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Elias Pettersson scores first NHL goal in first game as Canucks beat Flames |
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Wednesday October 3 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - Calgary Flames 2
The air of anticipation was notably underwhelming as I headed to Rogers Arena last night for the Vancouver Canucks' 2018-19 home opener. After a lackluster preseason, there wasn't much hope to be had.
How wrong we were! Elias Pettersson brought the buzz in the first period of his first game with his first goal on his first shot, and four other Canucks tallied in the third for what proved to be a definitive 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
Here are your highlights:
I was sitting with a bunch of jaded media vets in the press box last night. Pettersson's goal made our eyes go up to the monitor first, to try to check out just *how* he beat Mike Smith on that shot. Then, we all looked at each other, slack-jawed, knowing we had just witnessed a little slice of history.
Pettersson's sh*t-eating grin is the exact opposite of that terrible Loui Eriksson meme we got from opening night against the Flames two years ago.
Wonderful, too, that his parents are here to enjoy the ride.
Mama and Papa Pettersson will also be following their son on the Canucks' upcoming six-game road trip.
It's hard to believe that it has barely been a year since Pettersson first announced himself to this market with his two-goal performance at the Summer Showdown that wrapped up the team's 2017 development camp. He has already shown that he is plenty ready for the NHL.
He is also handling the media like a champ—refreshingly honest whether he's trying to explain what was going through his head when he scored, or assessing the work he needs to do to get his faceoff skills to where he wants them to be.
Pettersson also kicked off the scoring barrage in the third period when he set up Nikolay Goldobin for Vancouver's second goal. The play is almost identical to the one that led to Cam Talbot's monster goal-line save in preseason. This time, the pair finished the job.
Pettersson's two-point night in his Canucks debut puts him in some pretty select company, especially for a teenager. For the moment, it also gives him an early lead in the rookie scoring race. Of the 15 players who made their NHL debuts on Wednesday, he was the only one to record a multi-point game.
Even as first star, Pettersson wasn't the only story of the game. After all the talk about how the Canucks managed just five even-strength goals in seven preseason games, the team matched that total on Wednesday. All the scoring came from the young guns, too, with Brendan Leipsic, Jake Virtanen and Tyler Motte (into an empty net) also chipping in.
The Canucks also played from behind for almost all of preseason—the only time they scored first was in the 4-3 shootout win against Los Angeles at Rogers Arena, and they went on to fall behind 3-1 in that game before rallying for the win.
On Wednesday, Pettersson gave the team the early lead, and Jacob Markstrom held the fort in fine fashion until the insurance goals came in the third.
In Carolina, coach Bill Peters' team was known for its excellent puck-possession numbers, but its inability to generate enough goals to win games.
It was the same situation for Calgary on Wednesday. First-period shots were 10-9 for Vancouver, but the Canucks didn't generate a single shot over the last 14:52 of the second period, as the ice tipped in Calgary's favour. The Canucks got their four third-period goals on just nine shots while the Flames got the puck through to Markstrom 17 times in the final frame, outshooting Vancouver 35-23 overall.
One of Calgary's goals in making the Dougie Hamilton trade over the summer was to try to pump up a power play that featured plenty of skill but tied for 28th in the NHL last season. The Flames had plenty of opportunities to get off on the right foot this year, awarded seven power plays on Wednesday, but Vancouver's penalty killing was perfect. Tyler Motte, Markus Granlund, Brandon Sutter and Jay Beagle were all outstanding, while Chris Tanev and Alex Edler both played great games on the back end—Tanev was even named third star!
The empty-net goal was a nice reward for Motte, who did not dial back his effort after making the opening-night roster thanks to his strong preseason. Now that he's waiver-exempt, I don't think he'll be going anywhere.
I've heard talk that Markus Granlund is the next guy on the bubble if the forward group is completely healthy when Antoine Roussel is ready to get back into the lineup, but he also played an oustanding game on Wednesday. Granlund had five of the team's 23 shots—including all three on its lone power play in the second period—and finished the night with an assist, a hit, a takeway, a win on his only faceoff attempt and a plus-two in 17:41 of ice time. As a guy who play up and down the lineup and is comfortable in different roles, I think Granlund is valuable—his tenacity on Wednesday reminded me a bit of peak Jannik Hansen.
Off the ice, the Canucks made some tweaks to their game presentation. Kirk McLean kicked off the new season by cranking a siren, Vegas-styles:
Player introductions featured a drum-line, also Vegas-style. That got me thinking: if this team has one chance to defy expectations this season, they'll need to tap into their own defiant Golden Misfits-type energy. If the Canucks can also get 43 goals from their breakout Swede à la Wild Bill Karlsson, that wouldn't hurt either!
Like Vegas last season, it's best to keep expectations very moderate for now. Last night's win was the Canucks' fifth-straight season-opening win—the longest such streak in the league. But that streak dates back to 2014-15; I don't need to tell you how the rest of those seasons turned out.
For now, though, let's enjoy the good vibes.
I wonder what Daniel and Henrik were up to last night. Do you think they watched the game? Together or separately?
The Canucks are off the ice today; they'll be taking part in the annual Sports Celebrities Festival Gala this evening and will kick off their first big road trip of the year with a rematch against Calgary on Saturday.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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