VANCOUVER — When asked Wednesday about the possibility of Elias Pettersson returning to the Vancouver Canucks lineup on Thursday, coach Bruce Boudreau was pragmatic in his pessimism, explaining that the star centre had been off skates at that point for six days with his non-Covid illness.
“Pretty hard to think that he’s going to be available when he’s missed six days,” Boudreau said. “I mean, he’s a good player, but he’s not Superman.”
Well, Pettersson is not a bird or plane.
There must be S under Pettersson’s jersey because on Thursday, weakened by the flu and dulled by time off skates, the Swedish superman posted two goals, three assists, was plus-four and scored the shootout winner as the Canucks rallied to beat the Seattle Kraken 6-5.
The way the Canucks played, really the only difference from the team that was embarrassed in the previous five days by consecutive 5-1 losses against the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues was Pettersson. It also helped Vancouver that the Kraken, which led 5-3 nearly halfway through the third period, didn’t defend like either the Jets or Blues.
“Doing what he did tonight, it’s pretty amazing,” Boudreau said of Pettersson’s five-pointer, adding later, “That doesn’t happen.
“Like, I mean, I don’t think you guys realize how much of an anomaly that is being off six days and then just come in the day of the game and play. It defies the logic of a hockey player. A hockey player, they need the reps on the ice. They lose the conditioning very easily. And he seemed to keep it.”
Pettersson’s power-play pass set up Brock Boeser’s tap-in goal that cut Seattle’s lead to 5-4 at 8:52 of the third period. With the Canucks attacking six-against five, Pettersson tied it with 1:20 to go, whipping a one-timer past goalie Martin Jones after an excellent cross-ice pass by J.T. Miller.
Then, after Miller, Pettersson and Quinn Hughes rang consecutive shots off the iron in overtime – three days before Christmas, three post were pinging – Pettersson clinched the shootout with a forehand deke that squeezed under Jones for just the third Vancouver win in its last nine games at Rogers Arena.
Like Boudreau said, that doesn’t happen.
“I was getting a little exhausted at first, but just trying to find the energy somewhere,” Pettersson, who logged 19:33 of ice time, told reporters.
Fans chanted “Petey! Petey! Petey!” several times during the game, including before his shootout winner.
“I was like, ‘It’s probably a good chance to score now,’” Pettersson said of the moment. “It’s just as fun. I appreciate those moments.
“Obviously a big relief. Every point matters for us and we’re still hunting to get to the playoff spot.”
Pettersson said his health began to turn on Wednesday and he decided after the morning skate on Thursday that he would try playing.
Boudreau deployed him on a line with regular winger Andrei Kuzmenko and minor-league callup Lane Pederson. And if there was any confusion, it would have been only in the pre-game introductions.
“Petey, this is Pedey. Pedey, Petey. Kuzie, Pedey. Petey, Kuzie.”
On the ice, you’d never have guessed they’d never played together.
Pederson, a throw-in from Carolina in the October trade that gave the Canucks Ethan Bear – a mystifying healthy scratch Thursday by Boudreau – scored his first goal in three games in Vancouver and also beautifully set up Kuzmenko. The new line combined for 10 points and spackled over some of the deep cracks in Vancouver’s play.
“I thought that line was really good,” Boudreau said. “I thought Pederson was really good tonight and so was Kuzmenko at a different level than I’ve seen in recent games. But maybe it’s just because Petey was in the middle. I don’t know, but they were really good.”
“Their line just executed up the ice so well,” Miller said. “They never had to play in their own end once just because they made really good plays. Kuzie was really good, obviously, and Lane played great, too. Their possession coming out of (our) end. . . they have so much skill and if you’re going to give that line that much time, they’re going to make something happen.”
The Canucks had lost three straight home games by a cumulative score of 13-2. Their only three wins in the last nine at Rogers Arena have been in overtime or a shootout.
“Yeah, they’re getting little restless out there for us,” Miller said when asked about the fans. “So I’m really just glad they’re in a good mood.
“We’ve shown it all year; there’s no quit in the room, that’s for sure. But it’s mentally brutal and taxing to have to come from behind all the time. Like it’s really hard. We totally would rather have the lead, but it seems like when we’re down a couple we play really good after that. So I don’t know what to really make it.”
Having Superman helps.
Pettersson may have flown the plane, too, as the Canucks raced an incoming snowstorm after the game to make it to Edmonton for their final pre-Christmas contest Friday against the Oilers.
