Canucks: Top 5 moments from Elias Pettersson’s first 100 NHL games

4. The Gretzky-esque slapper versus Detroit

This was a goal that came while fans were still getting to know just how special of a player Pettersson was. This was Pettersson’s tenth game, and came one game after his five point performance against the Colorado Avalanche — but more on that later.

Late in the first period, with the game still tied at zero, Pettersson receives a pass in the neutral zone and crosses the Red Wings’ blue line on the left side. With a lone, out of position defender trying to close the gap on Pettersson, the young rookie wound up and let go of a booming slap shot from the top of the right circle.

That shot beat Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard clean over the left shoulder. With Howard well out of the blue paint to cut down the angle, Petterson somehow found the perfect spot to place what was a perfect slap shot.

The shot drew comparisons to one that the great one himself, Wayne Gretzky wired back in the day:

https://twitter.com/canucks/status/1059981069179645954?lang=en

Is Pettersson better than Gretzky? You decide. Nonetheless, Pettersson’s 10th goal, in his 10th career NHL game, made hockey fans everywhere take notice of his superior abilities.