With the Canucks season underway after falling 3-2 to the Edmonton Oilers in a shootout, the Canucks found themselves in the city of brotherly love, as they were set to take on the Philadelphia Flyers in their second game of a 6 game road trip to start off the 2021-22 campaign.
The game started off fast and furious for the Flyers as they were all over the Canucks early on from the puck drop, but goaltender Thatcher Demko was there to hold his ground and his team in the game early on. The games first goal came from a broken play as the Flyers capitalized shortly after the Canucks penalty had expired with the puck deflecting off of newly acquired defenseman Tucker Poolman making the game 1-0.
In the second period it was a special moment for Canucks fans and the organization as 2020 10th overall pick, Vasili Podkolzin scored his first career goal in the National Hockey League with an absolute bullet of a wrist shot from the top of the right circle beating Flyers goaltender Carter Hart above the left shoulder tying the game at one a piece. The second period brought more joy to Vancouver faithful as they would go on to score 4 goals in the second frame getting goals from Podkolzin, Pettersson, Chiasson, and JT Miller.
The third period looked to be going smoothly until the later moments of the frame, as a bit of a phantom high sticking penalty was called on Vancouver’s Oliver Ekman Larsson, which would send the Flyers onto the powerplay with an opportunity to cut the Canucks 4-2 lead to one. And they did just that seconds into the man advantage as Travis Konecny would put the Flyers within one. Shortly after the Flyers would add another goal from their Captain Claude Giroux, who would go onto tying the contest at 4-4 sending the game into Vancouver’s second overtime of the season in as many games.
The extra frame would not solve the contest so the game needed a shootout as a resolution. The Canucks would end up winning the shootout this time as they would get goals from Elias Pettersson and JT Miller as Thatcher Demko would shut the door to give Vancouver their first win of the season
“ Its great to see how excited he got, that’s a special moment in your career. He needed that for sure heck of a shot and we see it all the time in practice so I’m super happy for him and hopefully we can keep it up here.”
“ We’ve got to enjoy this win tonight, a lot of new faces, first win as a new team , but you’ve got to put the work boots back on, we have to string a couple wins together and that starts tomorrow.”
JT Miller describes how crucial it is to go on win streaks in the league and how important it is to get on top early in the year. The Canucks will look to do just that as they take on the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow in Michigan.