The Vancouver Canucks took care of business on Saturday night, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Rogers Arena. Elias Pettersson, Erik Brännström, J.T. Miller and Teddy Blueger provided the offence, while Artūrs Šilovs stopped 28 of 29 shots for his first win of the season. With the victory, the Canucks extend their winning streak to nine games against the Blackhawks, a streak that dates back to 2022.
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One of the reasons Vancouver skated away with a win was their ability to shut down Connor Bedard. The pride of North Vancouver finished with only one shot on goal and was a plus/minus -2 in 16:48 of ice time. Ultimately, the Canucks frustrated the reigning Calder Trophy, who looked off his game for the majority of the night.
Shifting over to some players that stood out for Vancouver, the list has to start with Brännström, who scored his first career game-winning goal. Brännström also threw a massive hit and was not afraid to crash the net in order to create opportunities. When asked about his defenceman’s play, Head Coach Rick Tocchet said, “I thought he was feisty, jumping up. I thought he walked the blue line a couple of times. Obviously, he’s shooting the puck a lot, which I like. He was getting off that blue line; he’s changing the angle. Sometimes, we get the shots blocked. I think he’s one of the guys that he’s so quick he can kind of get that shot around some people. I think tonight a couple of times, obviously the goal, but a couple of other times, he had some good shots on that with people in front.”
Another big positive on the night was the play of the Jake DeBursk, Pettersson and Kiefer Sherwood line. The trio were on the ice for the game-winning goal and were able to limit Chicago’s chances throughout the game. Post-game, Sherwood spoke about his new linemates, saying, “We had a lot of O-zone possession time. A lot of plays. Those guys are special players, and the way they can slow the game down, just try to create time and space for them and get the puck in their hands.”
Lastly, Šilovs was a difference maker in goal, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced. His performance also impressed Tocchet, who said post-game, “I thought he was solid. I think he had a solid start in Abbotsford. He’s had some good practices, and I think he can string some good days together. He looked good, especially in the third period. He looked big in the net. Made a couple of saves where he looked big.” While it is only one game, it looks like Šilovs has built up some confidence, which could lead to more starts the rest of the month.
While it wasn’t the cleanest of victories, the Canucks were able to do enough to walk away with the 4-1 win. They were strong on both the power play and penalty kill, and as mentioned, were able to shut down one of the best young players in the game. The question now is, can Vancouver continue this momentum tomorrow night against the Nashville Predators?
Facts and Stats:
– With his 53 career power play goal, Elias Pettersson ties Don Lever for 13th all-time on the power play goal list
– Kiefer Sherwood becomes the first player this season to record 100 hits
– J.T. Miller records his seventh career empty-net goal with the Canucks. With the goal, he passes Loui Eriksson and Ryan Kesler and into a tie with Todd Bertuzzi and Stan Smyl for the 12th most in franchise history
– Erik Brännström becomes the 23rd Swedish player in franchise history to record a game-winning goal
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
6:50- CHI: Ilya Mikheyev (2) from Nick Foligno and Nolan Allan (4)
2nd Period:
4:56- VAN: Elias Pettersson (5) from J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes (PPG)
3rd Period:
4:25- VAN: Erik Brännström (2) from Kiefer Sherwood and Jake DeBrusk
18:04- VAN: J.T. Miller (6) from Pius Suter (ENG)
18:45- Teddy Blueger (3) from Conor Garland and Danton Heinen (ENG)
Up Next:
The Canucks wrap up their home back-to-back Sunday against the Predators. This will be the first time these two teams have met since Vancouver knocked the Predators out of the playoffs last season. Game time is set for 7:00 pm PT on Grey Cup Sunday from Rogers Arena.
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