Carolina came to play to start this game, and the Canucks did not. The Hurricanes started the game with a flurry of shots while the Canucks struggled to break the puck out. Carolina was far quicker than the home team to start the game, and Kevin Lankinen needed to be sharp. And for the most part, he was, but Carolina converted on their sixth shot of the game to open the scoring.
1-0 Canes.
The Canucks started to get their feet under them following the goal, and began attacking Carolina with speed and control. And who better to do that than Quinn Hughes and JT Miller? Miller carried the puck wide of the goal, drawing out Pyotr Kochetkov before centring the puck to Brock Boeser, who ripped a shot home to make it 1-1.
The Canucks had some real momentum after this goal, and it looked like Arshdeep Bains had his second goal in as many games just moments after. Unfortunately, the goal was called off due to offsides on the zone entry, so this game remained tied, and Arsh Bains remained the proud author of just one NHL goal.
The game evened out a bit after this, but it was Carolina that scored the game’s next goal, pulling ahead to a 2-1 lead before the end of the opening frame.
The Canes wasted little time before pushing their lead to two in the second period, as Jack Roslovic buried a nice feed from Brent Burns to make it 3-1 Hurricanes.
Andrei Svechnikov gave the Canucks their first power play of the game, and it went very poorly. They struggled to get set up, found themselves on the wrong side of a game of keep away, and failed to test Kochetkov outside of a shot from Daniel Sprong once the second unit hopped over the boards.
Plus, Kevin Lankinen had to be downright remarkable at the end of it, as Svechnikov found himself on a 2-on-1 as he stepped out of the box.
Tyler Myers took an accidental high-sticking penalty just moments later, giving the Canes another power play attempt. To make matters worse, Pius Suter took a tripping penalty with 41 seconds remaining, turning this into a crucial kill for the Canucks’ PK. No penalty killer was better than Kevin Lankinen, who was quickly turning this into a statement game.
Pius Suter found himself on a breakaway as he stepped out of the box, but was denied by Kochetkov. The JT Miller line pivoted this into a strong O-zone possession, capped off by a nasty spin and drive to the net from Quinn Hughes. Momentum, momentum. The Canucks weren’t out of this one despite getting outshot handily, and they had Lankinen to thank for that.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi took another penalty before the end of the second period, and once again, the Canucks’ power play could at best be described as a disappointment. Against Pittsburgh, the Canucks got their chances, but couldn’t convert on their opportunities. They couldn’t even get set up to this point in the game against Carolina. It was a frustrating night for the PP.
Lankinen did so well to keep this game close, and one of his teammates finally repaid the favour when Quinn Hughes hammered home a slap shot to pull the Canucks within one. 3-2.
Shayne Gostisbehere took a delay of game penalty for putting the puck out play, giving the Canucks another power play chance. The best chance of the two minutes came from Seth Jarvis shorthanded, who was robbed by Lankinen with the blocker.
Seriously, it was another unreal performance from the Canucks’ netminder tonight, and it’s okay to call him KeVezina Lankinen at this point.
The Canucks tried to mount a comeback, and Jake DeBrusk came oh-so-close to scoring his first goal as a Canuck and tying this game up. Instead, it was Pius Suter who tied things up after Daniel Sprong beat Kochetkov to a loose puck and centred it to Pius Suter. 3-3!
That’s some nice poise and patience from Sprong.
Elias Pettersson nearly put the icing on the cake with a solid power move out of the corner, then JT Miller nearly did the same after being on the doorstep for a rebound chance after another Quinn Hughes point shot.
Somehow, this game needed overtime. Let’s be honest. Kevin Lankinen is how.
In OT, Carolina gained possession off the faceoff, didn’t give it up, and scored rather quickly. Sebastian Aho with the winner.
4-3 Canes final.
Some takeaways from tonight:
-The ice at Rogers Arena seemed very bad tonight. The puck was bouncing a ton, which isn’t a good recipe for success against a speedy Carolina team.
-The Hurricanes are so fast.
-This was likely the Canucks’ toughest test yet. At least Kevin Lankinen looked good!
-The Canucks are fun to watch late in games.
-Honestly, Canucks are lucky to come away with a point tonight. Solid rally in the third, but Kevin Lankinen should be this game’s first star.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game?
