Conor Garland has always been impressed by his Vancouver Canucks teammate Nils Hoglander.
On Saturday the rest of the hockey world also noticed.
Hoglander scored twice, including a remarkable goal, as the Canucks defeated the Calgary Flames 4-2.
Garland was not surprised by the performance.
“When I first arrived here three years ago, I couldn’t believe how good he was. And now, I think he’s really improved all aspects of his game,” Garland said about the 23-year-old Swedish winger.
After playing with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks last season, Hoglander has secured a spot on the NHL roster and has put up impressive offensive statistics, scoring 22 goals and 11 assists.
“When you're younger and there's not much structure, and you're just trying to understand the game, it's hard. Now we have a very structured team and play a tough style of hockey,” Garland added. “I think he's progressing well. He'll continue to improve each year and will be a great player in this league for a long time.”
Hoglander scored his second goal of the night 8:16 into the second period.
Garland redirected Connor Zary’s pass to Elias Pettersson in the neutral zone, and Pettersson passed to Hoglander as they entered Calgary's territory. Hoglander moved the puck to his backhand and shot it over Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead.
“I just tried to get Marky down on his knees and shoot high. And it worked,” Hoglander explained.
The play surprised at least one of his teammates.
“He faked me out,” Pettersson said with a smile. “I thought he was going to shoot, and then he did what he did.”
The Canucks (45-18-8) continue to lead the Western Conference standings, three points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
Vancouver also scored a power-play goal in the third period from J.T. Miller and an empty-net goal from Elias Lindholm on Saturday. Pettersson and Garland each provided two assists.
Rasmus Andersson and Joel Hanley scored for the Flames (33-31-5), who hadn’t played since a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday.
“After the first 10 minutes, I thought we got better and better. We grew into the game,” Andersson said. “We knew they would come in strong, and we also hadn't played for a few days, so maybe that was at the back of our minds.”
In his fifth-straight start filling in for the injured Thatcher Demko, Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith stopped 22 of 24 shots and improved to 11-5-6 this season.
“Every team in this league is good, and tonight was no different. We faced a good opponent in a rivalry game, and I think we really took control,” DeSmith said. “The way we finished the game, especially in the third period, we didn't give them much. It’s a confidence-boosting win and a way to maintain a lead.”
Markstrom made 22 saves in his first start since March 9. The Flames netminder missed five games due to a lower-body injury.
During the third period, with the score 2-1 against them, the Flames had a chance to tie the game when Miller was called for tripping.
From just inside the blue line, MacKenzie Weegar fired a powerful shot at the net, only to see DeSmith catch the puck with his glove.
Calgary coach Ryan Huska said, “These are games that you want to find a way to win. We scored a late goal in the second period and you want to build on that momentum, but we couldn't do that tonight.”
The Flames didn't score on either of their two power play opportunities, while the Canucks scored once in three attempts.
Vancouver has successfully defended against 10 penalties in a row since a 4-3 overtime loss to the Avalanche on March 13. The Canucks’ penalty kill was ranked 16th in the league before Saturday’s game.
