#2 Will Lockwood, Phil Di Giuseppe, Nic Petan, and Justin Dowling impress
With Sutter and Motte out with injuries, it will be interesting to see who gets the fourth-line spot. In the preseason so far, there have been several names battling to be on the fourth line on opening night in Edmonton.
Will Lockwood is one of these guys. He was showing off his speed and energy all night. The Canucks third-round pick in 2016 was also making plays with his crisp passing. Despite being only 5’11” and 172 pounds, Lockwood wasn’t afraid to lay out some hits. He had five of them (led all Canucks) on the night including this one where he almost sent Luke Johnson into the Canucks bench.
Big crunch from Will Lockwood on Luke Johnson. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/oNUy34FLYz
— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) October 3, 2021
Phil Di Giuseppe looked good. He was helping out on the rush, making simple passes, and did a good job of helping out on the defensive side.
Nic Petan scored the second Canucks goal of the game. The former Jet had three shots on goal and got minutes on both the power play and the penalty kill. He worked hard on both sides of the ice.
“I came in trying to get more pucks on net tonight,” said Petan after the game. “I’m happy I put one in there, focused on the little things in the defensive zone and playing on both sides of the puck.”
Justin Dowling also impressed. He was always in the right areas of the ice and making the right play. He even got some looks on the power play and penalty kill. Here, he does a good job of breaking up the Jets zone entry and kills time being taking the puck up the ice and by battling for it on the boards.
Justin Dowling looking like a lock for the Canucks opening night roster. Have liked his speed and tenacity! Solid shift on the PK from him here#Canucks
— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) October 4, 2021
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With Sutter not ready to go to start the season, Petan and Dowling are each making the case to be the Canucks fourth-line centre.