EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Chris Tanev picked a perfect time to score his first NHL goal.
Tanev scored at 4:40 of overtime, and the Vancouver Canucks rallied for their season-high third straight victory, 3-2 over the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Monday night.
Tanev beamed after he finally scored a goal in his 63rd NHL game.
"It took a while, but I'm happy I was able to get it," he said as he teammates chanted his name in the dressing room. "There was a little give-and-go, and all their guys were watching them.
"I was able to come in off the blue line and I shot it. I think one of our guys screened the goalie and it went in. I'm pretty happy."
Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault was thrilled to see the 23-year-old defenseman scored his first goal in such clutch fashion.
"He's a young player who has been with us for quite some time now," he said. "For him to get that goal at the time that he did to win was very good for the whole group. Everybody was really happy for him."
With just 2:17 remaining in regulation, and the Oilers holding a 2-1 lead, the Canucks tied it with a long shot from Kevin Bieksa that beat goalie Devan Dubnyk stick-side and forced overtime.
Taylor Hall was awarded a penalty shot for the Oilers with 2:47 gone in OT, after he was hooked down by Daniel Sedin on a breakaway, but Hall was stopped by Roberto Luongo, who finished with 23 saves.
Jannik Hansen also scored in regulation for the Canucks (5-2-2), who extended their lead atop the Northwest Division.
Ales Hemsky and Ryan Smyth had goals for the Oilers (4-3-2), who have lost three in a row. Dubnyk stopped 37 shots.
"It was very disappointing how the game ended up," Oilers coach Ralph Krueger said. "After the onslaught we faced in the second period, we felt we were in the better position. Everybody was working hard to fill in for (game injuries to Mark Fistric and Shawn Horcoff).
"We had lots of blocked shots and a lot of effort from everybody. It was really disappointing not only to end up in overtime, but to lose out on a point."
The first period was largely uneventful until late when the Oilers struck on the power play. Nail Yakupov made a nice chip pass, and Hemsky hustled to beat Jason Garrison to the puck. He beat Luongo with a deke for his third goal of the season.
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