The Vancouver Canucks took care of business Saturday night by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Rogers Arena. Elias Pettersson, Erik Brännström, JT Miller and Teddy Blueger provided the offense, while Artūrs Šilovs stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn his first victory of the season. With this victory, the Canucks extend their winning streak against the Blackhawks to nine games, a streak that dates back to 2022.
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One of the reasons Vancouver got a win was their ability to stop Connor Bedard. The pride of North Vancouver finished with just one shot on goal and had a plus/minus record of -2 in 16:48 of ice time. Ultimately, the Canucks frustrated the reigning Calder Trophy, who neglected his play for most of the evening.
Moving on to some players who stood out for Vancouver, the list has to start with Brännström, who scored his first career game-winning goal. Brännström also launched a massive strike and was not afraid to crash the net to create chances. When asked about his defenseman’s play, head coach Rick Tocchet said, “I thought he was fiery and jumping. I thought he crossed the blue line a few times. Obviously, he shoots the puck a lot, which I like. when leaving this blue line, it changes angle. Sometimes we get blocked shots, I think he’s so quick he can get around some people, I think, tonight, obviously. the goal, but a few other times he had good shots with people in front.”
Another big positive from the night was the line play of Jake DeBursk, Pettersson and Kiefer Sherwood. The trio was on the ice to score the game-winning goal and managed to limit Chicago’s chances throughout the game. After the game, Sherwood spoke about his new teammates, saying, “We had a lot of time of possession in the O-zone. A lot of plays. These 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. »
Finally, Šilovs made the difference in front of goal, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced. His performance also impressed Tocchet, who said after the match: “I thought he was solid. I thought he had a good start at Abbotsford. He had some good practices and I think he can follow it up. a few good days. He looked good, especially in the third period. He looked big in front of the net. Although it’s only one game, it seems like Šilovs has gained some confidence. , which could lead to other departures for the rest of the month.
Although it wasn’t the cleanest victory, the Canucks managed to do enough to come away with a 4-1 victory. They were strong on both the power play and penalty kill and, as mentioned, managed 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 statistics:
– With his 53rd career power play goal, Elias Pettersson ties Don Lever for 13th all-time on the power play goals list.
– Kiefer Sherwood becomes the first player this season to record 100 hits
– JT Miller scores his seventh career goal in an empty net with the Canucks. With this goal, he passes Loui Eriksson and Ryan Kesler and is tied with Todd Bertuzzi and Stan Smyl for 12th in franchise history.
– Erik Brännström becomes the 23rd Swedish player in franchise history to score a winning goal
Summary of scores:
1st Period:
6:50 p.m. – CHI: Ilya Mikheyev (2) by Nick Foligno and Nolan Allan (4)
2nd Period:
4:56- VAN: Elias Pettersson (5) from JT Miller and Quinn Hughes (PPG)
3rd Period:
4:25 p.m. – VAN: Erik Brännström (2) by Kiefer Sherwood and Jake DeBrusk
6:04 p.m. – VAN: JT Miller (6) from Pius Suter (ENG)
6:45 p.m. – Teddy Blueger (3) by Conor Garland and Danton Heinen (ENG)
Following :
The Canucks finish their back-to-back Sunday against the Predators. This will be the first time these two teams have met since Vancouver eliminated the Predators from the playoffs last season. Game time is 7 p.m. PT on Gray Cup Sunday at Rogers Arena.
