The Abbotsford Canucks’ second-round series against the Coachella Valley Firebirds is knotted at 1–1. We’ve seen some highs and lows from the AHL Canucks in Game 1 and Game 2 so far, as well as some impressive performances from particular players. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts from Abbotsford’s first two games of the second round.   

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Danila Klimovich 

The 2021 second-round draft pick has looked much different in Abbotsford’s first two games against Coachella Valley. While he was held to no points in the first round, Klimovich scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 against the Firebirds, also tallying a four-shot effort. In Game 2, he had a team-high four shots and had a few close chances on the power play. 

Linus Karlsson 

Karlsson, who played in two postseason games last year with the Vancouver Canucks, has continued his run of impressive play into the second round. He has one assist in two games played, but has gotten his fair share of chances by rushing to the net and keeping his engagement level high. Abbotsford’s 5–4 overtime loss on Saturday was the first game of the postseason in which he didn’t register a point. 

Max Sasson 

With the amount of chances he has generated in the past five games, Sasson should realistically be Abbotsford’s leading scorer. In the AHL Canucks’ past two games, he had six shots on net. He has also been particularly noticeable on the forecheck for Abbotsford, as well as crafty with his set-ups. 

Jujhar Khaira, Nate Smith, and Sammy Blais 

Khaira, Smith, and Blais are being grouped together because this line had a monster of a Game 2, putting up a combined eight points in periods two and three. This trio helped break the AHL Canucks out of their 3–0 deficit by scoring the second, third, and fourth goals for Abbotsford. 

With four points in the team’s two second-round games, Khaira is currently Abbotsford’s leading scorer against the Firebirds. He also got into a fight with Coachella Valley’s Ian McKinnon, who made a hit on Jett Woo that took the latter out of the game. 

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