Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green was yelling at two of his top forwards to get off the ice on Saturday. But in the end, he was glad Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser didn’t listen.
Instead, the pair connected to net the game winner in overtime.
"(I was) screaming at them to change then telling them great job after the goal," Green said after his team beat the Boston Bruins 2-1.
"They had a little juice left. Guys usually find some juice when there’s a chance to score. … So I was happy they stayed."
Horvat buried the puck 3:12 into extra time and Boeser registered the assist.
The Canucks (5-3-0) also got a goal from Brandon Sutter in regulation and Joakim Nordstrom responded for the Bruins (4-2-2).
Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots while Jaroslav Halak turned away 20-of-22 shots for the Bruins.
Saturday marked the second time Horvat and Boeser have joined forces to put in an overtime winner this season. Both said they were flagging when the opportunity presented itself against the Bruins.
"I was ready to change, but it was a great play by Bo to get it over to me and I just wanted to get it back to him and give him a chance to score," Boeser said.
Horvat agreed.
"It definitely was a heck of a play," he said.
"Brock and I have some good chemistry out there and thankfully the pucks are going in right now."
Scoring in extra time hasn’t come easily for Horvat.
"My first four years, I sucked in overtime. I got scored on all the time," the centreman said. "It’s definitely something I wanted to be better at this year."
Saturday’s victory was the second of the year for Vancouver’s Jacob Markstrom, who’s seen action in four of the Canucks’ eight games.
"He was dialed in, boy. He looked sharp, looked focused," Green said.
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Markstrom said he was able to track the puck well and had a lot of help from his defencemen.
The Swedish keeper added that he got a piece of Nordstrom’s goal with his glove.
"You’ve got to tip your hat, even though he’s a Swedish guy and I don’t like letting in goals from Swedes," he said.
The Canucks will need to stick to same system when the Washington Capitals visit Rogers Arena on Monday, Markstrom said.
"When we play organized and when we play for each other and everybody’s giving 100 per cent, we can beat any team," he said.
For Boston, the loss in Vancouver marked the end of a disappointing roadtrip. The Bruins also dropped a 5-2 decision in Calgary earlier this week and lost 3-2 to the Oilers in overtime on Thursday.
"Definitely it doesn’t go the way we wanted on this trip but we lost back-to-back in overtime and that can go either way," right winger David Pastrnak said after Saturday’s game.
"But today was not a great first period, so try to start on time and play 60 minutes. At the end of the day I still think we were the better team after the first but we didn’t score enough goals."
Saturday’s match up was just the second at home for the Canucks this season, following a two-week long road trip that saw them collect wins over tough teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Those victories — and the win over Boston — are giving the squad a confidence boost, Boeser said.
"It shows that we can play with these teams and if we play the style of game that we want to play, we can get these wins and the points that we need," he said.
"To be able to shut down a really skilled line, one of the top lines in hockey (on Saturday), it’s really encouraging for our team and shows the kind of character that we have."
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NOTES: Defenceman John Moore was credited with an assist on the Boston goal, marking his 100th NHL point. … The Bruins were without three of their key players Saturday night. Defencemen Charlie McAvoy and Kevin Miller have both been sent back to Boston with injuries and right winger David Backes was scratched from the lineup just before game time. … Vancouver’s Bo Horvat dropped the gloves for the second time in his NHL career on Saturday. The 23-year-old got into a fight with Boston’s Noel Acciari midway through the second period. Both players were handed five-minute majors for the tilt.
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