. “To keep them to [as few] shots as we did on a back-to-back is really good.”

Guenther scored a power-play goal to tie it 1-1 at 10:46 of the third period. Clayton Keller passed to Alex Kerfoot along the goal line, and Kerfoot bumped the puck to Guenther for a one-timer in the low slot.

“We [finally] made some plays with the puck,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “The first two periods we struggled to make passes on our breakouts. If you don’t break out with some pace, it’s tough to generate anything. ... Our play with the puck forced us to play too much without the puck.”

NOTES: The Canucks played with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the first time this season. ... Keller has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) during a nine-game point streak. ... Arizona is 3-3-0 on a seven-game homestand. ... Silovs also made 20 saves in his season debut on Sunday, a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks. "[Silovs] really looks like a veteran. Very solid, looks big in the net,” Tocchet said.