VANCOUVER — Liam Ohgren celebrated his 100th NHL game by scoring one goal and assisting on defenceman Elias Pettersson’s winner as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 Saturday night. Drew O’Connor also had a goal for the Canucks (2-1-0) while Aatu Raty scored into an empty net. Defenceman Tom Willander and centre Linus Karlsson each had two assists. Matt Coronato, on the power play, scored for the Flames (0-2-0). Goaltender Leevi Merilainen stopped 23 shots in making his first start for Vancouver. Flames goalie Devin Cooley made 22 saves. Pettersson made it 2-1 at 9:04 of the third period. Streaking into the Canuck zone he took a pass from Ohgren and lifted a backhand past Cooley’s glove. Ohgren had tied the game 1-1 early in the third period on a disputed goal. His shot hit Cooley, then went under the goaltender’s arm toward the net. At first, the officials ruled Cooley had grabbed the puck before it crossed the line much to the frustration of the Vancouver crowd. The Canucks were awarded the goal after a video review turning the boos at Rogers Arena into cheers. O’Conner made it 3-1 at 16:33 of the third on a 2-on-1 breakaway. Calgary led 1-0 after the first period on Coronato’s power-play goal at 14:51. Takeaways Canucks: Vancouver didn’t get a shot on net until 6:50 was gone in the first period. …Tempers flared in the second period when Raty was left crumpled in the corner after taking a hit from behind from Flame defenceman Kevin Bahl after the Canucks centre forced Cooley to make a good stop off his shot. Bahl was assed a cross-checking penalty. Flames: Calgary shuffled its lineup after a 6-1 opening night loss to Seattle with defenceman Joel Hanley replacing Yan Kuznetsov and centre Connor Zary scratched in favour of left-winger Brennan Othermann. Key moment Late in the second period, the Flames had a 3-on-1 breakaway, but Merilainen stopped a Parekh shot. Just seconds later at the other end of the ice, Vancouver centre Elias Pettersson ripped a shot that hit the cross bar behind Cooley. Canuck Marco Rossi was unable to control the bouncing rebound. Key stat Pettersson’s goal was just the fifth of the defenceman’s 101-game career. Up next Flames: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. Canucks: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2026. Jim Morris, The Canadian Press
