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VANCOUVER — At the end of seven games in six cities over 11 days, seven players injured and as late as 7-11, the last thing the Vancouver Canucks needed Sunday night was some overtime. Against Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
But after blowing a two-goal lead for the second time in 27 hours, the Canucks survived the Edmonton Oilers’ superstars — perhaps the best two-player game on the planet — on the first three-on-three shift and then the next one with the puck away until Brock Boeser’s goal-bound shot was tipped in by Shaywood on a 4-4-4. Vancouver is in dire need.
On Monday, the Canucks will rest.
Before playing the New York Rangers on Tuesday, JT Miller visited Vancouver for the first time since his blockbuster trade to the continent last January.
After they endured the past 11 days, including the loss of captain Quinn Hughes on Saturday, the Canucks emerged from their first National Hockey League torturous test Sunday night with four wins in seven games and a 5-5-0 record for the season.
It’s not what they were hoping for, but it’s better than it might have been under the circumstances.
“We’re fighting our ass off here,” goalie Thatcher Dimko said after being escorted onto the ice by teammates. “I’m proud of the group today. It’s a really tough game against a good team, and coming off three losses in a row. And to give that effort, you know, it’s really impressive.
“Obviously we know the injury situation we’re in at the moment. But I think it’s not something you can dwell on. You start to feel bad for yourself, it’s easy to let even more games slip.”
Canucks fight back to .500 Hughes, their best player, was placed on the injured list after Saturday’s 4-3 home loss to the Montreal Canadiens, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit and won a game over Vancouver, which dominated at even strength.
Naturally, Hughes’ replacement on defense, minor league call-up Victor Mancini, left Sunday’s game late in the second inning. Coach Adam Foote told reporters after the game that Mancini was being evaluated.
Foote announced about three hours before Hughes suffered a lower-body injury, calling it “day-to-day”, although the 2024 Norris Trophy winner is not expected to play on Tuesday.
Received Friday from the Chicago Blackhawks as a result of injuries last Sunday to centers Philip Chattel and Teddy Blauger, Lucas Rachel played his second game of the weekend for Vancouver and looked dangerous, registering two shots among several scoring opportunities and going 8-5 in the face.
Boozer, who missed two games last week after being put on leave for personal reasons, finished with a goal and two assists on Sunday. Other top Canucks, such as Connor Garland, Elias Patterson and defensemen Marcus Patterson and Filip Horonik, also elevated their games.
“You just rely on the process and, you know, stick to the blue-collar mentality that we’re trying to create,” Sherwood told reporters. “I mean, the games are coming up here fast, so we’ve got to go in. Every day’s a new day. It’ll be good, you know, if we just keep rolling and go on a good streak, but it starts with one. We’ve got a big game coming up against New York, so we’ve got to hang in there and be ready.”
“We had some tough injuries, especially at a premium position (in the middle), but we battled hard,” Garland said. “You know, most of the season is going to be like that. I know the travel is tough, but, you know, we don’t have a lot of teams that are around us (geographically) so we’ll be traveling a lot, and we’ll be traveling all year long — it’s kind of crazy until February (and there’s an Olympic break, so we’ve got an Olympic break to take care of us.) Be smart and work on your craft. Do it when you can.
On the winning shift in OT, the Canucks held the puck for nearly a minute after Jake DeBresque won a battle for it in the defensive zone while Driesail and McDavid buzzed around. Without Hughes and Mancini – and playing the opening shift after Hronic – Foote deployed three forwards for the winning goal: Sherwood, Boeser and Garland.
“I thought it was a great overtime shift,” Garland said. “Great play on the wall by Jake to catch Petty. It’s not really good to keep those guys (McDavid and Draceil) out in the O-zone for too long, so it was good to get them off, and then we can attack their second group.”
Like most teams in a 10-game condensed Olympic season, the Canucks could use some tactics. But they move around like the full moons of those days.
As Dimko said, the Canucks’ effort over the weekend was outstanding. The team is collecting its five-on-five game. Special teams still needed work, but at least the Canucks tied the Oilers on power-play goals, Peterson’s sparkling one-timer that made it 2-0 on Drasaitl’s tying goal on the power play with 5:03 remaining in the third period.
“I think the work that we put in in the preseason is probably starting to 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 wouldn’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 that at times, and we’ve played some good games as well. We’ve put together a good 60 minutes a few times now. So I think it’s just going to get easier as you develop those habits, and get the reps over time.”
