It wasn’t the prettiest outing, but the Vancouver Canucks were able to secure their first point of the year.
The team kicked off the 2021-22 regular season on the road against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night, looking to get an early lead in the Pacific Division.
Vancouver looked strong right out of the gate, showcasing speed and determination on almost every shift. They outshot the Oilers by a margin of 8-5 halfway through the first period but, unfortunately, that didn’t last too long. Edmonton replied with pressure of their own in the latter half of the opening frame, which eventually led to the game’s opening goal from Jesse Puljujärvi.
The game continued at its high pace in the second period, with both teams exchanging a handful of shots and dangerous scoring chances, but Edmonton once again found a way to hit the scoreboard thanks to a powerplay goal from newcomer Zach Hyman. The Canucks allowed that tally after being dinged for their first “too many men” penalty of the year, sending shudders and waves of PTSD through fans and media alike.
The team was able to claw their way back in the final frame, with blueliners Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Quinn Hughes finding the back of the net in the last 10 minutes of the contest to force extra time. Both teams had their chances in overtime, but eventually needed the shootout to decide the final fate. Local boy Kyle Turris would eventually bury the game-winning goal in round five, dropping Vancouver’s record to 0-0-1 to start off the season.
Without further adieu, here are three takeaways from Vancouver’s 3-2 shootout loss to Edmonton:
Powerplay can’t capitalize
It’s a tale as old as time for the Canucks these days.
The team once again struggled on the powerplay on Wednesday night, with the man advantage units unable to deliver when needed most.
The Canucks had to make some personnel changes heading into their regular season opener, particularly on the first powerplay unit. The team was without the services of Brock Boeser, who is still dealing with a nagging injury that he suffered during training camp. As a result, head coach Travis Green went with Alex Chiasson to fill out the primary unit, but it didn’t go exactly as planned.
The Canucks were unable to capitalize on their first four powerplay opportunities, only registering four shots on goal during that time. Both units looked out of sync, making it quite easy for Edmonton’s penalty kill to succeed.
Chiasson played alongside the usual primary powerplay suspects in Hughes, J.T. Miller, Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson, but all five players were unable to maintain consistent pressure or chemistry in the attacking zone, leading to a poor powerplay outing overall.
Chiasson also found himself on the top line with Miller and Pettersson for most of the evening.
The Canucks managed to record one goal on the man advantage, thanks to Ekman-Larsson’s first tally in blue and green, but it came in the 11th hour, something the team will need to improve on quickly if they want to start adding to the win column this year.