The Vancouver Canucks sent the Rogers Arena crowd home happy as they defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Friday night. Braeden Cootes, Filip Hronek, Jake DeBrusk and Evander Kane scored for Vancouver while Nikita Tolopilo was credited with the win, stopping all four shots he faced in the third period. As for Kevin Lankinen, he was solid during the first two periods, finishing with 17 saves on 19 shots.
Overall, there were plenty of positives to take away from this game. The Canucks out-hit the Kraken 37-23 while outshooting them 35-24. Vancouver was also the better team on special teams, going one for two on the power play while killing off both of Seattle's man advantages.
As for the most notable Canucks player, that would be Cootes. The 18-year-old recorded a goal, went five for nine in the faceoff and was named the game's first star. Post-game, Cootes spoke to the media about his goal as well as his overall game.
"In this league, that's kind of where a lot of goals were scored," said Cootes. "It's such a tough league to score goals, and goalies are so good. So getting to those greasy areas and just working hard and trying to bury some."
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As mentioned, the power play had a strong night, with the first unit of Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, DeBrusk and Kane getting virtually all the ice time. During the 2:22 of ice time, Vancouver recorded six shots on goal with the unit able to move the puck around with ease. There was also plenty of movement among the players, which is a welcome sight considering how static the power play was at times last year.
The Canucks were also strong in the faceoff dot, especially in the defensive zone. Overall, Vancouver won 29 of the 51 draws, while going 11 for 19 in their own end. Looking at game standouts, Pettersson went 10 for 14 while Aatu Räty won five of his eight draws.
Lastly, the Canucks were the more physical team, which played a factor in their ability to come back from two goals down. Post-game, Kiefer Sherwood, who finished with five hits, said, "It's important. That's part of our identity. That's going to be something that we continue to do down the stretch. Obviously, it took us a little bit, but then once we started to get going and kind of get things established, you know, and get the physicality ramped up. And obviously we turned the tides. I thought we were pretty dominant from there on out.
Overall, Friday's game was a good demonstration of how Vancouver wants to play this season. The Canucks were physical, crashed the net constantly and found ways to incorporate movement into their power play. Ultimately, there were more positives than negatives, which is a massive win for this stage of the pre-season.
Stats and Facts:
- Vancouver had 37 shots in this game. Last season, the Canucks only recorded 37 shots on four occasions.
- Jonathan Lekkerimäki led all skaters with six hits
- Quinn Hughes led all skates with five shots
- Every player on Vancouver roster played at least 10 minutes
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
SEA: 2:19- Jani Nyman (1) from Lukas Dragicevic
Second Period:
SEA: 7:00- Tyson Jugnauth (1) from Ryan Winterton and Ben Meyers
VAN: 9:10- Braeden Cootes (1) from Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Kirill Kudryavtsev
Third Period:
VAN: 00:39- Filip Hronek (1)
VAN: 12:32- Jake DeBrusk (1) (PPG) from Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes
VAN: 18:49- Evander Kane (1) (ENG)
Up Next:
The Canucks will continue their pre-season on Sunday when they battle the Edmonton Oilers. This will be the first of two meetings between Vancouver and Edmonton, with both teams playing once at home. Game time is scheduled for 5:00 pm PT from Rogers Place.
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