Spring has sprung in Vancouver. The sun is shining, people are out enjoying the cherry blossoms in bloom, and the seawall is packed with citizens out for a stroll.
And for some reason, the NHL decided 1 p.m. on a Saturday in April was the perfect time for the Vancouver Canucks to host the Anaheim Ducks. A game with little to no playoff implications between two clubs that’ve played… less than inspiring hockey of late.
If a hockey game is played in an arena, and no one is around to witness it, does it count in the standings?
The Canucks certainly hope so, because they followed up their shutout loss at the hands of the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday with an offensive explosion on Saturday; six goals, all by different scorers, including five in a four and a half minute span to shell shock the Ducks.
Yes, this photo was taken before the game, but the attendance wasn’t spectacular today by any account. And that makes sense the way things have gone. So leave it to the Canucks to put together an absolutely electric five-goal outburst in the first to catch everyone’s attention, before settling back into their usual quiet selves.
Let’s get this going.
After Ian Clark’s departure as Canucks goalie coach, Thatcher Demko immediately rebelled against his old master by donning some full black pads for his first set of games in the Flying Skate uniforms.
Maybe he decided his former coach was onto something, cause back came the white CCMs with coloured trim today. Crucially, the inner parts of the pads are back to white, giving him back the old optical illusion that comes with white pads.
The colours on this set really pop against the white background, as does the black jersey. A seemingly small change overall, but nonetheless nice!
A 1 p.m. puck drop at home is obviously earlier than the Canucks are used to, and the morning coffee hadn’t kicked in by the time the puck dropped. The Ducks, on the other hand, must’ve hit up JJ Bean on the bus to the rink because they were alert from the get-go.
The Ducks’ top line of Troy Terry, Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano gets behind the Hughes-Mancini defensive pairing a minute into the game, with defencemen Pavel Mintyukov jumping up into the rush. Mintyukov and Vatrano win the ensuing battle behind the net against Mancini and Kiefer Sherwood, then work the puck back up to Terry waiting by the faceoff circle. Terry steps into the dot and catches Demko off guard beyond a screen over the left shoulder, a rare mistake from an angle for Demko.
Anaheim taking the lead a minute and a half into the game is the sort of start that doesn’t usually end well for the 2024-25 Canucks. They haven’t had that dawg in them to claw their way out of early deficits often enough. Today’s going to have to be different.
Then, midway through the first, the floodgates opened.
It was too late for me, after
When one Elias Pettersson falls, another shall take his place. So sayeth the legend.
And that’s how Vancouver got to witness Elias Pettersson’s first NHL goal. For a second time.
Linus Karlsson does a great job spacing out the Ducks’ back-checkers at the blue line, dragging two of them to the left-hand side as D-Petey sneaks to the top of the circles. By the time Jansen Harkins notices EP25 wide open, it’s far too late. Karlsson fires off a backhand pass, and Pettersson rips it top shelf where momma hides the peanut butter. An absolutely gorgeous first NHL goal.
D-Petey has shown maturity far beyond his years on a number of occasions. Scoring from one knee on a one-timer with zero hesitation is just another feather in that cap.
Normally, I wouldn’t use these articles as a chance to show off my other work, but it’s actually relevant this time! During today’s Stanchies Pre-game video (a new series on my YouTube channel, which you should absolutely subscribe to), I talked about the key to beating a young, skilled team like the Ducks: score early and score often. You cannot let them hang around, because their youth will win the endurace battle.
The Canucks apparently took that to heart in the biggest way, starting with Fil the Thrill.
Hronek needn’t do much after receiving the pass from Teddy Blueger. With Jake DeBrusk, Drew O’Connor and a flock of Ducks in front of Lukas Dostal, Hronek picks the same exact corner as D-Petey, with an arrant Ducks stick turning it into a fluttering knuckleball for good measure.
Suddenly the Canucks have a lead and growing momentum. No better opportunity to slam their foot on the gas pedal.
On the immediate shift after the Hronek goal, the Ducks’ Alex Killorn takes a hooking penalty against Marcus Pettersson and puts his team on a penalty. Normally a power play opportunity is a surefire way to squash any momentum the Canucks have, but not today.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki makes the big brain move of holding the blue line before passing the puck to Quinn Hughes, guaranteeing himself an assist for the scoresheet. If I didn’t know better, I’d say video coach Dylan Crawford’s game tape hammered home the same play 30 times over. Because once again the Canucks create layers of traffic before Hughes lets a shot go, low enough that Brock Boeser tips it near the hashmarks up and over Dostal’s left hand side. Boeser’s 25th goal of the season gave the Canucks three goals in remarkably similar fashion in a matter of moments.
Can this get any better?
It can!!
The Ducks are reeling at this point, and Drew Helleson puts the Canucks’ power play out for an encore after interfering with Aatu Räty. This time, PP1 changes the game plan off the zone entry, with Hughes skating the puck in towards the net as the Ducks’ penalty killers collapse to the top of the crease.
Hughes goaded Radko Gudas into dropping early for a shot block, freezing him long enough to shoot the puck around him at Dostal’s five hole. Dostal’s stick gets in front of it, but the puck deflects right to Conor Garland, who’s gotten inside, positioning behind Leo Carlsson, and Corolla deposits the puck into the wide-open net.
At this point, you’re probably asking the same questions. “Wait, is that four goals in under four minutes?” “Where has this offence been all season long?” “How do the Canucks all turn into Alex Ovechkins the second the playoffs are out of reach?”
Those were all questions I was asking myself before Dakota Joshua interrupted my thoughts.
Marcus Pettersson wants to get in on the action. He’s the only new Canuck without a goal so far, and he’s looking to fix that. He’s already rifled one puck that Dostal snagged early on, and this time Dragon tries from the far left corner through another set of rolling screens. One of those Canucks blocking Dostal’s vision is Kiefer Sherwood, who spins around and attempts to tip the puck low, but he puts a little too much oomph in and kills the puck’s forward momentum.
Luckily, the rattled Ducks goalie isn’t expecting the puck to stop so suddenly, and Dakota Joshua, rolling through the slot, smacks the puck under Dostal’s blocker for their fifth goal in under five minutes.
And yes, that is a record.
The last time I remember the Canucks taking it to a team this convincingly this fast, it was a game against Jose Theodore and the Montreal Canadiens in 2006. The Canucks lit the former league MVP up for five goals and chased him off the ice in about 14 minutes. Somehow that season the Canadiens would go on to make the playoffs, and the Canucks wouldn’t. (Sound familiar?)
Tonight, Ducks coach Greg Cronin called a timeout but left his beleaguered netminder in the net for the rest of the night.
Look, when the Canucks want to be an offensive juggernaut, they have all the keys to be. Canning that skill and spreading it evenly over the course of an 82-game schedule is the million-dollar question. Or however much two games of home playoff revenue nets you.
The problem is that once they’ve accomplished getting a lead, they usually put that magic back on the shelf for the rest of the night. But that probably won’t happen this time, right?
Anyone who’s watched these Canucks before wouldn’t see them start the final 40 minutes with a four-goal lead expecting the best. And they were frankly right to be afraid.
Early in the third, a miscue between D-partners Hronek and M-Petey creates a loose puck at the blue line that Mason McTavish pounces on. Marcus hustles back and cuts off his lane to net and prevents a breakaway, but in the ensuing chaos, no one catches Trevor Zegras waiting unchecked at the far side of the net. Gudas blasts a shot that sails wide of the net to Demko’s left but banks off the lively boards right to Zegras.
Open cage, three-goal game.
I witnessed the Columbus game. I didn’t write for it; that was Trent’s night on duty, and I’m still stunned he didn’t quit immediately after. If the Canucks blow a lead this big again tonight, I’ve got a resignation letter on standby.
Thankfully, they will not make me use it.
Dave Tomlinson and I have something in common apparently! I must’ve drawn a thousand pictures of me winning the Stanley Cup for the Canucks back in the day. Do kids still draw? Or are they too busy playing Roblox and asking their parents for the Fortnite battle pass? Half-genuinely asking.
For those of you who rely on these Stanchies as a recap for games you missed, I’m going to be so real with you: whatever you missed this game for was worth it.
“But they scored five goals in the fir-” You still barely missed anything. The final 40 minutes wasn’t the final signature touches on a blowout or even a nail-biting ride to the finish. Here’s what you missed, two periods where the Canucks sat back and let the Ducks pepper Demko with shots and scoring chances. But Anaheim, being a team with a fair bit of talent but little finish, never really looked all that dangerous doing so.
Demko had a performance that wasn’t world-beating, but he absolutely did his job. Rather than his usual Employee of the Month-type game, Demko more resembled the quiet worker who clocks in right at 8 a.m., does his tasks, and clocks right out at 5. No mess, no fuss. Neat and tidy.
Yes, the Canucks are severely depleted and running on fumes. But they made the error of showing they could go above and beyond in the first period, so where did it go? It’s the same question you often find yourself asking, no matter how healthy this team has been at any given point.
That’s how we got about 37 minutes of two teams, with little to nothing to play for, riding out garbage time so they could get home to their families. I don’t blame them for it.
And you shouldn’t blame yourself either.
Best dressed #Canucks fan at today’s game is this kidpic.twitter.com/euLbeu7au8
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) April 5, 2025
I can’t believe they got Bender from Futurama in this game. Big fan, Mr. Rodriguez.
Today was the seventh anniversary of the Sedins’ final home game, when Daniel received the pass from Henrik for the OT winning goal that blew the roof off of Rogers Arena. I hear they’re still patching leaks to this day.
And here they are now, watching the current Canucks in the third period, wondering if they might be able to fill the voids left at centre and wing thanks to the injury bug.
Hank and Dank, if you’re reading this, it’s never too late for a comeback.
Wyatt would’ve loved writing about this goal. But that absolute honour goes to me instead. Serves him right for taking a much-earned day off like a chump.
Max Sasson was called up to fill the void left by *checks notes* Nils Åman (Hoo boy, they’re really out of centre depth now) being placed on the fourth line with his old Abbotsford linemates Karlsson and Lekkerimäki. Rick Tocchet elected not to test the fourth line unit much in this game, with Sasson playing a team low 11:58, but even in sheltered minutes, he seized his opportunity.
Noticing defencemen Oliver Kylington bobble the puck at the blue line, Sasson jumps all over him. Sasson steals the puck and turns on the jets, rocketing past Kylington on a breakway. With only Dostal left to beat, Sasson gets in close and shoots back against the grain towards Dostal’s left pad. His momentum is more than enough to get the puck past the goalie and into the net.
Speaking of “sheltered minutes,” the Drew O’Connor merchant still got a healthy serving of ice time even in a game with two points all but secured. But 22:36 is down from his usual 45, so this and the pair of assists he picked up might as well have been his version of a sick day.
But that doesn’t mean he’s about to take any guff from Frank Vatrano, who got under his skin by knocking him over with a stick wave and a well-placed push as Hughes was turning.
Vatrano had no idea that he’d awoken the beast, and after passing the puck to safety, Hughes engaged with a couple hardy shoves before pushing Vatrano to the ice.
It takes a lot to make the captain genuinely mad, but when he is, it’s a beautiful sight to behold. Size won’t win you a fight against an angry Huggy Bear.
First of all, I hope Fin cleaned his shoes before stepping into that ice cream carton.
Secondly, here at Stanchies Co. we strive to give you the most complete Canucks coverage possible. And if that means running to the grocery store to try a brand new Canucks-themed ice cream, you can expect a review coming.
Not sure who needs to hear this, but the Minnesota Wild have lost 4 in a row.
And they play Dallas tomorrow. #ItsNotOverTilItsOver #Canucks pic.twitter.com/jyEkaTn8iY
— Canuck Girl(@CanuckGirl43) April 5, 2025
I won’t mislead you here. The odds are exceptionally slim given everything that the Canucks are going to end up on the right side of the playoff bubble. Not only do they need a collapse from the Wild, they also need one from the Flames who are facing the Canucks opponents tomorrow, the Golden Knights, as of writing this.
But a 1% chance isn’t zero, and wouldn’t that be the most Canuck thing possible? To sneak into the postseason, thanks to a massive helping of luck and some well-timed points in the final two weeks?
I’m just saying, those tee times you want to book will still be there next week.
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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
The Canucks started this game with some great intensity, and after the Canucks’ top line built some pressure on Vegas, it was the home side that opened the scoring.
CANUCKS GOAL
: Sportsnet | #Canucks
— CanucksArmy (@canucksarmy.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T02:16:37.554Z
The goal went to Höglander, but there was some great work by Brock Boeser and Marcus Pettersson on this goal as well. Great to see Höglander pick up right where he left off. 1-0 Canucks.
The Golden Knights bounced back less than five minutes later, as Ivan Barbashev broke in on a close play at the blueline that the home crowd seemed to believe the Canucks should have challenged for offsides.
Ivan Barbashev ties the game for Vegas.
— CanucksArmy (@canucksarmy.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T02:22:47.311Z
It was close, and a couple years ago, it’s for sure offside, but with the new rules where the trailing skate can be in the air, I think this was too close to challenge. Especially given how good the Vegas power play is.
The Golden Knights seemed to feed off that first goal, as all of a sudden, the Canucks were struggling to stack shifts and get real forechecking pressure going as they did to start this game.
The Canucks gave up the game’s next goal, as old friend Tanner Pearson jumpstarted a rush chance that ended with an unfortunate bounce off of Victor Mancini’s skate and behind Kevin Lankinen.
Tough break for the Canucks as the puck goes in off Victor Mancini's skate. It's 2-1 Vegas.
— CanucksArmy (@canucksarmy.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T02:34:24.888Z
2-1 Vegas.
With just under three minutes remaining in the first, Jack Eichel gave the Canucks the game’s first power play when he took just his fourth minor penalty of the season. Which seems crazy.
The Canucks’ power play was great against Anaheim on Saturday, and they were going to need more of that if they wanted to hang with the Knights. This time around, they got a couple of good looks, uncluding one where Hughes rifled one at Boeser’s stick in an attempt that was nearly identical to the one the Canucks scored yesterday.
Vegas killed that one off, and with one second remaining on the Canucks’ PP, Aatu Räty took a penalty. The Canucks’ PK turned in a successful kill of their own to close out the first, and to open the second as well.
Kevin Lankinen made two huge saves in the early parts of the second period, and this one on Brett Howden was likely the bigger of the two:
Kevin Lankinen makes a great save! He robs Brett Howden!
— CanucksArmy (@canucksarmy.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T03:18:25.881Z
That opened the door for Aatu Räty to be Johnny-on-the-Spot for a point shot rebound to tie this one up at two all.
— CanucksArmy (@canucksarmy.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T03:24:35.887Z
Vegas challenged for goaltender interference, but after a lenghty review, this one stood. 2-2.
That also gave the Canucks another power play, but once again, Vegas killed it off. Again though, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Canucks’ PP got a great bumper spot look for Pius Suter, who was robbed by Adin Hill’s glovehand.
Adin Hill robs Pius Suter. That was an incredible save by the Vegas goaltender
— CanucksArmy (@canucksarmy.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T03:27:22.247Z
The third got underway with the two teams deadlocked at two apiece.
The Canucks and Vegas were playing solid lockdown hockey, with neither side really willing to give an inch. As the period went on, the Golden Knights were clearly the better team, but struggled to beat Kevin Lankinen. That, was until with just over three minutes remaining in the third, when Victor Olofsson broke the tie:
Vegas takes a one goal lead late in the 3rd period.
— CanucksArmy (@canucksarmy.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T04:41:43.861Z
3-2 Vegas. This team is really missing Tyler Myers right now.
3-2 final.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below. And be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver moments after the final horn!
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With a win over Anaheim and a loss to Vegas, it was a mixed-bag weekend for the Vancouver Canucks. And now it’s a mailbag Monday here at CanucksArmy. The march to the finish line is truly upon us with just five games remaining on the schedule. That has many of you posing questions about the off-season and beyond. There is no doubt that this front office has plenty of heavy lifting ahead of it to get the Canucks turned in the right direction. The mailbag, too, requires some heavy lifting this week with all of the responses we got from CA readers. There’s no playing out the string here, so let’s get down to business:
Second part first, the answer is no. As for who will hold down the second line centre spot when training camp rolls around, the crystal ball is in the shop for repairs so the answer is not readily apparent at the moment. I’m sure the name Josh Norris will surface once again in the summer months. Let’s see if a team (or teams) flame out in the first round of the playoffs and feel the need to alter the composition of its roster.
Maybe a few new trade partners will present themselves. Will the Canucks take a flyer on an offer sheet candidate? Patrik Allvin has sounded confident that he can make an offensive centre materialize for this organization, but it’s one thing to say it and another to make that happen. It just doesn’t feel like a true 2C option is currently in the fold, so with the eyes of the hockey world on the Canucks this summer, they are going to have to pull the proverbial rabbit out of their hat.
There are a bunch of them: Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in an NBA game. Jack Nicklaus winning 18 golf majors. Nolan Ryan’s 5714 career strike outs. And I sincerely hope no one ever bests Joey Chestnut’s 83 hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes. I get indigestion just thinking about that one.
The easy answer is they are somewhere in the middle. We all know everything fell their way in a 50-win and 109 point season and that so many career bests were always going to be tough to replicate. But it’s also easy to look at the injuries and adversity this season and think this team flushed so many points it should have collected. This is a flawed roster – especially after dealing JT Miller – so it’s hard to see this group as currently constructed a 100-point team.
Yet with a healthy Thatcher Demko at the top of his game, Quinn Hughes making up the 14 games he missed due to injury and Elias Pettersson returning to something close to star level and you can see the foundation of a team that should be much better than it is. Still, it’s been apparent on so many nights this season that the club needs an injection of reliable offensive producers at the top of the lineup.
With just five games to go, the Canucks aren’t going to move far from their current slot in the overall standings. A run either way would move them a few spots, but they’re not going to see a seismic shift. I’m inclined to keep rolling with all the Abbotsford call-ups and see what they can do with the opportunities. I’d like to see EP40 return for a couple of games rather than have his disappointing season end with an injury.
The better team won on Sunday, but I thought the undermanned Canucks put up a decent fight against a Vegas outfit with legitimate designs on another Stanley Cup. Maybe that’s the best of both worlds. Play hard and compete, but ultimately come up a goal short. Plus the schedule has the Canucks facing Dallas, Colorado, Minnesota and Vegas again which means regardless how well the team plays, it may not be up to the challenge of teams preparing for the playoffs.
This feels like the longest of longshots, but never say never. Right? The 25-year-old finished tied for sixth in KHL scoring this season with 28 goals and 57 points. Among those that produced more than Kravtsov this season: former Canucks Josh Leivo and Sheldon Rempal. Kravtsov was so underwhelming in his 16 games with the Canucks late in the 2022-23 season after being acquired from the Rangers. It’s hard to imagine Rick Tocchet looking at his lineup and thinking what he really needs next season – if he’s back – is a Vitali Kravtsov. You asked what the chances are? I’m going to see less than 10%.
As time winds down on this season, it’s so frustrating recalling last spring when the Canucks played 13 playoff games and the season extended to the May long weekend. And here we are now heading for an eighth time in the last 10 seasons without post-season hockey in Vancouver. And, of course, one of the two times the team played playoff hockey it was invited to an expanded tournament played in front of no fans in Edmonton. As teams around the league punch their tickets to the playoffs, I keep seeing things like ‘for the seventh time in eight seasons’ and think what that kind of consistency must look and feel like for those fan bases. I’m also reminded that it is possible.
You can’t make multiple consecutive appearances without the first one. So that’s probably the place to start and build from there. The Canucks will go as far as their stars take them. But without knowing the full roster for next season it’s impossible to make projections at this early stage. The fans here deserve playoff hockey on the regular. But as we’ve all learned from the past decade, wanting it doesn’t necessarily make it so. It’s wild to think you have to go back to the springs of 2012 and 2013 to find the last example of the Canucks qualifying for the post-season in consecutive years. That is too damn long.
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Welcome back to Stars of the Week at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!
It was a record-breaking week for Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals across the continent, and the Vancouver Canucks had a few records of their own to break. Their 6-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks saw them break the franchise record for five fastest consecutive goals.
In the first period alone, Elias Pettersson, Filip Hronek, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, and Dakota Joshua all scored in the same five-minute window. Alas, the Canucks giveth five goals, and they taketh five goals away.
In their previous game, they put on a tragic play to rival Shakespeare himself and were shut out by Seattle 5-0. The Kraken are a fun team to watch but carry a slight “little brother” inferiority complex as the youngest of the two recent expansion teams, and continue to be the perpetual thorn in Vancouver’s side. On the subject of expansion teams, the Canucks also dropped 3-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights after a late third-period goal prevented the tie game from overtime.
Tacking on a low-event 3-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets earlier in the week, it wasn’t the most glamorous of runs for the team, but it definitely was confusing. That is the fundamental Canucks experience.
Here’s the thing: there aren’t really any Canucks stars this week, or, at least not the ones one might think. Since they played four dramatically different games, it is hard to justify a player having a decent to fantastic game, only to absolutely nosedive in the following match.
Take Thatcher Demko alone, who had a great effort against the Connor Hellebuyck-led Jets after he was left hanging by the skaters in front of him, just to be nightmarishly shut out in the following game. Even Quinn Hughes hasn’t looked like himself, despite racking up 2 assists and first star of the game against Anaheim. Much like the stock market, the team is completely unpredictable and unstable right now. It’s the same old story this season.
Even with their showing against the Ducks, they were still outshot 26-32, which reflects more on the Ducks not being able to stop the pucks headed their way rather than the Canucks briefly turning into an offence-driven powerhouse.
These might not be your picks, but with only five games left in the season, it’s time to just have some fun with it. Putting away advanced stats and cap projection calculations to say, “Because I say so.” I’m digging into the B-sides and rarities for this set. Welcome to 3 Canucks Stars of the Week: “Oops, all defencemen!” edition.
Elias Pettersson (Defence)
D-Petey has had an understated yet incredibly valuable run as a Vancouver Canuck thus far. While the more recent call-ups from Abbotsford have been getting the most attention, understandably, Pettersson has been a part of the Vancouver lineup since January and is likely to become an NHL mainstay on the bottom pairing. He’s young, spry, an efficient skater, and is already looking promising at frustrating opponents under pressure. He’s achieved this while playing fairly limited minutes, averaging out at just over 12 minutes a game on the year, though he logged over 15 against Anaheim this week. This was his big game of the week, and he scored right from the slot in a picture-perfect moment.
In a season where the Canucks defensive depth has suffered and varied – Carson Soucy and Vincent Desharnais already seem like eons ago – a player like Elias Pettersson gives some insight on stability well into the franchise’s future. There’s a long way to go in the details in his game, but few making the NHL jump at just 21 carve themselves out a spot immediately, and it’s been a pleasant surprise. Even though the focus on Pettersson’s role is by far not his offence, his first career NHL goal was a celebratory moment nevertheless, and his name will remain part of the new franchise record for years to come.
D-Petey with his first goal puck.pic.twitter.com/wHmMv6uTH9
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 5, 2025
Derek Forbort
It makes sense to have D-Petey’s current third-pairing partner on the list, too, for the art of the defensive defenceman cannot be forgotten in a world of Norris Trophy phenoms. Forbort has been an unexpectedly solid pickup for the Canucks this year.
Quite frankly, he didn’t have the best week in the world – especially against the Winnipeg Jets, where he got dog-walked like a well-trained terrier – but he’s been remarkably consistent for the Canucks since February. After a slow start in the fall following the loss of his father and injury, he’s managed to make a difference in the latter half of this season and is one of the best penalty killers they have on hand.
He’s been a guiding veteran presence for young defencemen like Elias Pettersson and Victor Mancini, plays a responsible game and sets the example for them, and he’s provided insurance, allowing them to make the odd rookie mistake. Forbort factored in on Elias Pettersson’s first career goal against Anaheim, and actually put up the highest Corsi For in this game and played over 18 minutes, taking on a bigger role with Tyler Myers out of the lineup.
While the team won’t be making a trip to the playoffs this year, he’s played up to his $1.5 million one-year deal. It might be wise for Vancouver to re-sign him with another team-friendly amount to have their back-end defence covered and a pretty reliable shutdown player for the future.
Filip Hronek
Last week, I talked about how Aatu Räty and Fiip Hronek were worth the loss of Bo Horvat two years ago. This week, Räty managed to get a loose puck off Hronek’s signature shot and knock it right past Vegas’ Adin Hill for a good goal – after some deliberation. I rest my case.
This season, Hronek underwent a procedure in December, and he still came back to complete his current campaign of 56 games, 5 goals, 25 assists to date. While Quinn Hughes has either been out of the lineup or uncharacteristically off his usual standard this spring – completely understandably so, after he practically carried the entire team to the finish line – it’s become abundantly clear how important the support around him on the blue line really is. Right-handed defencemen of Hronek’s calibre do not grow on trees in the National Hockey League.
Hronek is a penalty killer who doesn’t let offence fall by the wayside and can hold his own on the secondary power play unit. He has his weaknesses, but don’t we all? I have no problem with Filip Hronek continuing as second-in-command on the blue line, though you could argue that the title belongs to Tyler Myers.
I’m a defender of Hronek, even when he’s blatantly struggling to defend off the rush. I defend so he doesn’t have to. Here’s his absolute firecracker of a shot from the blue line against Anaheim in case you forgot what the Canucks have in this player.
Or this, which is a better summary of how the Canucks season has gone.
do u think this will haunt Hronek #Canucks pic.twitter.com/Zykiu34TFB
— tiana(@nuckaround) April 7, 2025
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For the majority of this game, it was very clear what we were watching. The Dallas Stars? A fantastic hockey team. The Vancouver Canucks? Well, they tried their best.
And for the majority of the game, the score line followed this narrative. Dallas went up on three straight power play goals, and while Vancouver managed a cute little attempt at a comeback by getting two of their own in the third period, the Stars made it 5-2 on a Mikael Granlund empty netter.
Game over, season over, there’s always next year, HAGS. The Canucks playoff chances were officially snuffed, which means we can go back to reading New York Rangers fans coming to terms with JT Miller not saving their season as advertised. It’s petty, but that’s all we have at this point.
But then a funny thing happened. With around a minute left, Aatu Räty scored a goal to make it 5-3.
Ok, nice to see Räty score a goal. After all, the only thing worth watching for are glimmers of greatness from some of the young players that might help sell some hope for next year.
But then with Thatcher Demko pulled, the Canucks made it 5-4 when Mr. Cha-Ching himself Pius Suter brought the Canucks to within one goal with 28 seconds left on the clock.
Ok, hey, if you have to lose to a top team, at least you went out on your shield, right? At least you made those bad boys sweat a little bit, and you made them bleed their own blood. You had your 300 moment where you made the Gods realize they might not be as immortal as they once thought they were.
But then, with 5.2 seconds left, once again, Mr. Cha-Ching found himself staring at Casey DeSmith, and once again, he found himself getting the puck behind him.
5-5, a tie game. The season isn’t over yet; is this actually happening?
Then in overtime, with Quinn Hughes playing around four minutes of hockey due to a power play and the fact he’s Quinn effing Hughes, the Canucks managed to work the puck down low, Conor Garland does what he does best and won a board battle, and a pass was sent out to Kiefer Sherwood.
Game, set, blouses. Canucks win 6-5. Plan that parade, baby.
In a season of hot garbage, the Canucks managed to pull off one of their biggest comebacks of all time. It cannot be stated enough how over this game was. Dallas Stars fans had almost all filed out to beat the traffic. If any of them stayed off of social media, they were probably very confused when they talked about this game in the office on Wednesday.
“Wait, what? They didn’t lose. I saw it. It was 5-2 and I left with under a minute left. Gotta beat the traffic, am I right? The Canucks winning 6-5 is about as likely as the Mavs trading Luka….oh.”
Now, the Canucks still require a miracle to make the playoffs, and all the reasonable people amongst us know that this win, as glorious as it was, is only delaying the inevitable.
But after enduring one of the most tedious seasons in recent memory, sometimes it’s moments like these that keep you going with this team. They remind you that sports can be fun. Sports can be dumb. Sports can be exciting. We’ve had so many down moments this season that sometimes you have to remind yourself that it’s ok to enjoy a game like this. The sausage king of Chicago once said life moves pretty fast, and if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it, and he is right. Savour this game because damn it, you deserve it.
There was just something just so simple and beautiful about watching this depleted Vancouver Canucks roster going out there and putting a dent into the ego of a team that has big aspirations of making a run for the Stanley Cup.
Now, we’ve talked about how this part of the season is all about those glimmers of greatness, moments where a young kid maybe shows his stuff and gives you hope for next year. Well, the Canucks had several big moments from young players in Vittorio Mancini, Aatu Räty, and Linus Karlsson. You also had veterans step up to make big plays in Marcus Pettersson, Pius Suter and Fil Hronek. You also had a clearly exhausted and mentally and physically drained Quinn Hughes playing almost 32 minutes of hockey, showcasing that even when he’s in a catatonic state, he is still your team’s best player.
Should Quinn Hughes be playing 32 minutes a night at this point? Probably not, but who cares? Let’s worry about that another day. He’s on the fast track to emotionally turning into Gregory House, but whatever, that’s next year’s problem.
The important thing is that for one blessed evening, we got to enjoy hockey again. No locker room drama, no worrying about the make up of the roster, it was just all of us sitting back and watching the Canucks shit all over Dallas. For one sacred moment, we could feel the wind in our hair again.
The Canucks finally managed to step up in those key moments Rick Tocchet has been hammering away at all season. We didn’t have to hear him recount another loss where he ponders if maybe his team was nervous for the umpteenth time this year.
Instead, we saw a team give one last glimmer of pride on a season in which that has been few and far between.
Best giving it their best
Here we go boys! #canucks. Looking to see some good games to finish off the season.
— just a guy.
For around 95% of this article I was writing about how the Canucks gave it the old college try before finally capitulating to the superior talent of the Dallas Stars. About how the Canucks would generate offensive zone time, but were unable to do anything with it. How, even after having one of their best third periods in a while, all it took was a few counterattacks from the Dallas Stars, and this game was over.
It was a story we have seen so much of this season that I was practically copying and pasting a game recap from November, except all I did was add in a few White Lotus references to make it seem fresh. Is Pius Suter the Pornchai of the team? I have thoughts.
And to be fair to the Canucks, with their current roster, they played about as good as anyone expected of them, really.
Which is why we found ourselves giving positive feedback for executing an efficient dump and chase play that resulted in a Dakota Joshua shot on net:
Kiefer Sherwood lands the hit to separate his man from the puck, Räty throws a blind pass that manages to bank off the side of the net and go right to Joshua, and you know what? That’s a solid play for a team that has seen countless shifts end with over a minute of grinding out puck battles along the board, ending with no shot on net.
Next up was the Nils Höglander, Conor Garland and Pius Suter line creating their own quick shot after an efficient dump and chase retrieval:
Nothing mind-blowing, but again, the bar is pretty low. After watching Teddy Blueger give the human equivalent of a giant loud sigh last game by shooting the puck from the blue line into Adin Hill’s glove, I think we’ve all learned to embrace moments like this where at least the Canucks are executing a simple, efficient game plan.
The Canucks first good scoring chance was around the middle of the first period when Räty hurried Matt Dumba into throwing the puck around the glass, only for the stanchion (hi, it’s me) to bounce the puck out in front for Kiefer Sherwood to almost whack it in:
It was a good start for the Canucks, even if most of that effort didn’t translate into high level scoring chances. If anything, it kept the Dallas Stars back-pedaling for half a period, with this Mason Marchment shot their only really dangerous look at Thatcher Demko:
Natural Stat Trick didn’t register that as a high-danger chance, once again leading me to wonder what magical tariff formula they use for it, but alas. If anything, it was a learning moment for the defensive-oriented Elias Pettersson, who got turned inside out by the Stars forward with ease.
Next time, just kick him in the nuts, then fall to the ice screaming about how you broke your foot.
Best Wes MccAuley’s time to shine
raise the "get scored on first a lot banner" #Canucks
— Hmmm… A Canucks and (X) – Jets Fan
The Canucks really only got into trouble once they started taking penalties. Or, in Kiefer Sherwood’s case, existed:
I have watched this clip many times, and if that is a penalty, then there should have been around 90 calls made in this game. It’s not quite Tyler Motte being called for another dude high-sticking himself in the face, but it’s a few houses down the block from it. Close enough to know when they’re using the barbecue.
This of course led to the Stars’ first goal of the night when Wyatt Johnston made sweet, sweet love to the game of hockey with this pass to Miko Rantanen:
First off, I tip my hat to a fellow Wyatt doing so well in the sport of hockey.
Secondly, the Canucks penalty killing has not been an issue for a long while now, so it’s hard to get too riled up over it having an off-night like this. Dallas would end the night 3/4 with the extra man, and they made it look easy. Just a lot of really well-executed passes through the middle of the GOTI, which ended with Leon Draisaitl-style one-timers from odd angles that caught Demko moving. You found yourself saying “well, what are you gonna do” after each Dallas goal, which is either a sign of respect to the skill of the Stars, or bleak acceptance of the current state of the Canucks.
Probably a mix of the two.
Best grinding it out
The Canucks kept pushing back, though, and almost scored when a Brock Boeser pass was tipped by Max Sasson, which was then tipped by Jake DeBrusk, which then dribbled through the crease:
The Stars almost scored on the counter attack when Matt Duchene fed Mason Marchment in the slot, but again, it was not considered nearly high enough by Natural Stat Trick to be considered dangerous. Just mildly concerning.
Best now you’re playing with power
With Fil Hronek in the box for delaying the game of hockey, the worst crime known to man, Mason Marchment made up for his earlier miss by converting a pass from behind the net from Jamie Benn:
I enjoy Kiefer Sherwood coming in late to take out the legs of Marchment, resulting in a nice spin, with one hand on the ice like he’s Spiderman making a landing.
I do not enjoy Drew O’Connor blowing the assignment by ruining the Canucks diamond on the penalty kill. He had been on the ice for over a minute, so it’s safe to say fatigue played a large factor in this. But yeah. He chases Benn behind the net, who easily shakes him off, leaving a gaping hole of coverage that the Dallas Stars captain takes advantage of.
Moral of the story: Don’t you dare delay the game of hockey. Ever.
Best slowly falling apart
The Canucks second period was their worst of the game, as Dallas just started taking over.
That’s not to say the Canucks didn’t have their chances, they just didn’t have any moments where they made Casey DeSmith have to work too hard to make a save.
For example, here is a clip of Max Sasson winning a board battle and feeding Jake DeBrusk at the point, who skated in and got a shot on net:
Like, yes, that’s a solid play, but Casey isn’t worried about too much on that shot.
Meanwhile, you had one of the best names in hockey in Sam Steel walking around Vittorio Mancini after he blocked his point shot:
It was actually really good hustle from Mancini to get back into coverage, but Steel absolutely sends him to the shadow realm by running out of space and then going “tee hee, I didn’t run out of space at all!” and finding a way to drag the puck through the crease like that. But also, kudos to Vittorio for slamming that puck into Demko’s nuts to keep it safe and warm, away from prying sticks.
Linus Karlsson had another mildly concerning chance for the Canucks after making a really strong move towards the net after getting a fantastic bounce pass off the boards from Teddy Blueger:
Linus Karlsson has been my dark horse of players I want to see back with the club next year competing for a fourth line spot. He’s really showcasing an ability to take the puck towards the net, both by using skilled moves or plays where he simply shields the puck away from his opponent. After watching a season of dump and change hockey, plays where a Canucks skater actually holds onto the puck and actually goes towards the net with purpose tends to stand out.
I just think it showcases Karlsson’s confidence and how much it has grown during his time with the big club. At the start of the season, he dumps that puck into the corner or takes a shot after the initial entry, guaranteed.
But instead of crushing my soul and will to live with garbage hockey, he’s out here dangling to the net and trying to catch Casey DeSmith off guard by shooting against the mustard grain, and I can get behind that.
Best squeezing the life out of them
The Stars, however, would make it 3-0 when Matt Duchene scored on a pass from who else but Jamie Benn:
The Stars were cutting right through the diamond formation of the Canucks with ease, making it look far too easy. Demko is lunging back and forth, trying to track the fast-moving puck, and by the time he lunges back to cover a potential Jamie Benn shot in the slot, the Stars captain finds Duchesne with the perfect pass.
You know how you know it was a great pass? Demko stacked the pads to try and make the save. He went full Kirk on that play.
Also, kudos to Sherwood for trying to take out another Dallas Star player after a goal was scored. That’s how you let them know you’re coming for them in overtime.
Best struggle bus
The second period was honestly just a lot of the Dallas Stars controlling the play and the Vancouver Canucks just trying to hold on. I won’t bother posting many clips because we’ve seen too much of that this year already, but it was just a lot of the Canucks trying to survive and failing to clear the puck, leading to scoring chances for Dallas.
On one play, Marcus Pettersson couldn’t clear at one side of the ice, leading to Mancini failing to clear it on the other, resulting in Wyatt Johnston dragging the puck through the crease and almost tucking it past Demko:
It just felt like you were watching big bro telling little bro it was time for bed at this point.
Best high points of the second period
About the only good thing from Vancouver’s side of the fence in the middle frame was Elias Pettersson committing violence on Rantanen:
And Jake DeBrusk firing off a quick shot in the slot on the power play on a pass from Garland:
Jake didn’t score, of course, because he will never score another power play goal ever again.
Best Jake DeBrusk scored a power play goal again
My favourite version of Jake DeBrusk is the one that leans into rush hockey, which, unfortunately, isn’t something this Vancouver team has been very good at.
Still, during pre-season, we saw a little bit of that Todd Bertuzzi power forward game where he would surprise teams by lumbering in at speeds you wouldn’t expect of him, showcasing nimble hands in close.
Well, Tuesday night we saw that version of Jake, when Mr. First String Quarterback went the length of the ice, only to run out of room, only to giggle “tee hee, I didn’t run out of room” and bank the puck in off of DeSmith’s skate:
Just a sublime goal from Jake DeBrusk, who has been pretty much as advertised by Bruins fans. A streaky scorer who can disappear for stretches at times.
It feels like he is a really good passenger player. He won’t drive a line. He has no problem taking the 99 B-Line to his destination. Which, in this case, was goal city.
Best fighting power with power
The Canucks found themselves with four minutes of power play time after Teddy Blueger was cut up by a stick, leading to Vittorio going full Bobby Roode, scoring a glorious goal off a point shot:
Yes, that is Linus Karlsson running to the net to set up his little lemonade stand in front of DeSmith, distracting him with these rock-bottom prices but high-level quality Tang.
Yes, that is Vittorio moving in and waiting just long enough for traffic to form before getting his shot off.
It was a good goal from a club that is knee-deep in “show us something, anything” mode with its kids.
The Canucks continued the pressure after the two goals, hemming Dallas in their own zone, watching as another team parked the bus for once, leading to Linus Karlsson once again showcasing his abilities with the puck:
Again, it’s not a huge play, but that’s a young kid protecting the puck and finding a way to get it near the net. That’s the kind of play this team needs more of. Less point shots, more ways of getting into dangerous areas of the ice.
Moments later, Conor Garland would win another board battle, finding Elias Pettersson in the slot for the shot, leading to a goal mouth scramble that was just a few hairs about mildly concerning:
The point is, the shots were 10-0 in Vancouver’s favor, which is a sight for sore eyes from a club that has struggled to generate much of anything this year.
Unfortunately, you also had another learning lesson for Elias Pettersson, where once again he found himself under the learning tree of Mason Marchment, leading to the Stars’ first shot of the period with only eight minutes left in the third period:
Elias Pettersson has played at a very high level for a young player, so moments like this will only further help him evolve his game.
Unless he just gets mad about it and pretends his WiFi cut out.
Who’s to say, really.
Best closers close
Despite all of the pressure, despite all of the compete in their nature, the Dallas Stars came alive near the end of the period to put this game away.
After a couple of shifts of pressure from Dallas, their first signs of life in the entire period, Jason Robertson spun around the back of the net to find Mavrick Bourque to seemingly put the game away for good:
I assume Dallas had “Top Gun” headlines all ready to go after this goal, which I heartily applaud. Look at him celebrate. The dude was feeling it, as well he should. This truly felt like an “ok we had some fun here, but it’s time for us to take our two points and go home” moment from Dallas.
Best proud tradition
Mikael Granlund, the brother of the inventor of the sea of Granlunds himself, Markus, would then ice the game with an empty-netter:
This is where most games end. You’re up 5-2, there’s barely two minutes left in the game, this one should be over.
The problem is, in this version of Top Gun, Ice Man is the hero, not Mavrik.
Best Ice Man
Aatu Räty, aka Ice Man, got the Canucks comeback started. Why is he the Ice Man? You’ll see on the fifth goal. For now, come with me on this journey as we showcase a team scoring what normally would have been a pity goal:
That is Räty’s fifth goal in seven games, folks. The guy who felt like he was a throwaway “oh you want a prospect in the Horvat trade? Uhhh, sure, yeah, you can have this guy” has maybe, possibly, shown he could be an NHL player. This is what glimmers of greatness season are all about, baby. Show us you might have that juice.
We would also be remiss if we didn’t fawn all over Marcus Pettersson picking the pocket of Wyatt Johnston, only to turn and NOT fire the puck into traffic. Oh no, not today, Satan. Instead, he patiently waits a half-second and finds a wide-open Aatu Räty for the goal.
Again, at this point, the game is still over. It’s nice that MP3 made such a smart defensive play, and it’s quaint that Aatu Räty scored, but it’s 5-3 with only a minute left, you dorks. What are you expecting here?
Best other proud tradition
Well, here’s the thing: Mr. Cha-Ching would then make it 5-4 with just under 36 seconds left in the game:
A couple of things about this goal:
- That’s a fantastic play from Conor Garland, who would end the night with three assists, giving him 48 points on the season. His patience and poise with the puck is what opens up that passing lane to Suter, as he essentially drags three Stars into goal line coverage, giving Pius the free parking spot at the top of the crease.
- Corolla has averaged around 48 points in his four years with Vancouver, making him a remarkably consistent player in whatever role you put him in. Top six? He’ll get you 50 points. Elite third line? 50 points. I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea on the power play (his muffin of a shot doesn’t inspire posters, I get it), but for a player that almost left town years ago, he’s been one of the most reliable players for the Canucks both offensively and defensively.
- Pew Pew is going to get paaaaaaaaid.
Best the Ice Man cometh
With under 30 seconds left in a game, a faceoff win is almost vital at that point. You need possession of the puck so you can pull your goalie and so you can set up shop in the offensive zone.
So who did the Canucks send out to win the most important face off of the game? Who did they send out with the playoffs quote unquote on the line?
The Ice Man himself, Aatu Räty:
Not only does he win the draw clean as a whistle, he then sprints to the bench for a line change to let Pius Suter get on the ice, the guy who would score seconds later. We also have to give credit to Fil Hronek on this play because he jumps up and makes a terrific pinch deep along the boards to keep the puck in the Stars zone.
All of which led to this Pius Suter goal a few seconds later:
Hronek almost tips a puck out of the air to tie the game up but has to settle for making the quick pass to Mr. Cha-Ching himself for the tying goal. I think on both of Suter’s goals, he wasn’t quite sure he’d scored them, as he definitely had a delayed reaction to both of them.
You know who didn’t have a delay? Corolla Garland jumping with joy about his new Toyota:
Incredibly, against all the odds Phil Collins warned you about, the Canucks managed to tie this game up.
Just when you think this team is dead, they manage to stick one tiny finger out of the hastily created grave you dug for them.
Best finishing touches
So, with overtime, possession is key, right? Which means if you have to send out one guy to win you what is now the next most important faceoff of your season, who do you choose?
That’s right, Fil Hronek:
Again, I think it just shows the confidence in the Ice Man that the Canucks are sending Räty to win a draw in overtime, which is always nice to see from a young player. Sure, he got waved out of the circle, but that’s because he knew Hronek had the win in him.
The Canucks would draw a penalty in overtime, but it didn’t amount to much of anything, but it does help explain the 4-on-4 scenario the Canucks found themselves in when Corolla Garland stole the wallet right out of the pocket of Matty Dumba, feeding Kiefer Sherwood with the pass to end the game:
Dumba is out there planking while Garland is out here celebrating.
Fun fact: Quinn Hughes had a 3:44 shift in overtime. You know how long overtime was? Three minutes and 44 seconds. Absolute madness.
Somehow the Canucks managed to find a way to win their most unwinnable game of all time. By all rights, this should have been dead in the water. Down three with just minutes left? This is the sort of thing that Vancouver usually has happen to them, not the other way around.
And again, this win isn’t some magical salve that’s going to jump-start next season’s run to the Cup. This isn’t going to awaken anything in them, allowing them to finally reach their final form, becoming world beaters next year.
But it is a nice little bit of confidence for some of the young players, that yeah, maybe they can build on that a little bit. Maybe they start feeling like hey, they do belong in the NHL, and they can hang here. Maybe it helps lighten the room a little bit after a long, heavy season. It might not be the light at the end of the tunnel, but it might be a little bit of a push to keep walking in that direction.
And even if this win amounts to nothing, even if this franchise stumbles over the next few years, like the sausage King of Chicago told us, sometimes you just have to take a minute and sit right there, while he tells you how he became the Prince of a town called Bel-Air.
Wait, that doesn’t sound right.
Best Kierszenstat
Best making history
Sponsored by bet365
Don’t book those trips to Turks and Caicos and tee times yet, people, because the Vancouver Canucks playoff hopes are still alive after one of the most epic comebacks in franchise history on Tuesday evening against the Dallas Stars:
Now, of course, this result will hold no meaning if the Minnesota Wild get another win, which quite easily could be tonight as the Wild take on the San Jose Sharks – not to mention they’re getting the likes of Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek back in the lineup.
However, Canucks fans will always be able to look back on this game and reflect on a great comeback that kept them in the hunt for at least one more day.
The Canucks’ first two periods was less than inspiring. According to Natural Stat Trick, the numbers say the Canucks had the better chances. But the score would indicate otherwise, as they were outshot 20-17 and outscored 3-0 heading into the final frame.
But that’s when everything broke right for the Canucks. Whatever speech that Rick Tocchet, Quinn Hughes or whoever gave in the locker room during the second intermission, the message was clearly received because that’s when the Canucks started to play like a team, who has their season on the line.
Let’s get into the clips.
The Tape
We don’t have to wait long for the Canucks to mount their comeback:
Hughes collects the puck behind the net and finds a streaming Conor Garland rushing up the right side boards. He cuts to the middle while Jake DeBrusk on the far side gains a step on his defender. Without a clear lane to attack the net and Casey DeSmith cutting off the shooting angle, DeBrusk acts as if he’s going to loop behind the net. Instead, he sees DeSmith not hugging the post and uses his opportunity to bank it off the goalie’s skate and finds the back of the net.
For most teams, that is a pretty routine zone entry. Garland gains the zone with speed and finds the open man on the opposite side for a chance. But for the Canucks, this was relatively new to gain the zone with ease and find the trailer on the far side with speed and it to amount to a goal.
Were the Stars playing a little lighter coverage with a three-goal lead? Perhaps. But you can tell by the Canucks celebration that there was still work to be done.
The Canucks would continue to generate a lot of offensive zone time, keeping the Stars on their heels.
After a Mason Marchment high-stick on Teddy Blueger, the Canucks were sent to a four-minute man advantage. The first unit struggled to produce serious scoring chances, but then the second unit hopped over the boards:
Just wanted to highlight the movement by this second unit, consisting of mostly AHL forwards with Aatu Räty, Linus Karlsson and Victor Mancini paired with Nils Höglander and Filip Hronek.
Once the Räty shot goes into the corner, watch everybody’s movement. Karlsson gets the puck in the corner and feeds Räty in the slot, who makes the smart play to find Hronek at the point.
Now, Höglander moves down the lane, with Mancini circling back toward the middle of the ice for a back-pass one-time option. During that time, Karlsson keeps his stance open to the puck carrier, while Höglander kicks his leg and fakes the shot to pull the defender, opening up Karlsson. Hronek also pedals down and stays in the cross-ice passing lane, which is perfectly highlighted by this camera angle.
Karlsson ultimately keeps it for himself and takes a shot close in on DeSmith. But the movement led to a scoring chance with a lot of open ice for the puck carrier.
The same unit would get rewarded for their strong movement play:
After a scrum in the corner, the puck finds its way to Räty along the boards, who shovels it out of danger to Mancini at the point. With two of the four Stars penalty killers finding their way back from the corner scrum, Mancini has all the time in the world to backpedal, square up his shot and pick his target to give the Canucks life again.
This was a great shift from Mancini. Not only for his movement from the first clip, but watch the clip again when the scrum is in the corner. Höglander leaked down toward the slot area and may have gone even further down had it not been for Mancini directing Höglander to cover the point as Hronek was in the midst of the battle. Then, he gets rewarded with his first goal as a Vancouver Canuck.
With time remaining on the first penalty, the Canucks had two more minutes of power play time after the goal. The top unit struggled to get set up, that was until the 14:11 minute mark. Vancouver would generate some incredible offensive zone time, hemming the Stars in their zone for the 1:40 of game time before Mancini mishandles the puck and pops into the neutral zone.
Despite all the pressure, they could not find the equalizer. However, to further illustrate the Canucks’ dominance, they wouldn’t allow the Stars to gain the zone with the puck for the following 3:22 minutes of game time. The shots were 10-0 at this point of the game.
But as they say, hockey isn’t fair sometimes. The Canucks were controlling play, generating offensive zone time and outchancing the Stars, it was Dallas who found the next goal and gave themselves a two-goal cushion with under three minutes remaining:
Now, this was just a bad defensive breakdown where everybody was more focused on getting the puck back so they could get the puck back.
Mancini covers the right post in case the puck carrier behind the net pressures toward the front.
But the problem is that Hughes and Sherwood cover Hintz at the net front, which leaves a streaming Mavrik Bourque all alone in the high slot and buries it past Demko.
If all hope wasn’t already lost, then surely you knew it was over less than 25 seconds later:
Three stars swarm around Höglander and force him to lose the puck. Matt Duchene finds the open Esa Lindell, who shovels it up to Mikael Granlund, who fires it into the empty net to give the Stars a three-goal lead.
But right when you think they’re down and out, the Canucks string it all together:
Just watch Marcus Pettersson in the offensive zone. This has to be his best offensive play as a member of the Canucks.
Pettersson collects the puck at the point and does a quick deke to beat Bourque. He opens his stance and finds Elias Pettersson, who squares up for a wrist shot from the point. At this point, M. Pettersson is at the goal line. He makes a strong back check to strip Wyatt Johnston at the right hash marks, spins into a shooting position in the slot, and forgoes a premium shot attempt to find Räty at the side of the net, who finds the back of the net.
Canucks within two. One minute to go.
With Sam Steel pinning him to the boards, Brock Boeser gets the puck out of danger with a swift backhand pass to the middle for Hronek. He and Hughes go D-to-D and then swings it down to Garland.
Garland fakes a shot from the right circle, dekes Lindell and sends a perfect tape-to-tape pass to Suter in the slot, who makes no mistake beating DeSmith on the far side.
Canucks within one. 29 seconds to go.
Rick Tocchet calls a timeout to set up the perfect play. And who does he send out with less than 30 seconds left on the most important faceoff to save their season? Aatu Räty.
And what does he do? He wins the draw and sprints off the ice to get Suter back out there. Then the Canucks get back to work:
After a lengthy scrum in the corner, Boeser finds Garland at the point and sends it to Hughes, who rips a shot toward the net with nine seconds remaining. Hronek, of all people, is down at the goal line, but he’s in the perfect position to grab the loose puck off the backboards and fires a prayer of a pass to the front of the net.
Sometimes prayers get answered, as it goes perfectly to the stick of Suter in the slot and buries his second in 25 seconds past DeSmith, who isn’t even looking.
That’s now two Canucks goals where Hronek has been grinding it out in a scrum in the corner that leads to a Canucks goal.
Canucks tied. Off to overtime.
Every faceoff at this point is the most important faceoff. And what does Tocchet do? Send his ace back out there in Räty with his two stud defencemen, Hughes and Hronek.
But in doing so, you run the risk of Räty getting waved out, and a defenceman now has to take the faceoff. And that’s exactly what happens. But fear not, Hronek ties up Mikko Rantanen and becomes the first defenceman to win a faceoff this season. Unreal.
Rantanen sent the Canucks on the power play in overtime. The top unit generated steady offensive zone time but could not capitalize. Although they didn’t convert, the Canucks dominated offensive zone time at 4-on-4, which led to the game-winning goal:
Again, it’s another Canucks goal with a lot of movement in the offensive zone, particularly at the top. Hughes finds Hronek down low but has the puck poked off his stick, allowing Thomas Harley to shovel it to Matt Dumba.
However, Garland is a man on a mission, lifts Dumba’s stick to grab control and finds an absolutely naked Kiefer Sherwood left alone in the slot, who drops to one knee and before DeSmith can even face the shooter, the puck is behind him.
Canucks pull off the last minutes three goal comeback and keep their very, very slim playoff hopes alive.
There were so many players that helped contribute to the Canucks’ massive comeback.
Filip Hronek, for his work down low in the board battles and his two primary assists on Suter’s goals.
Conor Garland, with his zone entry and cross-ice pass on the first goal and his dog mentality to pressure Dumba behind the net and find Sherwood on the game-winning goal – also his bunny-hop celebration on Suter’s second goal.
Victor Mancini and Marcus Pettersson, for their offensive zone contributions out of players you wouldn’t expect it from.
Aatu Räty, for his faceoff ability and the last-minute goal that sparked the comeback.
And, of course, Pius Suter, who’s always in the right place to capitalize at the net front for the two goals in the final minute to send the game to overtime.
It was certainly a third period to remember for the Canucks this season. Their playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread, but as Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber said, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”
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When last we spoke, the Vancouver Canucks had completed the miraculous comeback against the Dallas Stars, pushing their playoff chances to almost half a percent. Alas, the miracle office closed yesterday when Minnesota officially eliminated Vancouver from partaking in the post-season, leaving us with four more games to grind out to close out the season.
Is there much of a point to these games? No, not really. All it comes down to is glimmers of hope (seeing which young players showcase NHL promise) and the curiosity of seeing the amount of pride the team has left in the tank to try and win some games. I know there is a proud tradition in Vancouver to win games down the stretch, thus ruining potential draft positioning, but with most non-playoff teams unable to pass the Canucks, it’s hard to get too riled up even if Vancouver wins out to close the year. They are basically a lock to pick around the 14-16 spot, aka the reward you get for just missing the playoffs.
And dubs were on the menu Thursday night, as the Vancouver Canucks handily disposed of the Colorado Avalanche 4-1, sweeping the season series 3-0, and proving with conclusive science and facts that Quinn Hughes is a better player than Cale Makar. You can argue all you want, but the numbers don’t lie.
And while the win was ultimately meaningless, if you’re into pride, the Canucks showed plenty of it on a night with nothing to prove. They showed up to the rink and beat the Avalanche, showcasing that had they made the playoffs, clearly they would have easily handled Dallas or Colorado. Again, science proves this.
If you’re into glimmers of hope, the biggest takeaway on this night was threefold.
You had Kevin Lankinen bouncing back and playing like he did earlier in the season, stopping 31 shots, including several five-alarm saves.
You had Dakota Joshua once again showing the form that earned him the four-year contract in the off-season, as it seems he has finally found his groove after dealing with his recovery from cancer.
And you had the defensive Elias Pettersson getting into his first NHL fight, putting an exclamation point on the coming-out party he threw for himself, announcing himself as an everyday NHL player, essentially locking in a spot with the big club for next season.
Which, again, at this point in the season? That’s about all you can ask for from a Canucks game, it’s a simple as that, really.
So, without further ado, let’s just get to the gifs, shall we?
Best pre-game buzz
There is obviously an emotional element to a long-tenured player potentially leaving the way Brock Boeser is about to, and there is also the business element to it all. We will wait to see how this all plays out, of course, so we won’t go too deep down the Boeser rabbit hole, but there will be a lot of fans who will question the personal side of how Brock Boeser was handled by this management team.
I know there will be a collection of people who will merely see this as business, of course. It’s a big boy sport where people get paid big boy money, so they need to roll with the punches.
But there is also room for the fans who feel that this management team is lacking when it comes to the human side of the game. We saw it in their handling of Bruce Boudreau, and we’re seeing how they’re handling Brock Boeser. Yes, at the end of the day it’s a business, but it still remains a puzzling PR choice for a general manager to come out and say that the offers for Brock Boeser at the deadline amounted to, and I am heavily paraphrasing here, wet hot stinky garbage, and oh hey, you can’t generate value around a player, as the on-ice play, and only the on-ice play, dictates value. Which if you’re following along at home, that’s the equivalent of someone telling you sorry, they don’t want a second date, they just really prefer dating attractive people.
It feels pretty clear that this team could easily raise their game when it comes to the HR and PR side of things; that’s all I’m saying.
That being said, there is also the business element of all of this in that you now have a team that is about to potentially watch Pius Suter and Brock Boeser leave for nothing. I never thought we’d hear a worst level of coping then “the injured player returning after the trade deadline IS the big addition we made for the playoff push!!”, yet the “hey, the cap space from Brock Boeser leaving is the big win here” has now taken that crown.
At the end of the day, losing Boeser and Suter for nothing would be worse than anything Jim Benning did in his reign of terror. As horrifying as it was to hear “ah dang, we done gone run out of time” as an excuse for not cashing in at that deadline on expiring assets, that is still better than the post-deadline presser Allvin gave. At least with Benning, I actually believed he legitimately ran out of time. It’s incredibly stupid, but I feel like he did try his hardest.
With Allvin basically claiming he couldn’t find value for a versatile Swiss army knife center in Pius Suter or a playoff team willing to add some goals in a former 40-goal scorer in Brock Boeser, well, that feels more like a fundamental general manager issue.
I just find it odd to keep both players in a season that everyone and their mother knew was dead in the water by this point. Even if you want to lean on the “but but but Quinn Hughes wants to win a Cup Mr. Wyatt, what about keeping the boy happy by gunning for the playoffs this year??”, again, I have to assume Quinn is a smart lad who can see that if the Canucks don’t have Suter or Boeser in their long term plans, then bringing in assets at the deadline helps their long term window far more than the wet fart this season ended on.
But again, we shall see how this plays out.
Best little things
When Colorado or Dallas lose in the playoffs, we shall take credit for it. This is our right of Prima Gotya.
Best slow start
The Canucks kind of had a slow start to this game, if we’re being honest. They got some shots, sure, but their best chance was this Drew O’Connor shot that was stopped by Mackenzie Blackwood:
It’s a pretty slick pass from Teddy Blueger to find Doc all alone down low, but like any good Tyler Motte soldier, O’Connor’s hands can only do so much.
And after that chance, Colorado took over for the majority of the first period and the start of the second.
But before we get to that, HELICOPTER CAM IS A GO!
Best bird’s eye view
Hey, when you lock in a new TV deal, sometimes you have to prove you’ve got more tricks up your sleeve.
Ever want to watch a hockey game like you’re a creepy dude with an unregistered drone? Sportsnet has you covered:
I don’t know why this is happening, but I am here for it.
Best Avalanche of chances
OK, so here’s the part of the article where Colorado shows how close they came to pulling away in this game, only to run into the brick wall known as Kevin from family Lankinen.
First, you had Sam Girard escaping the penalty box and almost going full Quinn Hughes on the counter attack, only to be denied by Kevin:
Then you had Miles Hard Wood racing off of the faceoff to beat Derek Forbort but being unable to tuck the puck around Kevin:
Then you had Cale Makar not understanding how to win without a superstar forward, something Quinn Hughes does not struggle with, trying to set up Artturi Lehkonen for some Lehkonen on Lankinen crime:
Val Nichuschkin was the closest Avalanche player to score a goal, as he rang one off the iron on a set up from Sam Malinksi:
The point of all these clips? To showcase that had the Canucks wanted to, they could have let the cold embrace of death simply drag them under the water had they wanted to. Colorado was carrying the play for the majority of the period, and were it not for Kevin Lankinen tiring of people questioning his new contract, this game could have been over before it even began.
But then a funny thing happened in the second period.
The Canucks decided why the hell not, let’s win this thing.
Best meet cute
After several more scoring chances from Colorado that I declined to show you because a) I already proved my point about the Avalanche playing well and b) tariffs on American team gifs really hurt my bottom dollar, I will instead switch over to Canadian-made gifs only.
And the first gif we have is a doozy, as it showcases Kiefer Sherwood making a hell of a pass over to Jake DeBrusk for the first goal of the game:
We haven’t seen a lot of goals off the rush this year, as this team seems to think dumping the puck and going for a line change is like some NBA Jam hot spot way to pile up points, but mark this goal down decidedly as off the rush.
And yeah, like a lot of times this season where we heard Rick Tocchet imploring his players to make plays with purpose and to not just throw things away, Kiefer Sherwood actually executed on it. He could have tried to force a shot on net from the initial rush, but instead, he drags the puck back in and finds a way to buy space and time to get the puck through to DeBrusk.
And hey, when you have your best blue paint guy riding shotgun with you on a rush, yeah, sending the puck into his wheelhouse seems like a delightfully good idea.
End result, the Canucks scored a goal that felt like it came out of nowhere. The crowd appeared stunned. The Avalanche players are in shock. In fact, the only player who looked like he knew it was coming was Cale Makar because he’s been living with the fact that Quinn Hughes is the superior player for so long now that it’s hard to have any ego left to be hurt by this goal.
The Canucks continued to keep the pressure on as Quinn Hughes put on his dancing shoes, finding a way to get the puck on net, leading to Conor Garland and Pius Suter having a good look at a loose puck in front of Blackwood:
All of which led to the Canucks scoring their second rush goal of the night off of an incredible shot from Kiefer Sherwood:
Those two points put Sherwood at 40 on the season, cementing himself as the best bargain-bin player of the last off-season. 40 points and leading the league in hits. Why yes, that does seem like good value on a 1.5 million dollar deal, considering you just have to have a last name that sounds “kind of similar” to a former NHL player’s name and that usually nets you a 1.2 million dollar contract.
“Joe Sachek, I like the cut of your jib, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Also featured in that clip is Dakota Joshua entering the zone and changing up his angle until a passing lane opened up to get the puck over to Kiefer. It’s a very nice skilled play from a man the Canucks are counting on to do that much much more next season. It’s been a tough year for Dakota, as we all know, but he truly has regained his form in the last month, showcasing that tantalizing blend of physicality and offensive skill that makes general managers moan and shudder at the thought of seeing him in the post-season.
Best stat
Best but at what cost
No hits for #Canucks Sherwood. First time since November 4, 2023.
— Izzy(@izzycheung37) April 11, 2025
Ok, get your two points, King, but not even a single hit?
Best Larry David unsure meme
Mike is very correct on this. I watch Quinn Hughes play over 30 minutes against Dallas. I see him rock 24 minutes against the Avalanche. We all know these games are meaningless at this point. Part of you just wants him to take a nap? Rest up those injuries? We’re at the point where Quinn is like, “nope, I can’t play for USA at the IIHF Men’s World Championship” because he’s so beat up, but he’s out here rocking dominant minutes in mean nothing games. Is it worth an injury to handle a load like that? Phrasing, I know, but my point stands.
But on the other hand, it’s bad ass. It’s not good. But it’s bad ass. There is something tragically heroic about Quinn Hughes going down with this ship, Captain American shield taped to his arm, fighting the good fight against Thanos snapping his playoffs out of existence. I can’t help but nod my head and go, “my man,” when I see him bust out plays like this in a game with nothing on the line:
Quinn just out here dancing around, trying to set up goals, no big deal.
I think it sets a good example for the younger players in a lot of ways. They see their captain never giving up, never throwing a tantrum at Collin Delia, and basically playing his ass off the entire time.
There is something to be said about leading by example, even if you worry about his health.
Best goal curious
The Canucks played a very solid game on the night, but their defensive zone coverage did get a bit loose at some points. Part of that is because the Avalanche are a good team, though, and they’re going to be able to break down the best of teams.
And break down the Canucks did on Devon Toews tip on Charlie Coyle’s shot, as Max Sasson goes full JT Miller by pointing his hand in the general direction of the problem:
Sasson points out Coyle, and then follows Nichushkin, and then Jake DeBrusk, who had earlier blown out of the zone like your cat hearing a can being opened, skates back and covers nobody. He just sort of stands in the middle of the ice and is like, “Well I’m here, to remind you, of the mess you left when you went away” or something like that. Basically, it amounted to Charlie Coyle having plenty of time and space to get his shot off.
So yeah, I’m not sure if Sasson thought DeBrusk would cover Coyle, but mistakes were made, leading to the Avalanche getting the old “shoot and pray” goal that the Canucks are normally known for.
Best killing in the name of
A pretty good second by #Canucks hoping for a Boeser goal. 40 down. 20 to go
— David Cee
Down a man after a Drew O’Connor high stick, it was the Canucks penalty kill once again shining through, not only shutting down the Avalanche all night, but also generating better chances than Colorado.
First up, you had Derek Forbort punting the puck up to Kiefer Sherwood, who then sent the leading pass for Garland to skate into for a semi-breakaway:
Derek Forbort has had such a turnaround from the start of the season. He went from battling Vincent Desharnais in the “who can we send to prison first” to now “this guy is a total PK stud, we cannot live without him.”
The next big scoring chance? Pius Suter on a nice feed from Teddy Blueger that just ended up caressing the post and begging it for another chance:
Kudos to Hronek for going full Josh Allen on that outlet pass. No need to chip it off the glass and out when you can send the puck into space and find your target downfield like you’re sending in a cluster strike in Warzone.
Best serving up bricks
Kevin Lankinen made his biggest impact on the game early into the third period when he made two massive stops to keep the Canucks up a goal.
The first was a save on Logan O’Connor in the slot on a Joal Kiviranta pass:
Logan does a great job of sliding into the empty ice to get himself into position for that fantastic chance, but it’s also some sloppy coverage from Hronek, Garland and Hughes that leads to it. Again, nothing egregious, but each guy kind of makes a small mistake that just leads to more and more time and space, which is what grade-A chances are usually made from.
But that is the beauty of having your Kevin dialed in; he can cover for those lapses.
The next big save was on former Canuck Jimmy Vesey, who tried to slam home a Miles Wood pass:
Vitorrio Mancini loses a puck battle on the boards and Derek Forbot backs off like OEL in his prime with the Canucks, leading to Vesey having our old friend time and space to get that shot off.
But again, Kevin doesn’t care about your defensive zone lapses; he just wants to know you’re having an ok time. Good guy, Kevin.
Best Dak is how we do it
Speaking of Dakota Joshua, he would score the Canucks third goal of the night off of an Aatu Räty faceoff win:
I have written so many angry words about “point shots into traffic, thoughts and prayers offense” that I can only do so much to applaud this goal, but hey, sometimes greasy goals work. I just don’t need to see it on 95% of your team’s plays.
That being said, good on Dakota for being in the right spot, good on Marcus Pettersson for finding a way to get the puck on the net, and good on Aatu Räty for winning yet another important draw.
Speaking of Räty, he is another guy that I feel has cemented his spot on the Canucks fourth line next year, barring any pre-season miracles or signings that push him out of it. His faceoff prowess and his ability to score a few points here and there have really stood out during this last stretch of the season. And hell, you can tell the kid is feeling it when he’s out here trying to go full Pavel Bure on a goalie:
Glimmers of hope, my friends. Glimmers of hope.
Best here to stay
I find it hard to call another man Junior, so I will take a page out of cinematic history and simply call the defenseman Elias Petterson ‘Indy’ going forward.
And much like any history professor from Marshall College worth his salt, Indiana sure packs a hell of a punch:
Like Alex Edler and Chris Tanev before him, Elias Pettersson has seemingly burst onto the NHL scene and shown he’s ready for active duty right away. And like Edler and Tanev, he’s not above punishing other people or his own body in order to help the team out.
Now, I am not saying Indy has locked himself into an NHL career like Edler and Tanev; I don’t need people screaming at me for daring to mention his name with theirs.
All I am saying is the former Canucks were once young D-men themselves who just sort of showed up and never went away, much like a stray cat.
So welcome to your forever home Indy, something tells me you’re a big part of this team’s future.
Best smiles are free
After being in the dressing room during the dark days of the JT Miller and Elias Pettersson divorce battle, I will take this every single day of the week over that:
A nice light moment in a season full of not-so-light ones.
Best closing it out
And how do you close out a game? By putting your Hög on the ice and letting people know:
Nice bit of skill for Nils to sneak in and tap in the missed shot from Garland, and that was the ballgame.
Again, nothing much to gain from this win but some potential insight into next season’s roster, really.
But with an off-season full of huge questions, something tells me these final four games won’t amount to too much in the grand scheme of things.
Still, gif money and all that.
See you Saturday.
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We know what you’re thinking, folks…
Why does it feel that the Abbotsford Canucks play the Calgary Wranglers every night?
The reality is that in a divisional-driven league, these rivals play each other 14 times per season. Yes, 14.
This weekend, they play the final stretch of those games.
And these games mean a ton.
The Wranglers are on the hunt to punch a ticket to the postseason with a win. Meanwhile the Canucks are on a mission for that elusive first-round bye into the semifinal match – handed to the first placed team in the Pacific Division.
Unfortunately, the Canucks did not get the start they were looking for, posting just one shot through the first 14 minutes of play. From there, the game was a seesaw battle, with goals being exchanged throughout.
Eventually, the Wranglers got the final strike, scoring one additional goal in the shootout to snap the incredible winning streak at 13 games.
Here’s how it all went down.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki returned to the Abbotsford lineup. Unfortunately, both Arshdeep Bains and Ty Mueller were absent.
Blais – Wouters – Lekkerimäki
Di Giuseppe – Smith – Klimovich
Glover – Walker – Kambeitz
Nielsen – Khaira
Wolanin – Woo
Brisebois – McWard
Hirose – Kudryavtsev
Felton
Silovs
Despite a Touch of offensive zone pressure, the Abbotsford Canucks failed to generate much of anything through the first five minutes, with just one shot through the first 14 minutes.
The best chances came at the other end. Arturs Silovs was tested early, forcing a couple of strong saves.
Even Better, they were handed a mid-period penalty shot.
Sprung all alone, Frk broke out all alone against Silovs. Looking to make the simple poke check, Silovs let go of his stick – or tossed it? –, sending the AHL’s hardest shot on the penalty shot.
Calgary goal – 1-0 – Martin Frk (penalty shot)
Showing confidence, Frk outlasted Silovs and made no mistake on the far side to open the scoring.
To make matters worse, the Canucks two consecutive penalties immediately following the goal.
Working the two-man advantage, the Wranglers made them pay.
Calgary goal – 2-0 – Martin Frk from Rory Kerins and Sam Morton
Working the halfwall, the Wranglers beat out the pressure, where Rory Kerins sent the puck back to the point, sliding through the sticks of two Canuck Skaters.
Corralling the puck, Frk loaded and snapped the low shot past Silovs for his second goal of the period.
The Canucks finally received some life, grabbing a powerplay of their own just before the final five minutes.
And they made the most of that opportunity.
Abbotsford goal – 2-1 – Christian Wolanin from Jujhar Khaira and Tristen Nielsen
Collecting the puck up high, Christian Wolanin showed some good patience, walking through the slot before rifling the puck shortside to cut the deficit in half.
What’s great about having Jonathan Lekkerimäki in the lineup, aside from the goal-scoring threat? That simple threat forces the team to respect that pass and had the netminder cheating for that drop pass the entire time, leaving Wolanin with that room to the short side.
Who needs shots, anyway? The Canucks score on just five shots to head down the tunnel, down by a goal after twenty minutes of play.
Shots: ABB 5, CGY 11 | Score: ABB 1, CGY 2
The Canucks are the best team in the American League when it comes to second period goal differential, and they were showcasing why that is early on.
It took them just one minute to find four shots, just one shy of their first period totals.
But the Wranglers responded with a weird one.
Calgary goal – 3-1 – Rory Kerins from Ty Tullio and Jeremie Poirier
Ty Tullio took the hot pass off the skate at the blue line before firing a shot blocked by an Abby forward.
With the puck fluttering in the air, Rory Kerins swung at it, directing it toward Silvos. Although he got the quick blocker on the shot, the puck jumped into the air to handcuff the netminder.
Things got relatively quiet midway through the frame. But Danila Klimovich nearly cashed in after a big sliding save by Silovs.
Jumping up for the quick odd-man rush. Keeping the puck himself, the sharpshooter rang the puck hard off the post.
But we mentioned that the Canucks were one of the best second period teams. And with two minutes to go, they got to work.
Finally, they were rewarded after the third line (technically, the fourth line) had worked hard on the forecheck all period long.
Abbotsford goal – 3-2 – Cooper Walker from Guillaume Brisebois and Ty Glover
With some dirty work down low, the Canucks threw some pucks on net before it pounced out to Cooper Walker. He went to the far side through traffic to cut the lead to one goal.
Then Danila Klimovich went to work.
Abbotsford goal – 3-3 – Danila Klimovich from Christian Wolanin
Entering the zone, Klimovih held the puck and cut across the blueline. Using his momentum, he went around the flatfoot defender before bringing the puck to his forehand to tuck Home his team leading 24th goal of the season.
The Abbotsford Canucks have been on a well documented heater, and their incredible resilience when doen in games is one primary reason why.
With two goals in less than one minute, the game was all knotted at three goals apiece.
Shots: ABB 17, CGY 16 | Score: ABB 3, CGY 3
It was a bit of a sleepy start for both clubs, as each searched hard to gain that early edge.
But it was the Wranglers who struck first.
Calgary goal – 4-3 – Martin Frk from Hunter Brzustewicz and William Stromgren
Streaking down his strong side, Martin Frk held the puck and fired the shot cleanly past Silovs’ glove to regain their lead for his third goal of the contest.
He was Frk-ing good in this game.
But it didn’t last long.
Abbotsford goal– 4-4 – Nate Smith from Akito Hirose and Sammy Blais
Just over a minute later, Sammy Blais made the wise regroup before he dropped the puck to Akito Hirose, who slid the puck through to Nate Smith.
Despite having Jonathan Lekkerimäki next to him, Smith elected to shoot. He chose right, snapping the puck past Waltteri Ignatjew to even the score once again.
Resilience.
The fourth period was at it again, providing tons of energy, and the team nearly collected its first lead of the game.
With Ty Glover driving hard, Christian Felton sent the pass toward the backdoor, but the puck just hopped the stick, as he glared at the heavens.
Neither team could find the go-ahead goal, and the game needed extra time at four goals apiece.
Shots: ABB 27, CGY 18 | Score: ABB 4, CGY 4
Despite a thrilling back and forth affair, with several blocked shots from the Abbotsford Canucks, neither team could find the golden goal.
It was shootout time.
No goal
No goal
No goal
Goal
Goal
Goal
The Abbotsford Canucks pick up a point, but that doesn’t extend a point streak. Despite
A valiant effort to come back and keep the train running, but they couldn’t finish the job.
The historic run ends at 13 games.
For the 14th time this season, these teams will square off Saturday evening for the back half of their weekend doubleheader. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. PT at the Abbotsford Centre for Fan Appreciation Night.
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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
It’s emergency call-up season! And no, I’m not just talking about myself filling in for Tyson/Lachlan/Quads on Saturday night Instant Reaction duty.
No, with injury and illness plaguing Max Sasson and Thatcher Demko, respectively, Vancouver recalled Ty Mueller, a 2023 double-overager, 4th-round draft pick, following his stellar rookie campaign down in Abbotsford.
While Nikita Tolopilo kept watch on Kevin Lankinen from the bench, Ty Mueller made his NHL debut, featuring on a line with Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser. Not bad company for the 22-year-old rookie!
Here’s how the rest of the lineup shook out:
Lineup against Minnesota.
Sportsnet
Sportsnet 650 pic.twitter.com/q0o0R09y7J
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 13, 2025
Not long after his first NHL faceoff win, Mueller and the Canucks raced out of the d-zone and into the offensive zone for an early spurt of o-zone control, culminating in a couple of hairy moments for Filip Gustavsson. The Canucks’ pressure sparked off a bizarre “stick stuck in net” incident that left the Wild effectively playing 4v5.
Less than four minutes into the opening frame, Marcus Pettersson got Vancouver on the board with his first goal as a Canuck.
1-0 Canucks
Marcus Pettersson scores his first goal with the Vancouver Canucks!
: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/b2SYehRCjn
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) April 13, 2025
Credit to Linus Karlsson, another Abbotsford transplant in Saturday’ss lineup, with his brilliant pause after gaining the zone, baiting in theWild’s defence and spotting MPettersson blitzing into the offensive zone down the left wing unencumbered. Since I probably won’t write anything else this season, I’ll add my two cents to say that I think Karlsson has been perfectly serviceable for Vancouver this season.
Elsewhere, Conor Garland got into some shot-for-shot action with Kirill Kaprizov, with the taller Kaprizov declining the shorter’s invitation to scrap.
The Wild’s best moment through the opening ten came off a couple of shaky moments from Lankinen off shots that NaturalStatTrick would classify as “low-danger” Oddly, they, too, benefited from an awkward “stick stuck in something” moment when the Canucks lone goalscorer had his stick jammed up in a Wildplayer’ss skate.
Karlsson had himself an excellent opening frame. He won a ton of battles and set up more than a handful of dangerous opportunities for his linemates and blueliners. Past the midway point of the opening twenty, Quinn Hughes started vibing with the puck in the offensive zone (sparked by several battles won by Karlsson). Unfortunately, the good vibes weren’t to last, as Teddy Blueger would take the game’s first penalty with a needlessly stupid interference minor that ruined Hughes’ groove.
Wild head coach John Hynes ran a five-forward power play unit, which certainly moved the puck, at the very least. The highlight of the Canucks’ PK was Garland executing two superman-dives to sweep the puck out of the d-zone and down the length of the ice. The best chance of the Wild’s power play went to Vancouver, with Kiefer Sherwood leading a 3-on-1 rush for a shot off Gustvasson’s blocker.
The Wild surged late and finished the period, having outshot Vancouver 12-6.
A sharp angle shot from Garland on Gustavsson in the opening minute of the middle frame seemed to be the only positive moment of Vancouvers through the opening four minutes. The Wild were all over Vancouver with shots on Lankinen from point-blank range.
A thunderous hit from MPettersson on Declan Chisholm drew a lengthy stoppage that seemed to disrupt the Wild’s run of pressure. Fortunately, Chisholm gathered his bearings and made his way to the bench with the help of his teammates.
A part of the delay stemmed from the ref’s decision to gather and determine whether there was intentional contact with Chisholm’s head on the play. Reason prevailed, and the game resumed. Though, it was noticeably chippier.
Upon returning to play, the Wild returned to dominating inside the Canucks’ zone. Fortunately, Mats Zuccarello needlessly swept Victor Mancini to the ice, well away from the play, gifting Vancouver their first power play opportunity. While Vancouver’s power play didn’t look great, it certainly looked better than Minnesota’s earlier attempt.
Past the midway point of a sluggish second period, Dakota Joshua drew a slashing penalty against Zach Bogosian, giving Vancouver a second power play opportunity.
Nils Höglander spent the first 40 minutes of the game in matchup duty alongside Garland and Pius Suter against Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson-Ek, and Matt Boldy. Höglander & Company held the Wild’s top line to just two shots on net in those minutes. It is worth noting that they were out-attempted two-to-one. But whatever.
A minute-and-change into the power play, Höglander continued his Hogenaissance under Tocchet, rifling a shot, tipped by Debrusk at the last second, that made it 2-0 for the home team.
2-0 Canucks
Jake DeBrusk scores his 27th of the season, doubling the Canucks' lead tonight.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) April 13, 2025
The Wild spent the remainder of the period desperately trying to land shots on Lankinen, but the Canucks’ tight defensive play made that a nigh-impossible task. The Wild finished the middle frame narrowly up in shots (7-4), despite out-attempting the Canucks 13-7.
Twenty-two seconds into the opening frame, a centring pass from Matt Boldy deflected awkwardly off of MPettersson’s stick and out to Brock Faber inside the slot for a goal that halved Vancouver’s lead.
2-1 Canucks
Brock Faber beats Kevin Lankinen.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) April 13, 2025
Not long after, a very fortunately early whistle from the rest denied Faber his second goal of the period.
Faber’s (relative to the whistle) extremely late shot into Lankinen’s net sparked a large scrum, with every player pairing off for some post-whistle shenanigans.
Five minutes into the period, Derek Forbort engaged in a scrap with Yakov Trenin, wherein the Russian threw a hard punch at the downed Forbort while the referee tried to stop the fight. Trenin received a major penalty on the play, while Forbort went to the dressing room for stitches.
Teddy Blueger took his second penalty of the night, this time for jabbing Trenin in the ass from the bench.
The ensuing non-power play saw Minnesota take over in a crushing way. The Wild ran up a gaudy shot clock through the first half of the final frame, outshooting Vancouver 7-zip.
Ty Mueller, playing just his second shift of the third period, took a holding penalty while engaged in a board battle inside the d-zone. The Wild pressed hard on the man advantage but were stifled considerably by unfortunate bounces and a litany of flubbed passes/shot attempts.
One of the Canucks’ best moments of the period came when Höglander broke up a run of suffocating pressure by leading a breakout for a dump-in. Another was Brock Boeser sending Aatu Räty in on a breakaway for a shot that sat on Gustavsson’s goal line. But that was about it.
With less than seven minutes to go, the Wild’s unrelenting pressure paid off, tying the game at two-apiece.
2-2 Tie
Marcus Foligno ties the game 2-2.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) April 13, 2025
Credit to Ryan Hartman, batting down MPettersson’s board-and-out and setting up Marcus Foligno with a perfect pass through traffic for the equalizer.
The final seven saw both teams exchange a dozen or so icings and double-digit shot attempts. It was an absolute slog of a finale to an ugly final forty minutes from the home team.
Linus Karlsson tested Gustavsson with a shot in the final 10 seconds, but after 60 minutes of regulation, the shot clock read 32-14 for the away team. Yeesh!
Both Hynes and Tocchet had a matchup they were hunting for the overtime session. Tocchet had Hughes-Boeser-Suter (and then Garland) out early, and they dominated the first run of possession with control in the Wild zone but sadly generated just a single shot attempt. Hynes then got his Kaprizov-Zuccarello-Faber matchup out against Sherwood-Hoglander-Hronek, which went as well as expected. Shame too, because Höglander had a really solid game despite the play on the eventual game winner.
Honestly, the Canucks started quite well. That first 20 was impressive. Unfortunately, the Wild played desperate hockey over the final 45 and absolutely dominated the Canucks.
3-2 Wild
Mats Zuccarello wins it in OT for the Wild.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) April 13, 2025
Two games left, mercifully.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below. And be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver moments after the final horn!
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Welcome back to Stars of the Week at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!
The Vancouver Canucks decided to make a run for the playoffs the week they were eliminated from the playoffs. A natural series of events when it comes to this team. It just makes sense that nothing has made sense for the entire 2024-2025 Canucks campaign. An eternal paradox.
One loss and two wins on the week would be just fine if a postseason run were in the cards. Still, consistency is key for a playoff-ready team, and the Canucks have shown absolutely none of that this year – for better or for worse. Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss with a two-goal lead lost late in the game is a perfect reflection of a team that just couldn’t stay the course with their foot on the gas. It is simply a shame that their genuinely gobsmacking 6-5 comeback win against the Dallas Stars and 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche were moral victories rather than meaningful games at this time of year.
Next week will be the last 3 Stars of the season, so let’s hope the Canucks go out in a blaze of glory rather than with a weak and thready pulse.
Kiefer Sherwood
To be frank, Kiefer Sherwood might be a star of this entire Canucks season. If Quinn Hughes is the inevitable season MVP, then Sherwood should be the runner-up – no contest. His status as a fan-favourite player has come thanks to his ferocity, with him firmly holding onto the title of season hits leader at 451, and his ability to shine in high-pressure moments. High-pressure moments such as Tuesday night in Dallas.
KIEFER SHERWOOD WINS IT!
The @Canucks scored three goals in 53 seconds to tie the game in the final minute of the third before winning it in @Energizer overtime! pic.twitter.com/NTw0Coe3Qi
— NHL (@NHL) April 9, 2025
The Canucks became the first team in NHL history to overcome a three-goal deficit in the final minute of a game, and Sherwood took the whole thing home for Vancouver after some nifty playmaking from Conor Garland and, honestly, a complete collapse from the Stars. Not only that, but this record means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of the season, seeing as Dallas already punched their ticket to the playoffs.
The Canucks were entirely shutout until the third period and still won the game 6-5. To anyone who did not watch this game live – I cannot emphasize how shocking this comeback was and how absolutely hilarious it was. Since it is the Canucks, it was not hilarious in a traditional “haha” way, but more of an ironic tragic comedy in the style of Shakespeare. Let Sherwood be the hero of this play.
Elias Pettersson
The young man we call D-Petey around here has made a fantastic impression down the stretch for the Canucks.
Playing alongside Quinn Hughes on the top pairing has been a win-win – the rookie gets some insurance and can learn from his captain and the best in the business, while Hughes gets a reliable young player to bring a high-energy pace while he winds down from the injuries he’s faced this year.
Pettersson’s “high-energy” might best be described as “puppy scrapping at the dog park” this week. He found himself in a healthy tilt against Logan O’Connor of the Colorado Avalanche after he didn’t step aside from a challenge.
Logan O'Connor and Elias Pettersson have a go at it.pic.twitter.com/tfIJMzjecU
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 11, 2025
This was followed up by the revelation that it was his first fight. First fight, period.
Stick taps go out to D-Petey this week because I haven’t seen a healthy hair-pulling fight like that since the halls of high school. He’s playing like he’s going to a Game 7 that only he knows about.
Dakota Joshua
Dakota Joshua has not had an easy calendar year or an easy season. After returning to the ice after his treatment for testicular cancer last summer, he hasn’t been able to meet his previous season’s 32-points in 63 games mark. Then again, the entire team has been unable to capitalize on last year’s success, so his struggles in the offence department by far do not exist in a vacuum. “Adversity” may be the defining word of this Canucks season, self-imposed or otherwise, and Joshua best exemplifies fighting to overcome it. The Canucks nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy was absolutely a deciding factor in the match-up against the Avalanche this week, with a goal and an assist.
His past year, both personally and professionally and as an individual and as a team, has not been ideal, and he’s shown remarkable resilience through it all. Last year, he won the title of “Unsung Hero” in the fan awards, and it’s wise to remember that he’s still that same player.
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If you’ve ever wanted the thrill of pre-season hockey with the hint of spring just around the corner, then the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks had you covered.
It was like you wandered into 8 Rinks and sat down to watch an 11:30 pm puck drop. Did either team want to win that badly? Not sure, really. It wasn’t the hardest game of hockey I’ve ever seen played. At one point, I think I saw Crazy P frown for the very first time; that can’t be good. A couple of Sharks fans tried chanting for a few minutes; that was neat. One kid in the intermission hockey game had some really nice dangles?
What I am saying is this game felt like it had no stakes because it, in fact, had no stakes. It was about as low-event hockey as you can get, as both teams are clearly looking forward to the end of the season.
The roster itself felt like a pre-season lineup due to players being shut down and dealing with injuries. Not Quinn Hughes, though, who ended up playing over 30 minutes of hockey even though by Rick Tocchet’s own admission, the Canucks captain might be the most hurt of anyone on the team. Bad ass? For sure. Give me a captain who will ride and die with you over a meaningless game in April any day of the week. Should the team gently pat his shoulder and tell him to rest up and sit out the next game? Probably. I think so. Feels like a good idea.
We even had a couple of NHL debuts in Nikita Tolopilo and Kirill Kudryavtsev, who played quite well, even if at times I wasn’t sure any of the Sharks player’s controllers were plugged in. Despite that, and despite controlling the majority of the game, the Canucks found themselves down 1-0 for a large portion of the evening. But like any good 8 Rinks team sandbagging in the standings will tell you, you can float along and just win the games when you need to, which is what Vancouver did to pull out the 2-1 victory. Like, I have video clips from this game, but nothing REALLY happened until around seven minutes left on the clock.
There was just not a whole lot to take away from this game. The only talking points I could squeeze out of this is that it feels like Linus Karlsson and Aatu Räty have gained an inside edge on making the roster out of training camp next season? Rick Tocchet singled them out as guys who have managed to continue to get better in their time with the team, something we’ve noted in each game recap.
At one point, Tocchet said Tomas Holmstrom should be something Karlsson should work towards, which is a bit like telling someone to go be the Michael Jordan of the blue paint game, but I get it. I see the vision. As long as you don’t sit a player in a chair and tell them to watch Chris Pronger videos, you should be good to go in this town.
Honestly, there isn’t much to draw from in this game. Some of the kids played well, and Quinn Hughes got one step closer to being the highest scoring Canucks defenceman of all time, tying Alex Edler at 409 points with the Captain’s assist on the game winner. Which is wild considering it felt like Edler played here for 103 years and was a part of the spirited 1,915 Vancouver Millionaires Stanley Cup win, yet Hughes is about to take that scoring title away at the age of 25.
The biggest action of the night was the fights in the media about whether Tom Willander had signed an entry deal or not with the Canucks, if we’re being honest.
All of which is to say, let’s watch some clips and get to bed. We’ve got one more game, and we can put this season behind us. There is only so much we can put into this game.
Let’s make some gif money, folks.
Best shattered dreams
Sometimes life just isn’t fair.
Best new additions
CANUCKS vs. SHARKS
Hoglander-Suter-Garland.
DeBrusk-Mueller-Boeser.
Joshua-Raty-Sherwood.
O’Connor-Blueger-Karlsson.
Hughes. E.Pettersson.
M.Pettersson. Hronek.
Kudryavtsev-Mancini.
Tolopilo#Canucks
— Ben Kuzma(@benkuzma) April 15, 2025
My biggest takeaway from the night is that some players call Drew “OC”, which just opens up an entire new realm of “Welcome to the OC, bitch” references next season when he scores.
If he scores.
One day.
Best Ty Mueller highlight
Ty Mueller’s best play of the game? Avoiding a hit and setting up Jake DeBrusk for the game’s first scoring chance:
I think we can all agree that was a scoring chance.
What a game. What a time to be alive.
I’m not burned out; you’re burned out.
Best leading by example
Hey, they always say some of the hardest games for a goalie are the ones where they don’t see a lot of action. It’s the Roberto Luongo Rule. Pepper him with 70 shots, and he’s stopping 69 (nice) of them. Hit Luongo up with 12 shots; he’s letting in 4 goals. It’s science at this point.
Which is why it was nice to see Marcus Pettersson literally point at Ty Dellandrea, letting him know he was going to give him the puck, so he could set up Danil Gushchin for a scoring chance on Tolopilo:
Tolopilo ended the night with 15 saves on 16 shots, so he had just enough action to get past the Luongo rule. And part of that is because of selfless acts of MP3 giving up the puck so the Canucks goaltender could face some shots and get into a rhythm.
I will say that the media scrums at the end of the night had that “end of the high school year” giddy energy where everyone is already game-planning being away from all of this for several months. Talking to Vittorro Mancini and Linus Karlsson was the usual media scrum questions, nothing groundbreaking.
But Tolopilo? He held court with the entire group, answering multiple questions, giving fun answers, avoiding cliches, and giving some personal insight into his NHL debut (his wife was at the game, but his parents couldn’t make it because it’s hard to get visas).
Again, does it ultimately mean anything? Of course not. But it was generally just a nice conversation to have with a kid who was living his ultimate dream of playing in an NHL game. For those brief moments, you just got to enjoy watching someone who just experienced a core life memory, which was a nice reprieve from the Judge Judy JT Miller vs Elias Pettersson scrum days. At no point did he yell at a reporter to read the room and storm out or demand if he should bring out another teammate to answer questions with, which I appreciated.
Best crawling to the end
Now DePete is hurt?
The HockeyGods are really unleashing their wrath on us this season#Canucks
— Dragon Was Slayed (@522IntoOvertime) April 15, 2025
With Elias Pettersson eating a high stick and briefly leaving the game, the Canucks were handed four minutes of power play time. Spoiler alert: they ended the night going 0/5 on 11 shots with the extra man, and none of the chances were that thrilling? Like, you’d go on a date with these scoring chances, don’t get me wrong, but you’d probably waffle on getting back to them, and I highly doubt you’d ever see a second date with them.
The power play looked decent, though. Like I said, first date worthy. Lots of puck movement with the added bonus of the Sharks seemingly not giving a shit on the penalty kill, offering up the most passive resistance I’ve seen since the Travis Green Canucks era.
The two best chances off those first power plays? Probably Brock Boeser setting up Pius Suter the Shooter Tutor in the slot:
Then Quinn taking turns generating scoring chances for Brock Boeser and Nils Höglander:
Coach Tocchet was asked a question post-game and he kind of looked into the distance and then randomly brought up the fact the Canucks had around 50 shot attempts that never found the net, which is kind of in line with how this game went. The Canucks controlled the majority of this game, and while they ended up getting 37 shots on net, a downright miracle considering some of the games we’ve witnessed from this team this season, it was just, yeah, another night where you wondered why this team couldn’t score. Why this team couldn’t bury their chances. Why they couldn’t generate better looks on net.
All of which is to say those were the absolute best highlights of the first period. Yes. Those few clips. Including my desperate MP3 giveaway clip.
Best hometown hero
With the Sharks on the power play, Elias Pettersson made the dreaded mistake of leaving the kid with a sniper in his gloves all alone with the puck:
Yes, that is a hell of a shot from Macklin Celebrini, who gladly accepted the path to the net from EP25, sniping home an absolute filthy goal upstairs where Mom keeps the hand lotion because the weather is unseasonably cold for this time of the year.
This will be the last San Jose Sharks highlight I get to show you because they are not a good hockey team. This was the high point of their night.
Best starting to worry
The Canucks have a proud tradition of losing to random goalies, so with Alexandar Georgiev staring at a shutout, you’d be excused if you didn’t ponder “so this is happening is it?” It’s just how we do here.
And much like the first period, the Canucks weren’t exactly generating glorious scoring chances? And the ones they did, they missed the net?
Here is one of the 50 shot attempts from the Canucks that didn’t find the Sharks goalie, as Mancini’s slick bank pass to Nils Höglander and subsequent cutting to the middle of the ice ended with him narrowly shooting wide:
Fun fact: the Canucks put out Snickerdoodles at this point in the game. I ate one.
Please let this season end. I am so sorry you are reading this.
Best keep on worrying
Much like a week at a White Lotus retreat, sometimes you just find yourself in an existential crisis no matter what you do.
And with the second period winding down, and the Canucks best scoring chance coming off of tossing the puck near the crease and hoping Suter did something with it?
Yeah, sometimes it felt like someone was driving off in a boat with a bunch of money and leaving you behind with nothing but broken promises and shattered dreams.
Best more exciting highlights
The Sharks had a chance to go up 2-0 on a power play, but because they’re the Sharks, and are awful at hockey, it allowed the Canucks to generate the better scoring chances.
First up was Teddy Blueger trying to set up Suter the shooter on an odd-man rush, only to be thwarted by a lunging goalie:
And next was Kiefer Sherwood getting the puck over to Drew O’Connor, who, despite knowing Seth still loves Summer even if they’re broken up, was unable to get the puck into Brown University:
There’s only one more period, I promise.
Wait, there was overtime as well.
God damn it.
Best back to the special teams
With Brock Boeser seen leaving Rogers Arena with what looked suspiciously like a jersey signed by all of his teammates and his dogs posting farewell walk pictures on social media, it pretty much feels like his time with the team is officially done.
Which means him scoring a goal in one of the last two games would be one of the few happy moments this crowd could have, giving him the send-off he so richly deserves.
And while it felt like he had his chances in this one, he just never found a way to get the puck into the net:
Brock ended the night with four shots, giving him one last game to try and go out to that standing ovation you just know is waiting for him.
Best the North remembers
Linus Karlsson ties it up by scoring on his old team. (Drafted) #Canucks
— PG Lee(@PG_Lee_80s_Baby) April 15, 2025
Teddy Blueger finally solved Georgiev by realizing if you just put a garbage shot on net, there’s a good chance the goalie will dry heave and cough up one of the worst rebounds you will ever see:
Linus Karlsson, summoning up the energy of Holmstrom, made sure he was in position to deposit the rebound. And as I’ve said for a couple of weeks now, I really do like what Räty and Karlsson have brought to the team. The fourth line tends to be a revolving door on any hockey club, but I am intrigued to see if we get a season of the Räty/Karlsson era next year.
Seriously though, re-watch that clip and that rebound. Absolutely brutal.
Best back and forth
The game got kind of exciting with around seven minutes left? At least we got one back-and-forth sequence where Teddy Blueger went full Tyler Motte and was unable to score on a breakaway after Tolopio’s best save on the night off of Tyler Toffoli:
Remember those 17 glorious games Tyler Toffoli had with Vancouver, back when the Canucks depth at centre was Elias Pettersson, JT Miller and Bo Horvat, and none of them were openly feuding with each other? They just kept everything hidden and repressed like a good stiff upper lip Brit? The worst we heard was someone was mad about Fortnite?
Those were the days.
Best extra time
With the Canucks going to overtime, it was essentially “give Hughes the puck” time, which I think we can all agree is the right strategy at all times? Rick Tocchet joked about the team’s poor overtime performances this year, saying maybe the key is to, yeah, just give Quinn the puck every chance you get.
And again, the Sharks are very awful at playing the game of hockey. Just a garbage bag of old socks on ice. The one time the Sharks got the puck, they elected to take a point shot as their offensive strategy. This is overtime, where teams wheel out of the zone and reset if they’re not getting a high danger scoring chance out of it, yet here was San Jose literally just like “yeah sure, let’s just toss the puck on net from the point, with no screen and nobody near the goalie.”
And even with that brilliant strategy at play, where it felt like a team was very much open to the idea of just walking off the ice so the home team could win the game, both teams ended up calling a timeout in overtime. Vancouver I can kind of understand, maybe you try and give the fans or Brock a nice moment after a year of sh!t.
But the Sharks? What, you’re calling a timeout to draw up a play where you take a shot from the corner? It felt odd.
That being said, the Canucks held onto the puck for almost the entire overtime session, led by who else, Quinn Hughes.
Quinn almost scored with under two minutes left by dancing to the net and watching as his shot just dribbled wide on the rebound:
Then you had Brock Boeser setting up Suter with a chance down low, only to be robbed by whatever material it is they make goalie pads out of these days. Adamantium? Leather? Pleather?:
All of which led to…
Best sweet mercy
With Quinn clearly looking to set up Boeser as much as possible, circling the ice repeatedly until he could find an open lane to Brock, the game ended when Jake DeBrusk tapped in a rebound on one of said shots:
Again, this game had that pre-season energy where it felt like the home team only really tried near the end, and the other team kind of let them do their thing because, whatever, it’s just an exhibition game.
Still, an assist for Quinn to move him into the record books, and at the very least, Boeser got one last enjoyable memory on Rogers Arena ice?
And that was it. The game? Meaningless. The result? Good, I guess? I don’t know. I’m sitting here, and I honestly don’t have much to say other than “that was a game of hockey we all watched.” Yay.
This season has felt like a long one. We’re all tired. We’re all drained.
Let’s grind out one more of these on Wednesday and call it a night.
Best by the numbers
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