Edler's OT goal gets Canucks past Flames

CALGARY -- Alexander Edler scored with 1:54 remaining in overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.

Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson scored and Jacob Markstrom made 31 saves for the Canucks (19-18-4), who are 8-2-1 in the past 11 games after winning once in the previous 13 (1-10-2).
"I just think we've realized how we need to play to be successful," Edler said. "We need everyone every night and we need to execute our system and do that for 60 minutes. That's when you can make other teams crack."
WATCH: [All Canucks vs. Flames highlights]
Mark Jankowski and Travis Hamonic scored and David Rittich made 24 saves for the Flames (23-12-4), who are 1-2-2 in their past five after winning eight of the previous nine.
"It's tough, you come up short in those games in overtime," Hamonic said. "It's the end of December and these points are crucial. You see how tight the standings are right now. Everyone's getting points around you, so you've got to keep pace."
Boeser scored on a short side shot on the power play 5:08 into the first period to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead.

Jankowski tied it 1-1 at 14:30 when he scored shorthanded on a rebound from Noah Hanifin's breakaway attempt. Jankowski has four shorthanded goals this season, including two in the past two games, to tie him with Arizona Coyotes forward Michael Grabner for the NHL lead.
"We had stretches where we played really well and there were stretches where we could have been better, we could have been sharper," Jankowski said.
Hamonic gave the Flames a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal at 8:46 of the second period.
Pettersson tied it 2-2 at 11:37 with a wrist shot off the rush from inside the faceoff circle. He has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in the past 12 games.
"He's got a great shot," Markstrom said. "It doesn't take many chances for him to score. You see it in practice too; he can pick his spots. It's huge to have a guy like that. It's confidence for the group.
"The group knows too; [Boeser] too. [Boeser] scored right away on the power play. It's huge to have guys like that."

Edler won it for the Canucks when he one-timed a return pass from Boeser for his fourth goal of the season.
"I just tried to give it to [Boeser] and tried to create some space for him," Edler said. "No one picked me up and he made a great pass back to me. Just a shot, maybe a little bit lucky there."

They said it

"Winning helps a lot. Everything is easier. It's easier to go in the gym. It's easier to stay and do extra work in practice. It's easier to talk with teammates and tell them something they didn't do the right way. If you're losing a bunch of games, it can easily turn into a swear word party. It's huge. Winning makes everything easier." -- Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom
"I thought we played alright. We didn't have a great start, but we picked it up and we were generating a lot and I think we gave up odd-man rushes, and that comes back to bite you. You've got to play the right way the whole game and that's how you win games." -- Flames forward Sean Monahan

Need to know

Vancouver has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of the past 10 games. … Markstrom is 8-1-0 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in his past nine starts. … The Flames lead the NHL with 12 shorthanded goals. … Canucks forward Sven Baertschi and defenseman Troy Stecher each returned from a concussion. Baertschi missed 30 games; Stecher missed three.

What's next

Canucks: At the New Jersey Devils on Monday (1 p.m. ET; MSG+, SNP, NHL.TV)
Flames: Host the San Jose Sharks on Monday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)