The Vancouver Canucks took a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
Tonight, in the first half of their weekend back-to-back at home, the Vancouver Canucks did something they haven’t done in the past four games — kill all of the penalties they took in their 4–3 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jake DeBrusk, Drew O’Connor, Conor Garland, and Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver, while Kevin Lankinen stopped 29 of 32 shots faced.
“Lanks fought hard, the guys played hard,” Foote said of the penalty kill tonight. “When you see that pressure [on the PK], you know they’re feeling more comfortable.”
With Thatcher Demko questionable throughout the weekend, it was Lankinen who got the start tonight. Backing him up was Jiří Patera, who was called up under emergency conditions on Friday, leaving the Abbotsford Canucks down a goalie (plus another due to an injury to Ty Young). It’s currently unknown whether Lankinen will play again tomorrow night, if Demko will be back in time to start, or if Patera will be playing in his first NHL game since March 26, 2024.
For a team that has played 16 games in approximately a month, the Canucks came out with a healthy helping of speed and possession time, putting three shots on Elvis Merzļikins less than five minutes into the first period. After taking a penalty, however, they began to look a little disjointed, giving Columbus more chances at gaining entry in their zone and not quite covering their checks in ideal ways. Vancouver ended the first period with five scoring chances-for compared to the Blue Jackets’ 11.
Vancouver and Columbus traded their respective opening goals with only slightly longer than a minute between them. After tying things up, Columbus put themselves shorthanded after Matieu Olivier was given a game misconduct for boarding defenceman Elias Pettersson. Throughout the five minutes that the Canucks were on the power play, Vancouver was unable to score a single goal. While they had a decent time setting up in the Blue Jackets’ zone, they were unable to generate quality chances that would test Merzļikins well enough. This ended up costing the Canucks, as they surrendered another goal to Columbus shortly after their five-minute man-advantage.
Despite floundering on their five minute power play, the Canucks still managed to tie the game up at two apiece by the end of the second period. It was O’Connor’s turn to find the back of the net after assisting on the opening goal, batting in a rebound in-tight in front of Merzļikins. The ensuing chaos, caused by Dante Fabbro tripping O’Connor up with a cross-check after the Canuck scored, resulted in both teams having a player being put in the box despite the scrum favouring a Vancouver power play.
The questionable refereeing continued shortly after, as Canucks captain Quinn Hughes was sent on a breakaway to end the period only to be hooked by a Blue Jacket. The play went uncalled, with attending fans booing the referees off the ice to end the second period.
Vancouver broke the 2–2 tie with a goal from Garland, set up by Tyler Myers who flashed some former Calder Trophy-winning pizzaz to cut into Columbus’ zone. The action didn’t stop there for Myers, however, as the 6’8 defenceman was on the receiving end of an elbow behind the net that left him slow to get up.
The Canucks and Blue Jackets continued trading goals, with the Blue Jackets tying it again at 3–3 before Vancouver took a 4–3 lead thanks to Boeser. Lukas Reichel nabbed the secondary assist on Boeser’s goal, making this his first point as a member of the Canucks.
“It’s one of those things where it’s tough to see, a late goal like that. Usually it hurts the spirits a little bit,” DeBrusk noted postgame. “But we stayed with the program, and that’s something that we’ve had to kind of earn and learn.”
From then on, the game came down to one thing — defending the lead. Despite facing various shorthanded opportunities and awkward stretches of time alternating between power plays and penalty kills, Vancouver managed to seal the deal partially in thanks to some solid defensive play by Aatu Räty and Elias Pettersson, the latter of which came up with two big blocks to 35 — the most of all forwards in the NHL and ninth of all players total.
“Those are dangerous shots to block, but he’s been doing that all year for us. I think he’s got, I don’t know how many blocks he has, but it takes a lot of courage,” DeBrusk said of Pettersson’s effort towards the end of the game.
Stats and Facts:
- Kevin Lankinen’s record against the Blue Jackets extends to 9–3–1
- With an assist on Conor Garland’s goal, Elias Pettersson now has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 12 games played against the Blue Jackets
- Canucks kill all penalties taken for the first time in four games
- Drew O’Connor has scored three goals in the past four games
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No scoring.
2nd Period:
5:28 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (4) from Drew O’Connor and Aatu Räty
6:44 - CBJ: Kirill Marchenko (7) from Dmitri Voronkov and Denton Mateychuk
13:02 - CBJ: Dmitri Voronkov (6) from Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli
19:01 - VAN: Drew O’Connor (3) from Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek
3rd Period:
6:17 - VAN: Conor Garland (4) from Tyler Myers and Elias Pettersson
9:47 - CBJ: Kirill Marchenko (8) from Dmitri Voronkov and Damon Severson
14:15 - VAN: Brock Boeser (7) from Kiefer Sherwood and Lukas Reichel
Up Next:
Canucks fans won’t have to wait long for their next game, as Vancouver will be taking on the Avalanche, who won their game 9–1 tonight, tomorrow. One of the biggest questions heading into tomorrow’s game is how the Canucks will approach their goaltending situation, as Lankinen played tonight and Demko’s status is still unknown. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm 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, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:
Why A Matchup Against The Blue Jackets May Be Exactly What The Doctor Ordered For The Canucks
Vancouver Canucks Podcast Rundown: Hockey, Actually, Episode 13
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
