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    Alex Wauthy
    Alex Wauthy
    Mar 2, 2025, 06:47
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    Mar 1, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord (35) blocks a goal shot by Vancouver Canucks center Filip Chytil (72) during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

    The Vancouver Canucks dropped the final game of their five-game road trip 6-3 in Seattle against the Kraken. A swath of Vancouver fans littered the stands at Climate Pledge Arena, countering Kraken chants with pro-Canuck slogans.

    Despite an overall solid showing, unfortunate puck luck highlighted by three Kraken goals off deflected point shots sunk Vancouver's chances Saturday night. 

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    "I thought we had a pretty good game," Rick Tocchet said. "They got three tip goals — I think we could have boxed out on one of them. We had a couple of posts and breakaways; it's one of those things. The moments were there. We just couldn't capitalize."

    The Canucks came out flying, racking up shots and offensive zone ice time. Quinn Hughes continued his Norris-like play in the opening minutes by commanding the point and rifling shots toward Joey Daccord, looking for deflections. 

    Vancouver outshot Seattle 15-6 in the first. Arshdeep Bains came back into the lineup. He slotted alongside Keifer Sherwood and Teddy Blueger on the fourth line. The trio contributed four of those 15 shots during their five-on-five time. 

    Early in the period, a Hughes pass intended for Pius Suter fell just short near the Kraken blue line. Shane Wright snagged the puck along the boards and darted toward the Vancouver side. He fed Andre Burakovsky for an easy one-timer to open the scoring at Climate Pledge Arena just over five minutes into the contest.

    After the goal, Kraken captain Jordan Eberle took a slashing penalty, sending the Canucks to the game's first power play. The Canucks kept the puck in Seattle's end for the better part of their power play but failed to execute. 

    Later in the opening frame, a strong forecheck from Keifer Sherwood caused chaos in the Kraken end. The ensuing pressure resulted in Vince Dunn floating an errant pass net front. Suter picked off the floater and wired a shot past Daccord to knot the game at one. 

    "He really worked hard on his shot over the summer, and it's paying off," Tocchet said. "He's getting some good slot shots. He's a positive for us." 

    With under four minutes to go, a Tyler Myers' slapshot broke a Seattle defender’s stick, resulting in the puck landing on Filip Chytil's blade. The forward made no mistake notching his second goal as a Canuck. 

    The Kraken didn't take long to find the back of the net in the middle period. Lankinen stoned Burakovsky point-blank, but the Kraken battled for the rebound in Vancouver's end. Seattle's effort ended with Brandon Montour receiving the puck and sending a point shot on Lankinen. Oliver Bjorkstrand tipped Montour's wrister past Lankinen for his 16th of the season. 

    After, the Kraken would receive their first power play of the game after a high-sticking infraction by Filip Hronek. But despite being a man down, it would be Vancouver who'd get the tally. 

    Drew O'Connor — carrying the puck — and Dakota Joshua surged toward the Kraken end on the penalty kill. The former Pittsburgh Penguin sent a slick feed to Joshua, who skillfully slid the puck past Daccord. 

    "[O'Connor's] been a great addition," Joshua said. "He can skate really, and does a good job at making plays with his speed, so it was a nice pass." 

    Halfway through the period, the Kraken would bounce right back. Matty Beniers won an offensive zone draw back to Dunn. Beniers went to the net and deflected Dunn's point shot past Lankinen to tie the game at three apiece. One minute later, the Kraken would take the lead. 

    Hughes' stick snapped while attempting to clear the puck. The Kraken scooped up the loose puck and got it to the blue line, and the third consecutive Seattle goal was a Kraken forward deflecting a shot past Vancouver's netminder. 

    Despite having 20 more shot attempts and over two minutes more offensive zone time than the Kraken, Vancouver was trailing after two. 

    "It was a big game for us," Joshua said. "A chance to pull a couple of more points ahead, and we let that slip away. Start strong, and then, that's just been our motto lately — blowing leads — and we couldn't get that one back." 

    Pettersson tripped Stephenson in the Kraken end early in the third, giving the Kraken another crack at the power play. Montour beat Lankinen on the opportunity to extend the home side's lead to two. 

    Vancouver pulled Lankinen with 3:33 remaining. While Tolvanen iced the game with his second goal of the night, Hughes didn't see a second of ice time with the extra attacker.

    "[Hughes] tweaked something," Tocchet said. "We'll look at it tomorrow, not sure right now what's going on." 

    Stats and Facts 

    • Recently acquired defenseman Marcus Pettersson skated in his 500th NHL game against the Kraken
    • Kraken captain Jordan Eberle played his first home game since sustaining an injury in November
    • Three of Seattle’s goals came by deflecting point shots
    • Canucks allow six or more goals for the sixth time this season

    Scoring Summary 

    1st Period: 

    5:47 - SEA: Andrew Burakovsky (6) from Shane Wright

    11:35 - VAN: Pius Suter (16) unassisted

    16:27 - VAN: Filip Chytil (13) from Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson 

    2nd Period: 

    4:11 - SEA: Oliver Bjorkstrand (16) from Brandon Montour and Shane Wright

    8:05 - VAN: Dakota Joshua (4) from Drew O’Connor (SHG)

    12:08 - SEA: Matty Beniers (14) from Vince Dunn

    13:08 - SEA: Eeli Tolvanen (17) from Ryker Evans and Chandler Stephenson

    3rd Period: 

    5:38 - SEA: Brandon Montour (11) from Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle

    18:29 - SEA: Eeli Tolvanen (18) from Vince Dunn (ENG)

    Up Next: 

    Vancouver will return to Rogers Arena for the first time since before the 4 Nations Face-Off break on Wednesday. The Canucks will host the Anaheim Ducks, who erased a two-goal deficit and bested the British Columbia squad 5-2 in their last matchup this past Thursday. The Ducks sit six points back of Vancouver for the Western Conference's final wild-card spot. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 PT.

    Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

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