Fresh off a win against the New York Rangers, the Vancouver Canucks traveled to Long Island for a showdown against the New York Islanders. Fresh off a loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the Islanders were eager to get back in the win column as they look to continue their surprising season. Both clubs came into this match looking for a win as they wanted to surprise doubters.
Summary of the game
The first period was dominated by the Canucks. After both teams started back and forth action, the Canucks started to take over. Jake DeBrusk and David Kampf started working hard in the corner near the Islanders goal. DeBrusk popped the puck free to Kampf, and he beat Ilya Sorokin to put the Canucks up 1-0 almost midway through the period.
Nearly two minutes later, Kiefer Sherwood stole the puck from rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer and grabbed the top corner above Sorokin to put the Canucks up 2-0. Then, towards the end of the period, Vancouver got a power play, and Sherwood completed a great pass Play with Tom Willander and Filip Hronek to extend the Canucks lead to 3-0 at the end of the period.
The second period saw excellent play from both goaltenders. Thatcher Demko continued his great play from the previous game against the Rangers, keeping the puck out of the net in the second frame. He made one spectacular rescue midway through the period, with the Canucks on the penalty kill, where he denied a straight shot from Jonathan Drouin. Sorokin also found his groove after a poor first period, keeping the Canucks off the scoresheet during the second period.
Period three started much the same as the second period, as no one could find the back of the net for most of the twenty-minute frame. Both goalkeepers did their utmost not to let in a goal for their team. It took until the final five minutes of the game for the Islanders to finally score, as they had their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker.
Related: 4 veterans the Canucks should keep as they rebuild
Anders Lee completed a blind pass from Calum Ritchie to pull New York within two goals with 5:05 remaining in the third period. The Islanders desperately tried to score a goal to cut the Canucks’ lead to one, but they couldn’t. Vancouver collected the puck in the defensive zone and sent it to Sherwood, and he scored to complete the hat trick and give the Canucks their third win since the Quinn Hughes trade.
Vancouver now travels to Boston to play the Bruins on Saturday night, aiming to extend their winning streak to four games. The Islanders, on the other hand, head to Buffalo for a matchup against the Sabers to try to end their two-game mini skid.
#Kiefer #Sherwoods #hat #trick #Canucks #Islanders #Hockey #Writers #Vancouver #Canucks #Latest #news #analysis