They’re baa-aaaack. Or so it seems. The Vancouver Canucks finished off a perfect three-game road trip by polishing off the San Jose Sharks in overtime 4-3. The win comes one night after the Canucks stomped the Golden Knights in Vegas 5-1.
“It’s a great win, it’s a great road trip,” Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau said postgame, “that was courage and character, we were obviously tired, we were obviously getting outplayed in the third period, but we found ways to bounce back twice, it was great.”
Vancouver is now tied with the Calgary flames in 5th place in the Pacific Division with 21 points, one point behind the Edmonton Oilers and one game below .500.
Goalie Thatcher Demko stepped up to get a big win in net, just his third of the season against nine regulation losses and two more post-regulation.
“That’s a big win, probably one of the ones we haven’t gotten this year,” Demko said after, “we maybe did some things wrong but stuck together as a group and found a way to win.”
Canucks Goal Scorers
1st Period
1-1 – Even Strength – Kyle Burroughs (2) from Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller, 7:26
Burroughs stepped into one from the point and ripped it past Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen.
3rd Period
2-2 – Even Strength – Ilya Mikheyev (6) from Andrei Kuzmenko and Elias Pettersson, 8:14
Off pressure down low, a Pettersson pass from below the goalline hit a skate and bounced out to Mikheyev who buried it.
3-3 – Even Strength – Elias Pettersson (11) from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ilya Mikheyev, 10:44
Mikheyev dove to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone which allowed ‘Petey’ to tip home OEL’s point shot.
Overtime
4-3 – Even Strength (3-on-3) – Andrei Kuzmenko (11) from J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes, 1:12
Off a great stretch pass by Miller, Kuzmenko snaps the winner gloveside on Kahkonen on a breakaway.
Canucks 3 Stars:
1) Thatcher Demko – The Canucks were outshot 35-20 and Demko battled for a win he desperately needed.
2) Andrei Kuzmenko – Goal and an assist including the game winning goal in overtime.
3) Elias Pettersson – Goal and an assist both coming in the third period.
