2. That goal in that game against Colorado
You know the one. It was just Pettersson’s ninth career NHL game, and was hands down the loudest Rogers Arena had gotten since Daniel Sedin’s overtime goal in him and Henrik’s final dance.
The Canucks opened the scoring less than a minute into that game when Brock Boeser found the back of the net after receiving a pass from Pettersson. This was the night that it became apparent that Boeser and Pettersson may have some serious chemistry with one another.
That chemistry was on full display for the second goal of that game, which was the bank pass mentioned above.
This game turned out to be a barn burner. With the game tied at five apiece in the third period, the Avalanche scored a late power play goal with less than two minutes to go. A crowd that was over the moon to see their team score five goals was suddenly dead silent.
In years past, the Canucks may have mailed it in and simply turned their focus to the next game. But not this team.
The Canucks were buzzing, they were pressing late, and with the net empty, Pettersson scored a ridiculous snipe with just 36 seconds remaining on the clock. If you need a refresher, here’s a five minute highlight clip of the events of that night:
Not only did this game show fans in Vancouver that a new era of Canucks hockey was upon them after the departure of two identical legends, but it also showed fans that this new wave of Canucks was legitimately good. You could argue that this, along with the next moment that you’re about to read, launched the Elias Pettersson era of hockey in Vancouver.