Boeser’s Hat Trick Powers The Canucks To 8–6 Win Against The Avalanche

Yes, you read that right — the 32nd-place Vancouver Canucks took down the first-place Colorado Avalanche by a score of 8–6 tonight. Brock Boeser registered his first hat trick of the season, while Teddy Blueger scored twice. Jake DeBrusk, Max Sasson, and Marcus Pettersson also found the back of the net, while Kevin Lankinen registered his ninth win of the season after stopping 24 of 30 shots. 

In a surprising turn of events, it was Vancouver that climbed to an early lead two separate times. The first came after Sasson scored off the rush, snagging a pass that re-directed itself off Avalanche defender Josh Manson. Then, despite heading onto the power play less than five minutes into the game, a boggled puck from Colorado gave Vancouver the opening to score their second goal of the game, this time shorthanded. 

Rather than facing yet another second-period collapse tonight, the Canucks actually ended up building on the 3–2 lead that they went into the frame with. They also put together an impressive 11 scoring chances-for, including two 2-on-1 breakaway sequences for Blueger and Sasson. The surge of goals from Vancouver resulted in Colorado pulling goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and putting Scott Wedgewood in instead. 

Where things nearly went sideways was in the third period, during which Colorado scored three — four unanswered including a goal in the second-period — and tied things up 6–6. Only seconds later, it was Pettersson who scored the go-ahead goal for Vancouver, followed up by an empty-net goal by Boeser to get the forward his first hat trick of the season. 

"Obviously they were pushing. And you could do two things, just sit back and let them keep coming, or try to respond. And we responded there, and I'm just proud of our group," Boeser said post-game. 

Vancouver’s power play continued their recent stretch of success by adding yet another power play goal from DeBrusk, making this his third in the past five games. The Canucks’ man-advantage as a whole has performed well as of late, having scored eight goals in their past eight games and extending their current power play goal streak to three consecutive games. 

Tonight’s game also featured strong offensive performances from some of Vancouver’s young players. On Boeser’s first goal, it was Marco Rossi’s effort to hold onto the puck while cutting into the O-zone and Tom Willander’s pass that helped set up the 5–2 tally. High-flying offence from Sasson in his return to the lineup, some smart plays by Linus Karlsson, and a controlled effort from Zeev Buium added to what was ultimately a solid game for the young Canucks. 

While tonight was a feel-good win for Vancouver, their first since March 17 against the Florida Panthers, they'll face yet another tough test tomorrow. 

"It obviously just speaks to the guys," Boeser said. "We've been talking about playing more aggressive and competing harder, and I think we've done that better the last two games, so we've gotta do it tomorrow." 

1st Period: 

0:29 - VAN: Max Sasson (12) from Filip Hronek and Zeev Buium 

1:22 - COL: Nathan MacKinnon (50) from Devon Toews and Sam Malinski 

5:21 - VAN: Teddy Blueger (7) from Liam Öhgren (SHG) 

11:38 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (17) from Elias Pettersson and Marco Rossi (PPG) 

16:05 - COL: Gabriel Landeskog (12) from Brent Burns and Valeri Nichuskin 

2nd Period: 

5:02 - VAN: Teddy Blueger (8) from Max Sasson and Marcus Pettersson

9:42 - VAN: Brock Boeser (19) from Tom Willander and Marco Rossi 

15:21 - VAN: Brock Boeser (20) from Drew O’Connor 

15:43 - COL: Sam Malinski (6) from Devon Toews 

3rd Period: 

0:14 - COL: Parker Kelly (19) from Jack Drury and Josh Manson 

13:21 - COL: Brent Burns (11) from Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichuskin 

13:58 - COL: Sam Malinski (7) 

14:21 - VAN: Marcus Pettersson (2) from Brock Boeser

18:31 - VAN: Brock Boeser (21) from Marcus Pettersson (ENG) 

Up Next: 

Tomorrow’s matchup will be a big one for the Canucks, as they’ll be taking on former captain Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild for the first time since their blockbuster deal back in December. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 pm PT. 

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