It took two minutes and 33-seconds for the Vancouver Canucks to change their fortunes at Rogers Arena on Thursday night. That’s how long it took for them to score three consecutive goals in a wild and wacky 2nd period.
At the time, they trailed the Avalanche 2-0.
Canucks Goal Scorers:
2nd Period
2-1 Avalanche – Power play – Andrei Kuzmenko (16) from Ilya Mikheyev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 13:15
Kuzmenko cut in front of the net and stroked a backhander under Alexandar Georgiev’s blocker side arm.
2-2 Tied – Even Strength – Andrei Kuzmenko (17) from Elias Pettersson and Ethan Bear, 15:14
“Koozy” jammed a rebound in just inside the right wing post.
3-2 Canucks – Even Strength – Brock Boeser (7) from Bo Horvat, 15:48
Boeser buried a rebound in front off a short scramble.
3rd Period
4-2 Canucks – Even Strength (Empty netter) – J.T. MIller (14) from Elias Pettersson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 18:24
Miller took a pass from Pettersson, skated the puck to the open net and pushed it in.
Turning Point
The turning point came on the clearing attempt that led to the first Vancouver goal. The game was moving along with Colorado leading 2-0 into the 2nd-half of the 2nd period, looking as if the Canucks would lose their fourth in a row. That’s when on a slap clear along the end-boards by Av’s penalty killer Andrew Cogliano was inadvertently knocked down by referee Michael Markovic in the right wing corner.
Although stung and in obvious pain by getting hit, Markovic and his partner let play continue with the puck kept in the zone. Vancouver would convert on the power play with their first goal moments later.
Vancouver ran with the momentum and instead of losing again, they handed the Avalanche their fifth loss in a row.
— The Canucks outshot the Avalanche 43-to-31, reversed their horrible blocked shot totals from last game, with 23 compared to Colorado’s 5, and outhit the Av’s 29-24.
— On the power play the Canucks went 1-for-7, the Avalanche went 1-for-5.
Canucks 3 Stars:
1) Andrei Kuzmenko – A ball of energy, the Russian scored twice to lift the hockey club and the spirit of the fans.
2) Collin Delia – The Canucks netminder stopped plenty of challenging opportunities, 29 of the 31 shots he faced.
3) Elias Pettersson – He had two assists and a team high seven shots on goal.
