The Vancouver Canucks concluded their four-game homestand with a visit from the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Both teams suffered losses, the Canucks 5-4 in overtime against the Colorado Avalanche and the Jets 4-1 against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Canucks welcomed backup starter Thatcher Demko to the fold after a two-game absence, while the Jets countered with the familiar sight of Connor Hellebuyck. But it wasn’t Demko who finished the game; instead, it was Kevin Lankinen who came in in the second inning after Demko seemingly re-aggravated an injury. After a five-goal first period that saw the Jets take a 3-2 lead, an early power play goal from Gabriel Vilardi in the third ultimately became the game winner as the Jets defeated the Canucks 5-3thus breaking their three-match losing streak.
Summary of the game
The first period started slowly for both teams, but ultimately ended in a goal-fest. The Jets opened the scoring just under five minutes into the game with Jonathan Toews’ third of the season when the puck went off his skate and into the crease. Then, about five minutes later, the Canucks tied the game on Kiefer Sherwood’s team-leading 11th when he sniped Hellebuyck with the gloves after he and Quinn Hughes executed a perfect give-and-go.
Shortly afterwards, the Canucks took a 2-1 lead with Jake DeBrusk’s sixth, when he took a pass from Hughes and fired a shot down the short side for his fifth power-play goal this season. However, the Jets regained the lead with two quick goals, 15 seconds apart; the first, another skate deflection, this time Nino Niederreiter’s, and then a Josh Morrissey slap shot after Sherwood failed to clear the puck on the penalty kill. The period ended with the Jets leading 3-2 and trailing the shot clock 12-8.
The second period had no goals, but a lot of drama. After returning to the net for this match, Demko did not start in the middle frame, making way for Lankinen. Then the Canucks got a scare when Hughes left the ice with an apparent shoulder injury, only to return a few shifts later. Lankinen had a solid stint in relief of Demko, stopping 13 shots, including a nice save down the right pad on Marc Scheifele. Hellebuyck was also solid, making 10 saves as the Jets defeated the Canucks 13-10.
The Jets got to work quickly in the third period, with Vilardi knocking back his sixth behind Lankinen on a power play that bled over from the second period. With his back to the Canucks goalie, he advanced the ball to the top corner, pushing the Jets’ lead to 4-2. It remained that way until the closing minutes of the game, when Brock Boeser picked up a rebound after a blocked shot and rammed it past Hellebuyck to cut the lead to 4–3. But that’s all the Canucks could muster as Alex Iafallo drifted into an empty net just over 30 seconds later for his third of the season, clinching the 5-3 victory in his 600th NHL game.
What’s next?
The Canucks embark on a short three-game road trip, starting Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Jets, meanwhile, will be in Seattle to take on the Kraken on Thursday.
#Jets #snap #threegame #losing #streak #win #Canucks #Hockey #Writers #Latest #news #analysis