The Vancouver Canucks kept their slim playoff hopes alive, as they defeated the Anaheim Ducks 6-2 on Saturday afternoon. Elias Pettersson, Filip Hronek, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, Dakota Joshua and Max Sasson provided the offence as Vancouver scored six times on just 26 shots. As for Thatcher Demko, he made 30 saves en route to his ninth win of the season.
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Overall, there were a lot of positives from this game. As mentioned, Pettersson or "Junior" scored his first career goal, while 13 skaters recorded points. The Canucks also had a strong special teams night as both their power play and penalty kill went two for two.
"The Seattle game, honestly, we just gave up rush chances against, said Boeser post-game. "I didn't think we were in our D-zone much, and we couldn't score. So obviously, we had to clean that up. I thought we were a little bit better today on some of the rush chances, but, you know, they still had some looks that we got to make sure that we're aware of and really focus on our details. But I like our overall game better.
As for a standout, that was Demko, who, as mentioned, stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced. He looked solid in net and was able to scoop up rebounds to prevent second-chance opportunities. If this team wants to go on a run late in the season, they will need Demko to steal some games, as he did on Saturday against Anaheim.
While Vancouver did play well, they also let their foot off the gas in the second and third periods. Over the final 40, the Ducks had a 20-12 shot advantage and had some high-danger scoring chances that they were fortunately unable to capitalize on. Post-game, Rick Tocchet spoke about playing with the lead and what he wants to see from his players in the future.
"Yeah, it's been a common theme this year," said Tocchet. "We got to crack that. I hate to use the word maturity, but we gotta understand that when you're up, we sometimes just let off. It's common nature, I guess. But you know, that's maturity. That's probably the next level for us. We're a young team, and even leadership-wise, we got to understand when it's five to one, we just don't back off. We just don't dump pucks in, and we just don't skate with a puck. So I saw a little bit of that tonight, the second and third, where we kind of backed off, and we got to reverse that mindset. We have to."
In the end, Sunday's game can be categorized as a success. The fans at Rogers Arena witnessed six goals and the Canucks kept their hopes of a post-season berth alive for at least another day. While it wasn't the prettiest performance, there were many impressive performances, especially from the younger players who have spent the season with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL.
Stats and Facts:
- Canucks set record for the fastest five goals in franchise history at 4:30
- Elias Pettersson becomes the 497th player to score a goal in franchise history
- With his 94th career multi-point game, Brock Boeser passes Patrik Sundstrom and into sole possession of 14th on Vancouver's all-time list
- Thatcher Demko records his 125th career win
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1:21- ANA: Troy Terry (20) from Pavel Mintyukov and Frank Vatrano
9:40- VAN: Elias Pettersson (1st Career Goal) from Linus Karlsson (1st Career Assist) and Derek Forbort
10:46- VAN: Filip Hronek (5) from Teddy Blueger
11:32- VAN: Brock Boeser (25) from Quinn Hughes and Jonathan Lekkerimäki (PPG)
13:25- VAN: Conor Garland (19) from Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser (PPG)
14:10- VAN: Dakota Joshua (6) from Kiefer Sherwood and Marcus Pettersson
2nd Period:
2:39- ANA: Trevor Zegras (11) from Radko Gudas and Mason McTavish
3rd Period:
5:33- VAN: Max Sasson (3)
Up Next:
The Canucks are right back at it on Sunday when they face the Vegas Golden Knights. This will be the first of two meetings between these Pacific Division rivals this month, with the second game being played on April 16. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT from Rogers Arena.
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