One had the feeling the busiest men in the building would be Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, with two teams having little to play for other than the NHL Draft Lottery, with the loser being the beneficiary. Given that coaches and players don’t tank, that meant we were in for an entertaining evening of hockey.
Forward Vitali Kravtsov picked up another game, replacing Aidan McDonough in the line-up. Kravtsov came in with one assist over a dozen games with Vancouver. His last goal came as a member of the New York Rangers on January 16th against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The goals came early and often in this one.
Canucks Goal Scorers:
1st Period
1-0 Canucks – Even Strength – Quinn Hughes (6) from Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, 6:06
Standing alone in the right wing circle, Hughes ripped a rebound into the gaping net on a shot from the other side of the ice.
2-2 Tie – Power Play – Andrei Kuzmenko (36) from J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, 19:41
Camped in front, ‘Koozy’ redirected a pass from J.T. Miller on the left wing.
2nd Period
5-3 Blues – Power Play – Brock Boeser (16) from Quinn Hughes, 18:48
Boeser in the slot tipped home a point shot from “Huggy”.
3rd Period
5-4 Blues – Even Strength – Andrei Kuzmenko (37) from Elias Pettersson and Tyler Myers, 12:18
A nifty pass from ‘Petey’ in the high slot allowed Kuzmenko to fire it past an out of position Binnington.
5-5 Tie – Even Strength (Extra Attacker) – Quinn Hughes (7) from Brock Boeser and Dakota Joshua, 19:06
Hughes’s point shot found its way through some traffic and deflected in off a St. Louis skate.
OT
— Jakub Vrana won it for St. Louis just 21-seconds into overtime.
— Vancouver outshot St. Louis 37-31. Power plays: Vancouver 2-for-3, St. Louis 1-1.
— The Canucks and Blues are now tied for the 10th fewest points in the NHL, both with 74.
Canucks 3 Stars:
1) Quinn Hughes – Two goals and assist to move up to 72 points on the season.
2) Andrei Kuzmenko – What’s not to love about Vancouver’s effervescent Russian and leading goal scorer. Had two to move back ahead of Pettersson.
3) Brock Boeser – A beautiful tip-in and an assist.
