Canucks: 3 takeaways from 6-5 OT loss to the Calgary Flames

Welcome back, powerplay!

Finally.

Fans were able to collectively breathe a sigh of relief on Sunday night, as the Canucks were finally able to break their powerplay slump, which had gone 0-for-21 in the past seven contests.

It was looking very bleak in the opening frame, with the Canucks once again unable to capitalize on their first powerplay opportunity.

But, much like Saturday afternoon, the team decided to wake up in the third period, much to the delight of Newell Brown and the rest of the special teams staff.

The Canucks were awarded their second powerplay of the game less than one minute into the third period. Naturally, the first unit stepped over the boards right away, but it had a slightly new look to it. The Canucks opted for the old-school, two-defencemen approach, with veteran Alex Edler returning to his former powerplay point position, alongside Hughes.

The first unit looked dangerous, but the breakthrough came at the middle point of the powerplay, with Hughes streaking down the left flank while some of his teammates were on a change. He eventually sent a cross-ice pass to Miller, who quickly threw it to an open space in front of the net for an easy tap-in from Graovac, his third goal in seven games.

After that, it appeared that the flood gates opened right up.

The Canucks capitalized on their next powerplay opportunity just five minutes later, this time with Brock Boeser finding himself on the receiving end of a Hughes’ cross-ice dish. He was able to unleash his rediscovered one-timer and blast the puck past Jacob Markstrom for the team’s third goal of the game.

The Canucks didn’t capitalize on their final powerplay chance, but did finish the contest going 2-for-4 on the man advantage. Their penalty kill also came up clutch, shutting down the Flames on six separate opportunities, and even put up a short-handed tally of their own, thanks to a nifty play from Jimmy Vesey.

The next steps? Bring back Kole Lind, and see what he, Gadjovich, Rathbone and Nils Höglander can do on the second unit.

Other notes:

• The quest for Edler’s 100th goal continues on, as the veteran blueliner has still not been able to find the back of the net all season. It appeared that he hit the milestone late in the third period to tie the game up at 5-5, but the goal was eventually awarded to Boeser, who deflected the puck past Markstrom. To add more salt to the wound, Elias Lindholm’s overtime goal ended up deflecting off of Edler’s stick and into the back of the net, but we’re pretty sure he won’t want to count that as goal #100.
• Bo Horvat played his 500th NHL game on Sunday night, all with the Vancouver Canucks. He was unable to find the back of the net, but posted four SOG over 24:23 of ice time. He also won 60% of his faceoffs taken.
• With one point collected from the overtime loss, the Canucks leap-frogged over Detroit and Columbus in the standings, taking sole ownership of 26th in the league standings. With two games remaining, the Canucks could hold onto 26th if they don’t collect any more points, but there’s also a chance that they could finish as high as 22nd overall.

The Canucks will have a day off before battling with the Flames on Tuesday. Puck drop is at 1:00pm PST.

What were your thoughts on the team’s 6-5 OT loss to the Flames? Make sure to drop a comment below!