VANCOUVER — Bloodied and battered, a stitched-up Jannik Hansen was the difference maker for Vancouver as the Canucks earned their first 3-on-3 overtime victory of the season by beating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 Saturday night.
Not long after requiring stitches to repair a cut to his forehead, Hansen, who tied the game for the Canucks with a second-period goal, walked down the right wing and blasted a shot that beat Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot under the blocker for at 4:01 of the extra period.
With just over a minute to play in regulation time, Hansen crashed into the Oilers crease after an off-the-rush chance and smacked his forehead on the crossbar. The result was a golf ball-sized bump, a few stitches and the deciding goal.
"It wasn't too many (stitches), that's why they could get it done so quick," Hansen said. "I was hoping they would do it quick. It's a fortunate spot. It's not a spot that was erupting in any way and they were quick on the freezing too. It took them not even five minutes."
Hansen buried the goal that finally solved Vancouver's overtime riddle as the Canucks (14-14-9) had previously gone 0-7 when playing 3-on-3.
"Janny's been good for us this year," said Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins, whose team was without seven regulars, including late scratch Alex Burrows. "He comes back and he gives us a lot of energy. On the bench, he was telling the (defencemen) that he wanted that puck. He came back and got some speed and they found him wide. It worked out for us."
The Canucks, who were back at Rogers Arena for the first time since Dec. 9, saw Jacob Markstrom make 32 saves for his third win of the season. The Swedish netminder got the start with Ryan Miller sidelined with what the team is calling muscle cramps.
"I think we were due in OT," Markstrom said. "That was a big win for us. I got a lot of help tonight. The boys were great."
Edmonton's Mark Letestu opened the scoring in the first period before Hansen responded in the second.
The win is the third straight for Vancouver on home ice and improves the Canucks record at Rogers Arena to 6-6-3. The Oilers fall to 15-18-3 on the season.
Talbot, who was starting in net for the Oilers for the third time in four outings, stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced.
The Oilers had much of the possession early in the overtime session and generated a few clear-cut chances, but Markstrom stood tall.
"We had opportunities and we had the puck a lot in overtime," said Oilers coach Todd McLellan.
"There were a couple of open nets where they whacked at it and they did a good job of getting sticks on it. They came down and Cam had really good position, he was out far but (it) just slid it through and that happens sometimes."
After the Oilers took a 1-0 lead in the first, Vancouver tied the game at 3:37 of the second when Hansen scored his 11th goal of the season — taking a Henrik Sedin pass from the corner and sliding it under Talbot from the top of the crease. After winning a puck battle in the corner, Daniel Sedin gave a quick touch pass to Henrik Sedin, who then slipped it to an uncovered Hansen.
The Oilers opened the scoring at 12:55 of the first when Letestu whipped a wrister from the slot to the top corner, beating Markstrom on the glove side for his fourth of the year.
