The Abbotsford Canucks are coming back home for Game 6. In a narrow 2–1 overtime loss to the Texas Stars tonight, Arshdeep Bains scored the lone goal for Abbotsford, with this being his first of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. Artūrs Šilovs was solid in net, stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced. However, Magnus Hellberg, who came in for Remi Poirier the game before, was even better tonight, stopping 30 of 31 to help his team to the Game 5 win.
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Abbotsford was given their first power play 51 seconds into the game, after a good chance in Texas’ zone resulted in Arttu Hyry taking a hooking call. Less than a minute after the AHL Canucks’ power play expired, Texas got one of their own off a call on Guillaume Brisebois. It took less than 30 seconds for the Stars to score their first goal of the game and fourth power play goal in the past three matches.
Things got dicey after Abbotsford took a second first-period penalty for delay of game, with both penalties taking place within the first 10 minutes of the game. While Texas pressed on both opportunities, Šilovs shut the door during the Stars’ second opportunity. On the flip side, Abbotsford’s second power play of the period displayed good movement, but nothing overly dangerous for Hellberg and the Stars.
Abbotsford took their third penalty a little less than halfway through the second period. While the penalty kill started off strong, Šilovs needed to be sharp later on as the Stars managed to advance on the AHL Canucks’ net and pepper them with a few shots in-tight. One wraparound chance for Texas nearly gave Texas a 2–0 lead, though Šilovs was able to stretch back to stop it from going in.
Towards the end of the second period, Abbotsford began to take over the game. What started as some offensive-zone pressure led to a near-goal for Danila Klimovich that brushed off the post. With a little less than 40 seconds left in the second, a series of fights broke out between the Stars and the AHL Canucks. Seven players were sent off the ice, with each team racking up 11 penalty minutes between them all.
Both benches were short to start the third period, with each penalty box stuffed with the players who’d gotten into scraps during the second frame. Texas’ bench was shortened even more after they were called for tripping, sending the AHL Canucks on their third power play of the game. After Šilovs made a remarkable stop on a shorthanded opportunity for the Stars, Bains scored his first of the playoffs off the rush.
It was all Abbotsford after Bains scored the game-tying goal. While Texas made timely block after timely block, the AHL Canucks kept pressing. Mueller, who had just exited the box after serving a five-minute fighting major, made two massive plays to steal the puck from the Stars in both the offensive zone and the defensive zone. Even with a breakaway chance for Nate Smith as well as some extended o-zone time, regulation ended in a 1–1 tie, sending both teams to overtime for the second straight game. However, this overtime period didn’t last as long, as Curtis McKenzie ended it two minutes in for the Stars.
With the loss, Abbotsford now heads back home for Game 6, and potentially Game 7 if it’s needed.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
3:56 - TEX: Justin Hryckowian (9) from Matěj Blümel and Kyle Capobianco (PPG)
2nd Period:
No scoring.
3rd Period:
2:42 - ABB: Arshdeep Bains (1) from Max Sasson and Artūrs Šilovs (PPG)
Overtime:
2:09 - TEX: Curtis McKenzie (5) from Jack Becker
Game 6: Sunday, June 8 @ 6:00 pm PT at Abbotsford Centre
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