VANCOUVER – It’s not true that Elias Pettersson has completely lost his skating burst. Seven minutes into Saturday’s game, the struggling Vancouver Canuck exploded out of the blocks and dashed across the offensive zone at Rogers Arena.
Pettersson was in a hurry to congratulate teammate Filip Hronek, who had opened scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs by redirecting Pettersson’s world-class, diagonal pass towards the back post.
It was about as happy as we’ve seen Pettersson all season. Apparently, even the ever-stoic Hronek smiled. Certainly, the defenceman pointed towards Pettersson as soon as he scored, crediting his teammate for the goal. It was a nice moment.
It was a nice game for Pettersson and a nice game for the Canucks. Brock Boeser scored a power-play goal from the slot at 8:56 of the third period as Vancouver beat Toronto and briefly muted Maple Leaf fans with a 2-1 victory that has the Canucks soaring into the two-week National Hockey League break for the 4 Nations tournament.
Pettersson is going to that event for Sweden. Canuck goalie Kevin Lankinen, who replaced injured starter Thatcher Demko halfway through the first period Saturday and stopped 21 of 22 Maple Leaf shots, is going for Finland. Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet is part of Team Canada’s staff.
Quinn Hughes is supposed to be going for Team USA, but missed his fourth straight game Saturday due to an undisclosed injury. Tocchet insisted both before and immediately after the game that no decision had been made on Hughes, who armed with medical opinions was to make the call of whether it’s better to play for his country or heal for his NHL team.
“I think Quinn is extremely professional,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told Sportsnet on Thursday. “He knows his body, and what he can do or not do, so I trust him a lot. We’re supporting him in his position.”
Tocchet also said post-game that he doesn’t believe the injury to Demko is serious, and it is definitely not the knee that caused the starting goalie to miss eight months and struggle mightily to regain form after he returned in December.
Demko had just played his best two games of the season – a 3-0 shutout Tuesday of the Colorado Avalanche, followed by a 2-1 road win in overtime against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday – when he pulled himself from Saturday’s game after six saves and 10 minutes.
Given the impact of Hughes and Demko, the Canucks have a good deal of uncertainty. They also have four new players whose heads are still spinning from their acquisition just over a week ago as part of the J.T. Miller blockbuster, and a bunch of guys on the roster still recovering after surviving the debilitating drama that engulfed the team for much of the winter.
This mid-February break is a chance for the Canucks to rest and heal. It’s good timing. Probably.
Vancouver is also on a 6-1-1 heater, still in the honeymoon phase of its new-look team and playing its best hockey of the season. Maybe a four-game road trip starting Tuesday wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
“Part of me wants it to keep going,” Tocchet told reporters Saturday night, “but I do think this team needs a little bit of a reset. Just get away. I think we just need… some guys to get away from hockey. But yeah, I mean, we’re playing some pretty good hockey. I think the depth of our team is really helping our team. And the play without the puck, I mean… since Christmas, the shots against, the goals against — Toronto, one goal, Colorado, no goals — those are things you’ve got to hang your hat on, you know? I think that’s what guys have to be proud of.”
The Maple Leafs had 28 shots, eight more than they managed at home four weeks ago when the Canucks shut them out 3-0, also on a Hockey Night in Canada Saturday.
Lankinen played that one start to finish. What he did Saturday, coming in cold for Demko, was probably even more impressive.
“Well, he’s done it all year,” Tocchet said. “That’s why he’s such a professional. I had a good talk with him today, and I’m sure he was disappointed he hasn’t played in the last game or two. And he doesn’t, you know, complain or wine. But I told him today, ‘You should be upset.’ I’ve been there as a player. But he does it in a great way. He’s a true professional. And to go in there. . . some goalies can’t do that. He’s one of those guys that can go in really cold and give you some minutes.”
Lankinen was beaten only by Morgan Rielly’s low shot through heavy traffic with six seconds remaining in the second period – and four seconds after Canuck Drew O’Connor emerged from the penalty box.
Lankinen’s best stop was a post-to-post glove save on Auston Matthews, from a cross-ice pass by William Nylander during a Toronto power play, with about two minutes remaining.
“I think that’s where instinct kicks in a little bit, right?” Lankinen said. “Things happen fast. There’s a lot going on, so you’ve just got to trust your gut, trust your instinct.”
The Canucks look like they trust themselves again. Trust their structure and trust each other.
The team went 3-0-1 in the week after the Miller trade. And they did this without Hughes, easily their best and most valuable player. Pettersson’s assist, his first point since the trade, moved him into a three-way tie for second place in Canucks scoring – 25 points behind Hughes.
“I don’t know if it’s the new dudes or just playing more together,” Pettersson said of the team’s surge. “I don’t know, but I just think we’re clicking more. Everybody is playing the same, hard way. Good to go in with three straight wins for the break, but a lot of work ahead.”
“Yeah, I think the room is great,” Lankinen said. “And like I said, everybody’s buying in on the ice. We’re playing really solid defensively. We don’t give up much, we don’t give up a lot of shots (or) a lot of Grade-As. So I think that’s a good recipe for winning. And then when we get Quinn back, we’ll be even more dangerous. I’m just really happy to be part of this group right now.”
QUOTEBOOK – Tocchet on the injury to Demko, who appeared to be flexing his leg during the warmup: “No, he wasn’t hurt (in warmup). It was just something happened during the game. I don’t think it’s that serious. I don’t know, from early reports. It’s not the knee, so… we don’t have to have you guys speculate. I don’t think it’s that serious, but we’ll see.”
