For the ninth time this season, the Vancouver Canucks’ penalty kill surrendered two goals against in a single game in the team’s 3–2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson were the two Canucks to find the scoresheet, while ex-Canuck Adam Gaudette netted a pivotal goal for the Sharks. Nikita Tolopilo started in his second-straight NHL game, playing in his fourth game at both the NHL and AHL level since last Friday. Today, he stopped 21 of 24 shots against.
Boeser and Conor Garland found success in Vancouver’s last game by providing the team with a decent helping of offence as well as a little defence (though there wasn’t much of the latter in that game). Their offensive jump continued today, with Boeser firing the game’s opening goal past a sea of Sharks after some prolonged O-zone cycle time.
Vancouver’s power play, which has done excellent work by scoring 10 times in the past eight games, received eight-ish opportunities today (a couple of penalties went past regulation) but did not end up scoring on any of them. Though some of their opportunities were rife with possession time and stable set-up, Vancouver did not generate many quality shots that would give Yaroslav Askarov much difficulty. By the end of the game, the Canucks managed eight shots on Askarov while on the man-advantage.
One of the most impressive parts of the game for the Canucks was a stunning goal by Pettersson, who had put together a 10-point effort in the past seven games played prior to tonight. The forward’s hand-eye coordination was on full display as he batted himself an errant puck along the boards before turning around, waiting for Askarov to bite, and sliding the puck along the unprotected side of the Sharks’ net. This goal put him in sole possession of seventh in points scored as a Canuck (479) in franchise history.
Penalties for both the Canucks and Sharks were a big part of today’s game, as both teams took 19 combined throughout the match. After a decent Wednesday game that saw them kill five of six penalties taken, the Canucks’ penalty kill allowed another two goals against, once again in part due to some disorganization in on-ice coverage. Surprisingly enough, Quinn Hughes took two of the Canucks’ eight total penalties taken today — one for interference and one for what’s been defined as unsportsmanlike conduct.
This isn’t the end of the story for the penalty kill today, however. Initially, the Sharks looked like they very nearly scored on Vancouver’s third penalty, but no goal was called and Marcus Pettersson was called for tripping on the play, giving San Jose a 5-on-3 advantage for over a minute. While on this penalty kill, center Pettersson managed to produce a fair scoring chance against Askarov and two Sharks, though the opportunity didn’t convert. From there, the Sharks scored twice, with the second goal coming after a review that deduced the puck had crossed the goal line despite it being in Tolopilo’s glove.
Three more penalties were called with only a couple of seconds left in the third period after a scrum broke out along the boards in San Jose’s zone. After looking at the scrum, the referees ruled that the faceoff would take place in the Sharks’ zone as Hughes was the lone player to not involve himself in the tussle. Despite looking like they may try to pull off a final bid at a goal with a 6-on-3 advantage and 1.9 seconds remaining, Vancouver did not gain possession in time and ultimately dropped the game.
Had the Canucks converted on at least one of their power plays, or killed another one of their penalties, the result would have been much different. Unfortunately, it was Vancouver’s special teams that made the difference today, ultimately handing them their first loss of the road trip.
Stats and Facts:
- Elias Pettersson passes Pavel Bure (478) for seventh in Canucks history in career points with 479
- Brock Boeser takes sole possession of 10th in franchise history in points (450)
- Canucks surrender two power play goals against in a game for the ninth time this season
- Evander Kane records his 300th career NHL assist
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
4:28 - VAN: Brock Boeser (9) from Conor Garland and Tom Willander
9:25 - SJS: Will Smith (8) from Alexander Wennberg and Macklin Celebrini (PPG)
2nd Period:
3:04 - VAN: Elias Pettersson (8) from Evander Kane and Filip Hronek
14:03 - SJS: William Eklund (6) from Macklin Celebrini and John Klingberg (PPG)
15:17 - SJS: Adam Gaudette (6) from Philipp Kurashev and Tyler Toffoli
3rd Period:
No scoring.
Up Next:
The Canucks will complete the third part of this road trip’s California leg tomorrow, taking on the Los Angeles Kings for the first time this season. With Tolopilo getting the start for Vancouver tonight, it’s likely that Jiří Patera starts tomorrow. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:
Elias Pettersson Moves Into 7th All-Time For Points In Vancouver Canucks History
Brock Boeser Moves Into 10th All-Time For Points In Vancouver Canucks History
Reichel Replaces Räty As Canucks Take On The Sharks
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
