VANCOUVER — After seven games in six cities in 11 days, with seven player injuries and as many shutdowns as, well, 7-Eleven, the latest is that Vancouver Canucks a little overtime was needed on Sunday evening. Against Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
But after blowing a two-goal lead for the second time in 27 hours, the Canucks outlasted the Edmonton Oilers' superstars – arguably the two best players on this planet – on the first three-on-three shift, then played the puck on the next shift until Brock Boserthe targeted throw was provoked Kiefer Sherwood at 1:42 of overtime for a 4-3 victory, Vancouver desperately needed a win.
The Canucks will rest on Monday.
Ahead of Tuesday's game against the New York Rangers, JT Miller visits Vancouver for the first time since his successful cross-continent deal last January.
After everything they've been through over the past 11 days, including the loss of captain Quinn Hughes on Saturday, the Canucks emerged Sunday night from their first National Hockey League ordeal with four wins in seven games and a 5-5-0 record on the season.
It's not what they hoped for, but it's better than it could have been under the circumstances.
“We are fighting as hard as we can here,” goalkeeper Thatcher Demko He said after being surrounded by his teammates on the ice. “I'm really proud of the group today. It's a tough game against a really good team and I'm losing three in a row. And to put in that kind of effort, you know, it's really inspiring.
“Obviously we know the injury situation we're in at the moment. But I don't think it's something to focus on. You start to feel bad and it's easy to miss more games.”
The Canucks battled back to .500 after Hughes, their best player, was added to the injured list following Saturday's 4-3 home loss to the Montreal Canadiens, who recovered from a 2-0 deficit to win a game that Vancouver dominated at even strength.
Naturally, Hughes' replacement on defense, relegated Victor Mancini, left Sunday's game late in the second period. Coach Adam Foote told reporters after the game that Mancini was being assessed.
Foote announced Hughes' lower-body injury about three hours before the faceoff, calling it “day-to-day,” although the 2024 Norris Trophy winner is not expected to play Tuesday.
Acquired Friday from the Chicago Blackhawks following last Sunday's injuries to centers Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger, Lukas Reichel played in his second game of the weekend for Vancouver and looked dangerous, recording two shots on several scoring chances and going 8-5 in faceoffs.
Boeser, who missed two games last week after being given a leave of absence for personal reasons, finished Sunday with a goal and two assists. Other top Canucks such as Conor Garland, Elias Pettersson and defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Philip Hronekalso upped their game.
“You just trust the process and, you know, embrace the blue-collar mentality that we're trying to create,” Sherwood told reporters. “I mean, the games come fast here, so we just have to dig in. Every day is a new day. It would be great, you know, if we could continue to build momentum and get a good streak, but it starts with one. We've got a big game coming up against New York, so we've got to buckle down and stay ready.”
“We had some serious injuries, especially at the premium (center) position, but we fought hard,” Garland said. “You know, most of the season will be like this. I know it's a tough period with a lot of travel, but, you know, we're unlucky with a lot of teams surrounding us (geographically). So we'll be traveling a lot, and we'll have these periods throughout the year – crazy until February (and the Olympic holidays). So we just need to take care of our body, be professional, be smart and work on our craft whenever you can.”
On the winning shift in overtime, the Canucks controlled the puck for nearly a minute after Jake DeBrusk won the battle for it in the defensive zone while Draisaitl and McDavid buzzed. Without Hughes and Mancini – and after Hronek played his first shift – Foote used three forwards for the winning goal: Sherwood, Boeser and Garland.
“I thought it was a great overtime shift,” Garland said. “Great play from Jake on the wall and getting the puck to Petey. Having those guys (McDavid and Draisaitl) in the O zone for a long period of time doesn't bode well, so it was good to get them out and then we could attack their second unit.”
Like most teams 10 games into the shortened Olympic season, the Canucks could use some practice. But these days they rotate about as often as full moons.
As Demko said, the Canucks' performance over the weekend was outstanding. The team is preparing for a five-on-five game. The special teams still need work, but at least the Canucks tied the Oilers on power play goals, and Pettersson's brilliant one-timer made it 2-0, offsetting Draisaitl's tying power play goal with 5:03 left in the third period.
“I think the work we put in in the preseason will probably become second nature to us,” Demko said. “At the end of the day, it was a new coach (and) we have a lot of young guys. I didn't expect us to be firing on all cylinders in the first 10 games of the year.”
“But I think we've shown some glimpses of it at times and we've played some good games as well. We've put together a good 60 minutes a couple of times already. So I think it'll become more fluid as you develop those habits and get that repetition over time.”
