The Abbotsford Canucks are heading to the 2025 Calder Cup Playoff Western Conference Final. They took a dominant 5–0 win over the Colorado Eagles in Game 5, making this their third straight series-clinching game to end in a shutout. Linus Karlsson (2), Phil Di Giuseppe (2), and Cole McWard scored for the AHL Canucks, while Artūrs Šilovs stopped all 34 shots against for his fourth shutout of the postseason.
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Abbotsford saw some movement in their lineup today as Kirill Kudryavstev stepped in for Akito Hirose, while Ty Glover replaced Danila Klimovich. Prior to today’s match, Kudryavstev took part in eight of Abbotsford’s playoff matchups, while Glover dressed in his first playoff game of the season.
Šilovs was forced to be alert immediately, making a series of saves within the first minute of the game after Colorado gained early possession. Minutes later into the period, Abbotsford was sent to the penalty kill after Linus Karlsson took a minor for boarding. Šilovs got a warning during the penalty kill about jumping up and knocking the net off, though it happened again this period with a little more than six minutes left before the first intermission.
After two games and five different chances without a power play goal, Abbotsford finally broke the scoring with a tally by Karlsson. They added another goal exactly a minute after thanks to Di Giuseppe and Jett Woo, bringing their lead to 2–0 early and erasing a shot deficit of 7–3.
Abbotsford came into the second period with a bolt of energy, swarming Colorado’s net for the bulk of the start. Both their rush chances and set plays yielded great opportunities, but they were ultimately unable to get them past Eagles goaltender Trent Miner. Halfway through the game, McWard and Guillaume Brisebois tore down the ice for an odd-man rush that resulted in the 3–0 goal.
At the end of the second period, a Sammy Blais hit on Colorado’s Jason Polin resulted in the Eagles getting a three-minute power play. Blais was given a five-minute major for boarding as well as a game misconduct that got him kicked out of the game. Colorado’s T.J. Tynan received two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. Even so, it was Karlsson who capitalized on the two-minute stretch of 4-on-4, pocketing his second goal of the game only 34 seconds into the final frame. Abbotsford’s penalty kill came up clutch, eliminating all Colorado chances during all three of their shorthanded minutes.
With today’s win, Abbotsford will face the Texas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. Texas bested the Milwaukee Admirals 3–2 yesterday, with their series also lasting five games. Since Abbotsford finished higher in the regular season standings, the AHL Canucks will have home-ice advantage and will open the series at home. From now on, any series that Abbotsford takes part in will be a best-of-seven.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
17:46 - ABB: Linus Karlssom (6) from Arshdeep Bains and Tristen Nielsen
18:46 - ABB: Phil Di Giuseppe (4) from Jett Woo
2nd Period:
9:09 - ABB: Cole McWard (1) from Arshdeep Bains and Ty Mueller
3rd Period:
0:34 - ABB: Linus Karlsson (7) from Ty Mueller
15:53 - ABB: Phil Di Giuseppe (5)
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