Instant Reaction: Kane and Boeser score twice, Willander picks up first NHL point in Canucks\u2019 OT win vs. Predators<\/p>\n
Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at\u00a0CanucksArmy<\/a>\u00a0where we give you our instant reaction to tonight\u2019s\u00a0Vancouver Canucks<\/a>\u00a0game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!Starting LineupFirst Period<\/p>\n The Canucks began the conclusion of a three-game midwestern road trip with an early effort reminiscent of theirs against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. Hard skating. Hard hits. Back and forth action, sans offence.<\/p>\n Through three minutes, the Canucks edged the Nashville Predators in shots, 1-zip. And early on, the Canucks came to play.<\/p>\n The Canucks are all over the Predators early in the 1st period <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n Which is why it was only fitting that Nashville scored the first goal of the game.<\/p>\n This was always the worry about Adam Foote\u2019s aggressive defensive approach. He put an emphasis on swarming the puck carrier in the neutral zone and his defencemen pinching up in the play during training camp.<\/p>\n Here,\u00a0Quinn Hughes pinches up on Luke Evangelista, who gets the puck by him. Brady Skjei speeds past Elias Pettersson, leaving Tyler Myers with no choice but to go pressure the puck carrier. In doing so, this leaves Filip Forsberg wide open in the slot area, who is able to bury his own rebound past Thatcher Demko before a Canucks player touches him.<\/p>\n Forsberg opens the scoring for the Preds. <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n To be fair, it wasn\u2019t a great defensive back-check from Pettersson to lose his guy and then coast in from the top of the circle.<\/p>\n 1-0 Predators.<\/p>\n With just under seven minutes remaining in the first, Aatu R\u00e4ty drew the game\u2019s first penalty. The Canucks\u2019 power play was obviously thrilled to have Quinn Hughes back, but it took them over a minute to gain the offensive zone cleanly. Jake DeBrusk pushed his way to the net and tried to shovel one past Saros, but other than that, it was quiet for the first unit. For the final 51 seconds of the PP, Adam Foote sent out the second unit, which was just the Abby line with Evander Kane and Filip Hronek at the points.<\/p>\n And after scoring what seemed to be his first goal as a Canuck last week \u2013 it was called off due to a goaltender interference call \u2013 Evander Kane scored his first goal as a Canuck to even this one up.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n Evander Kane scores his first goal as a Vancouver Canuck! <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n 1-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 Happy that Kane finally got on the scoreboard for his hometown team. Canucks need offence right now from guys not named Drew or Kiefer. It would be huge for the team if this gets Kane going.<\/p>\n \u2013 Hughes was flying around in the first period. He was quick through the neutral zone, attacking up ice. This goes without saying, but boy did they miss him.<\/p>\n Second Period<\/p>\n The most exciting thing through the first half of the middle frame for the Canucks was a weird bounce off the back boards that popped out right in front of Juuse Saros\u2019 net. However, a Predators defender beat Kane to the puck and got it out of danger.<\/p>\n Max Sasson used his speed to win the race to the puck and spring Arshdeep Bains on a partial-break. But that didn\u2019t amount to much of a threatening chance either, as Bains sent it wide.<\/p>\n Kiefer Sherwood took a hooking penalty eight minutes into the period, giving the Predators the first power play of the game. But, much like the first 10 minutes of the period, nothing happened. Shockingly, Jake DeBrusk was the only one to register a shot on net.<\/p>\n But then things would open up in the second half of the period.<\/p>\n Ozzy Wiesblatt found himself in the penalty box after slashing Hughes. Then, after two grade-A scoring chances for DeBrusk at the net front, defenceman Nick Perbix cross-checks the Canuck winger to the ice, giving the team a two-man advantage.<\/p>\n After the first penalty expired, Pettersson sent a pass through the legs of Ryan O\u2019Reilly to Boeser. He fires the puck toward the net, where DeBrusk gets a stick on it and puts the puck past Saros.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n Jake DeBrusk scores on the power play and gives the Canucks a 2-1 lead! <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n 2-1 Canucks.<\/p>\n Two minutes later, the Canucks were back on the attack.<\/p>\n Rookie defenceman Tom Willander carries the puck through the neutral zone, past a pair of Predators defenders, and into the attacking end. Wheeling behind the net, Willander throws the puck into a crowd at the front of the net. The puck deflects off a Nashville skate and perfectly to Boeser in the high slot, who fires a one-time snap shot into the top shelf behind an aggressive Saros.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n Tom Willander picks up his first NHL point with an assist on this Brock Boeser snipe! <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n That\u2019s his first NHL point in just his fourth game.<\/p>\n 3-1 Canucks.<\/p>\n A late Aatu R\u00e4ty hooking penalty on Steven Stamkos would give the Predators an opportunity to cut the Canucks lead to one, and that they did.<\/p>\n Luke Evangelista fires the puck down low to Forsberg. He waits, draws two Canucks defenders toward him, gets the puck to his backhand, and finds Erik Haula in the bumper spot. He fires the one-timer into the top right corner.<\/p>\n Nashville cuts the Vancouver lead to one.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n 3-2 Canucks.<\/p>\n \u2013 The elite skating of Tom Willander showed on his rush that resulted in him picking up his first NHL point. Canucks fans are hoping there is more of that to come for the rookie.<\/p>\n \u2013 Don\u2019t think it\u2019s been a Selke performance from Pettersson in this game, but he has made some nice passes so far; one to Hughes in the first period, and another to Boeser between the legs on the power play.<\/p>\n Third period<\/p>\n Drew O\u2019Connor took a high stick in the defensive zone from BC Native, Matthew Wood. However, the Canucks would not see the power play, as they connected on a pretty passing play with the extra attacker.<\/p>\n Interesting that the Canucks had three defencemen on ice on the delayed penalty. But when Hughes is back in the lineup and not on the ice, he needs to be the next skater over the boards because of what he did on this play.<\/p>\n Hughes does his usual dancing around the blue line before opening up his stance and finding Marcus Pettersson down low in the zone. Pettersson touch passes it to Linus Karlsson at the net front. Not in an ideal shooting position, he fires a backhand pass to the open area, where Kane buries his second of the contest.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8CANUCKS GOAL\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n Evander Kane scores his second goal of the game! It’s 4-2 Vancouver! <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n 4-2 Canucks.<\/p>\n Wood tried to make up for his earlier delayed penalty that the Canucks capitalized on when Filip Hronek tripped him.<\/p>\n O\u2019Reilly finds Forsberg down low, who fires a quick pass through the Canucks crease to the tape of an open Haula. Instead of firing the one timer, Haula waits, which allows Demko to slide over and make the stop. He then stops Evangelista, who rips a shot from the top of the right circle.<\/p>\n Thatcher Demko makes a couple big saves to keep this a two goal game for Vancouver. <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n But the Predators just kept coming.<\/p>\n A few minutes later, the Predators kept pressing. Michael Bunting tries to find an open Jonathan Marchessault, but the puck goes to the blue line. Spencer Stastney fires the puck toward the net. Bunting gets to the front of the net and deflects it off his skate and behind Demko.<\/p>\n These Predators won’t quit. They cut the Vancouver lead to one. <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sportsnet | #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n 4-3 Canucks.<\/p>\n Kane is booked for high-sticking on Evangelista, giving the Predators a chance to tie the game.<\/p>\n The Canucks did a solid job of slowing down the Predators\u2019 top unit, and were positionally sound against the second unit as well. M. Pettersson gets his stick on the Wood pass attempt to the bumper spot, but it perfectly deflects to Nick Blankenburg, who fires his first of the season past Demko.<\/p>\n The Predators tie this game late in the third period. <\/p>\n