CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- After getting a dominant performance from their top-line center in the first period, the Vancouver Canucks relied on Brendan Morrison in the final minutes to earn them a point.
Morrison scored with 2:09 remaining in the third period to complete his first career hat trick and lift the Canucks into a 4-4 tie with the Calgary Flames.
After posting his first multi-goal effort of the season with tallies 2:05 apart in the first, Morrison beat Jamie McLennan to a loose puck in front and whisked it past the goaltender, giving him his first three-goal performance in 414 NHL contests.
"I think it got caught in Bert's skates in front and he couldn't grab it," Morrison said, referring to linemate Todd Bertuzzi. "I just went to the net and was able to slide it by the goaltender."
"I believe it was caught in somebody's feet, Bertuzzi's or somebody's," McLennan said. "It was a little too far for me to dive out there and it kind of got lost. Everyone was whacking at it and all of a sudden, it ended up on the wrong guy's stick."
The goal helped Vancouver pick up a point after squandering a 3-1 lead against one of the league's lowest-scoring teams.
"It was nice to see Mo get his first career hat trick," Vancouver captain Markus Naslund said. "But we didn't play well defensively. We were on the ice for a couple of goals against us."
Rookie Ryan Kesler scored his first NHL goal 12 seconds after Shean Donovan got Calgary on the board early in the second. But defenseman Robyn Regehr and Donovan tallied 40 seconds apart midway through the period to draw the Flames even.
"You have to give Calgary a lot of credit," Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier said. "They stuck with it when they were down 3-1. They battled hard and were very impressive tonight."
Stephane Yelle snapped the tie on the power play at 10:25 of the third, ending a 14-game goalless drought and giving Calgary its first lead of the game.
McLennan stopped 30 shots for the Flames, who moved to 0-5-2 in their last seven home meetings with Vancouver.
After knocking in the rebound of defenseman Jiri Slegr's redirection at 13:05 of the first period, Morrison took a feed from Naslund at the left side of the net and put it by McLennan for a power-play goal and a 2-0 lead.
Trailing, 3-1, Calgary was on the power play when Regehr wristed a shot from above the slot that banked in off the right goalpost. Craig Conroy notched his 300th career point with an assist.
Donovan knotted it at 9:28 with his third goal in two games before setting up Yelle alone on the doorstep for his third career three-point effort and first since November 29, 2000.
"It would have been nice," Donovan said "It would have been nice to get the hat trick and see the hats. Hopefully, that comes before the end of the year."
