Golden Knights lose to Canucks, fail to gain in wild card race

LAS VEGAS -- Elias Pettersson had two goals and two assists, and the Vancouver Canucks ended the Vegas Golden Knights' five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

It was the third time Pettersson has scored twice in his past five games.
"It's easy to say (that I was feeling it) after a night like that," Pettersson said. "It could be anyone on any team. The whole team worked. My teammates set me up."

Jack Eichel scored, and Robin Lehner made 26 saves for the Golden Knights (39-29-4), who remained one point behind the Dallas Stars for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Stars have played three fewer games.
"We knew that we weren't going to win every game the rest of the way in," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "We dropped an opportunity tonight.
"You just want to flush it. Nothing good to say, we got what we deserved. I don't think we gave ourselves a chance to win that game right from the first period, the way the game started. It's disappointing, but we played some pretty good hockey lately. We've got to rebound here quickly."
Thatcher Demko made 33 saves for the Canucks (33-28-10), who scored five straight goals after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Golden Knights in Vancouver on Sunday. J.T. Miller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each had two assists.
The win moved the Canucks, who will play again Thursday at the Arizona Coyotes, within six points of Vegas and seven of Dallas, which has two games in hand.
"For the time of year and what we needed, it was a good all-around game," Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. "The goalie had to be great, but the players in front of him had to be great too."

Eichel gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 12:02 of the first period on a rebound in the left face-off circle. It was his 10th goal in 24 games this season.
The Canucks responded with two goals in 17 seconds. Bo Horvat tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 16:38 on a rebound of Ekman-Larsson's shot from the point, and Brad Richardson scored his first goal with Vancouver from the edge of the right circle at 16:55 to make it 2-1.
Richardson was claimed off waivers by the Canucks from the Calgary Flames on March 21.
"He's balanced out our lineup nicely coming in," Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers said of Richardson. "We knew what kind of player he was coming in when we got him. Especially for us defensemen, we love playing with guys like him. He's always in the right spot.
"He talks to you all over the ice. He makes your life a little bit easier out there, which is nice for a D-man. He stepped into our group and brought a lot of balance to our lineup."

Tanner Pearson gave the Canucks a 3-1 lead at 11:40 of the second period when he one-timed a feed from Pettersson, who made it 4-1 at 16:03 on a redirection from Ekman-Larsson.
Pettersson scored his second of the game at 1:11 of the third period on a power play after a turnover by Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez for the 5-1 final.
"We had to come with a better effort and play within our standards," Pettersson said. "We did that today."
NOTES:The Golden Knights had also won five straight at home. It was the first time they lost in the regular season to Vancouver in regulation (10-1-2). … Eichel (three goals, one assist) and Vegas forward Chandler Stephenson (three assists) each extended his point streak to three games. … Horvat has six goals in his past eight games. … The Canucks played without defenseman Quinn Hughes because of a stomach illness. He was replaced by defenseman Kyle Burroughs, who was activated off injured reserve (upper body) and had nine hits in 16:49 of ice time in his first game since Feb. 19. Boudreau did not say whether Hughes would be available Thursday.