Justin Abdelkader scored 2:31 into overtime and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Abdelkader got the winner by dropping to his knees just outside the crease to one-touch a precise pass from Henrik Zetterberg.
Frans Nielsen scored twice in the first period for Detroit and Zetterberg had two assists. Petr Mrazek made 25 saves.
Reid Boucher tied it at 2 with 2:46 left in the third period for Vancouver, and Markus Granlund also scored. Ryan Miller made 25 saves.
During the game, Detroit announced it had traded forward Steve Ott to Montreal for a sixth-round pick in the 2018 draft. Ott was scratched from Tuesday's game.
The Canucks also announced a trade, sending Jannik Hansen to San Jose for prospect Nikolay Goldobin and a conditional draft pick. Hansen was also scratched.
Facing very long odds to capture the second wild card in the East, Detroit is likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1990. Hence the team is selling at the trade deadline, sending defenseman Brendan Smith to the New York Rangers earlier in the day in exchange for draft picks.
Detroit opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game, as Andreas Athanasiou made a nice feed from the boards to a streaking Nielsen, who lifted the puck over Miller's shoulder.
Nielsen scored his second of the night at 11:41 while on the power play. Zetterberg found Nielsen alone in the slot and the center put it away for a 2-0 lead.
Under two minutes into the second, Daniel Sedin received a pass off the boards from Henrik Sedin, then dished to Granlund in the slot to cut the lead to 2-1. It was Granlund's 16th of the year.
Fransen almost had the hat trick in the second, going 1-on-1 with Miller, but the goalie made the stop to keep it a one-goal game.
Boucher tied it with 2:46 left to play, as he wheeled around the defense and scored his first as a Canuck to ignite the crowd.
NOTES: It was Vancouver's first game without veteran Alex Burrows, who was traded Monday to Ottawa. Burrows spent his entire career with Vancouver after joining the team in 2005. ... Canucks backup goalie Jacob Markstrom was out with a lower-body injury. ... Vancouver's Nikita Tryamkin, Micheal Chaput and Chris Tanev were out the mumps.
UP NEXT
Red Wings: Travel to Calgary for a game Friday night.
Canucks: Play at San Jose on Wednesday night.
