Garland scores twice, Canucks defeat Blues

ST. LOUIS -- Conor Garland scored twice for the Vancouver Canucks in a 5-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Monday.

“He brings a lot of compete, whether he’s on the score sheet or not,” Canucks captain Quinn Hughes said of Garland. “I’m happy that he was able to get on the scoreboard tonight, but he’s always competing like that and pushing the pace for us.”

Tyler Myers and Pius Suter each had a goal and an assist, and Hughes had two assists for the Canucks (22-17-10), who have won two straight after losing four of their previous five. Kevin Lankinen made 24 saves.

“It’s a four-point game,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “We’re both going for playoff spots. ... It was a nice win for us.”

Dylan Holloway and Colton Parayko scored for the Blues (23-24-4), who went 0-3-0 on a three-game homestand. Jordan Binnington was pulled after allowing three goals on 18 shots. Joel Hofer made 10 saves in relief.

“Not good enough in every area,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “Special teams, 5-on-5 play, D-zone, neutral zone, O-zone, coaching. We all weren’t good enough tonight. Not acceptable.”

Garland made it 1-0 at 2:52 of the first period. After the Blues lost possession in the offensive zone, Hughes chipped the loose puck past Mathieu Joseph in the neutral zone, skated in on a 2-on-1, and sent a backdoor feed to Garland for a tap-in at the right post.

Tyler Tucker appeared to tie it for St. Louis at 15:00, but the goal was waved off after the officials determined that Holloway had impacted Lankinen's ability to play his position. Montgomery challenged the ruling, but the call was confirmed after a video review, resulting in a delay of game penalty.

“The puck was around the net. I was trying to go to the paint, get in front of the goalie,” Holloway said. “I felt like I got nudged a little bit from behind, but I understand it’s a hard call for the ref to overturn. I felt that I was getting pushed and I couldn’t get out of the way, but I guess I was coming in kind of parallel with the goalie. It looked like I was going there anyway."

Garland made it 2-0 on the ensuing power play at 15:53. He jammed in a rebound that trickled behind Binnington, who thought he had made the save on Brock Boeser’s shot from the high slot.

“Obviously, a good start,” Tocchet said. “The power play was good getting that goal for us. I thought we started on time. The first period kind of set us up for the game.”

J.T. Miller extended the lead to 3-0 with another power-play goal at 8:26 of the second period. Catching the Blues in a bad line change, Miller took a stretch pass from Hughes and scored blocker side on a breakaway.

Holloway responded with his own power-play goal, a one-timer from the right circle, to make it 3-1 at 10:08.

Suter scored a short-handed goal to make it 4-1 at 13:36. He beat Hofer five-hole on a partial breakaway that was sprung after Myers poked the puck off the stick of Holloway at the defensive blue line.

Parayko cut it to 4-2 at 4:22 of the third period when his cross-crease pass deflected in off the skate of Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. It was Parayko's 11th goal this season, an NHL career high.

Myers, who was returning from a three-game suspension, scored an empty-net goal at 17:57 for the 5-2 final.

“We played good defense in the third, and I thought we were ready in the first," Hughes said. "A lot to like about tonight.”

NOTES: Hughes has nine points (five goals, four assists) on a six-game point streak. ... Boeser has six points (one goal, five assists) on a five-game point streak. ... Canucks forward Phillip Di Giuseppe played in his 300th NHL game. ... Holloway has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games.