Who stood out? And who needs to step up in Monday's finale?
The Vancouver Canucks let a 2-0 third period lead get away and wound up on the wrong end of a 3-2 shootout to the Winnipeg Jets at Young Stars in Penticton Sunday afternoon.
Icing a line-up full of professional experience, the Canucks were the better team through 40 minutes and took a 2-0 lead to the locker room on power play goals by Arshdeep Bains and Aidan McDonough. But the Jets chipped away scoring a pair of goals two minutes apart midway through the third. The game featured a spirited 3-on-3 overtime session and then was decided in a shootout.
The Canucks outshot the Jets 41-29 on the afternoon although Winnipeg held a wide 14-3 edge in the third period.
Here are The Hockey News 3 Stars for the Canucks:
1) Aatu Raty: the big Finn was far more engaged on Sunday than he was on Friday night against Calgary. He had a dominant first period and set up Arshdeep Bains for the game's opening goal. Raty demonstrated terrific on-ice vision throughout the game highlighted by a cross-ice backdoor pass to defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz for a splendid scoring opportunity in the second period. As he should, Raty looked confident against this level of competition. And he didn't shy away when challenged physically even taking a roughing penalty in the third period when he took exception to what he felt was a late check after a whistle. Certainly there were signs on Sunday of the things that make Raty one of the Canucks top prospects.
2) Arshdeep Bains: after a relatively quiet performance on Friday, Bains had his motor running from the drop of the puck on Sunday. He collected his own rebound in tight to open the scoring on a first period power play. Moments later, he pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone, made a nice cutback move at the Jets blueline and created space for himself as a he got a solid shot away. His hockey smarts stand out on almost every shift at a showcase like this and it's that hockey sense and positional awareness that will likely see him play NHL games sooner rather than later.
3) Akito Hirose: with NHL experience, it's no surprise a player like Hirose is setting himself apart at an event like this. He shows poise on almost every shift. He seems to think one step ahead and on Sunday he draw assists on both Vancouver goals. It was his second straight two-point outing at Young Stars. With another game on Monday and extra bodies on the roster, it will be interesting to see if the Canucks management group and coaches elect to give a player like Hirose the day off. He doesn't need to show anything more here in Penticton. He should probably start to turn his attention to main camp in Victoria later this week.
Honourable mention: Vilmer Alriksson. The huge Swede seemed to be a target for the Jets from the outset on Sunday. And, to Alriksson's credit, he did not seem fazed by the attention. With all sorts of special teams time in the third period, Alriksson did not see a lot of ice in the final frame. He is still very much a work in progress, but at his size, he's an intriguing prospect. And Sunday he showed that he could handle the physical side of the game at this level.
Much as it was Friday, it was hard to find Canuck players that truly struggled on Sunday. It's just that more was expected from a few at this event. However, the team has one last game in Penticton on Monday afternoon against Edmonton and that means one last opportunity for some to put their best foot forward.
Despite getting top line assignments, Danila Klimovich has not separated himself from the pack in any way. His first shift on Friday may have been his best of the weekend. He was agressive on the forecheck and looked to be setting a physical tone for himself and his team. On Sunday, after sustained zone time in which the Canucks had the Jets running around in their own end, Klimovich elected to launch a 40-foot snap shot from the side boards that was saved easily giving the Jets a much-needed stoppage. Although he has a strong shot, Klimovich had options to keep play alive and needed to do better in that situation. He did have a strong shift in overtime when he created a couple of scoring chances and then still had enough left in the tank to hustle back on the backcheck. But more was expected of Klimovich than one memorable backcheck through two games here in Penticton.
Kirill Kudryatsev didn't play poorly on Sunday, it's just that he set the bar remarkably high for himself with his performance at this event and at main camp a year ago. After sitting out Friday's opener, Kudryatsev found himself on the Canucks second defensive pairing with Filip Johansson on Sunday. With Johansson, Akito Hirose and Cole McWard all in the line-up against the Jets, Kudryatsev found himself in more of a supporting role. And in that context his overall performance was fine, but it lacked the flash he demonstrated at last year's showcase. His most notable play came with 90 seconds left in regulation when he scooped a puck out of the blue paint behind Ty Young in the Canuck net.