Canucks: Three takeaways from tight 3-2 win over the Jets

#1 The power play comes to life

The Canucks power play has struggled as of late and at the time of this writing, sit at 22nd in the NHL at 16.9%.

Travis Green mixed the power play units up at morning practice. Alex Chiasson was back in and Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson were demoted to the second unit.

The Jets were coming into the game with the second-worst penalty kill in the NHL but it seems the changes worked.

The power play cashed in twice with the first coming from Oliver Ekman-Larsson getting a wrist shot through traffic and past Eric Comrie. That was Ekman-Larsson’s second goal of the game and his first since scoring on opening night in Edmonton. Ekman-Larsson was tied with Chiasson for the second on Vancouver in Corsi For with 50%.

The second came from the other former Arizona Coyote. After a 10-game goal drought, Conor Garland has two goals in back-to-back games. He unleashed a rocket past Comrie.

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“The power play unit split up today,” said Garland. “The other unit had one and our unit had one. Big night for our power play.”

The power play displayed better movement than in recent games. They were playing the puck down low, getting shots through, and moving up the ice quicker. It was nice to see a power play that looked more hungry and displayed more movement.

#2 Thatcher Demko looked solid again

It was just a typical night at the office for Thatcher Demko.

He stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced and once again, the Canucks wouldn’t have won the game without him. The Canucks would be even worse than their current record without Demko.

Demko once again made saves to keep the Canucks in the game.

In fact, he saved the game at the end for the Canucks. With the Jets, pressuring with the extra attacker, Andrew Copp centred the puck for Nikolaj Ehlers who scored the Jets’ first goal and was everywhere in the game. Demko somehow a right pad save on Ehlers.

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Demko tracked the puck well all game and was once again the best Canuck on the ice. He was like Abdul Ali saving Seong Gi-Hun during the red light, green light scene in Squid Game.

#3 Vasily Podkolzin and Conor Garland impress

Vasily Podkolzin was on a line with Garland and J.T. Miller.

Let’s talk about Podkolzin first.

The Russian rookie got his first career assist on the Ekman-Larsson’s goal. He did a good job of playing the puck behind the net to create more space on the power play. Podkolzin was also a net-front presence on the power play and maybe he should be there more often.

He also made some nice passes and showed good defensive awareness. With over a minute to go in the game, Podkolzin was out there defending a one-goal lead and did a good job checking and retrieving the puck.

“He’s committed to all areas of the game,” said Green on Podkolzin. “He understands the importance of defence and checking. He played well tonight and we reward guys that play well.”

Garland played well. He got a goal and was tied in the team leads in shots on goal in the game with Tyler Motte with four. He was once again fun to watch as he won the board battles, was strong on the forecheck and power play and his energy and tenacity were at full display.

It looks like Garland and Podkolzin might be starting to build chemistry and maybe they should stay together for the time being.

Other notes

• Langley native Kyle Burroughs scored his first NHL goal in the second. It was a shot from the point that deflected off former Canuck Nate Schmidt.
• Pettersson got the other assist on Ekman-Larsson’s goal. It wasn’t a spectacular game from him but he looked fine. He said he needed to simplify his game on Thursday morning and he did by taking shots, making quick passes and forced a turnover and screened Comrie on Burroughs’ goal.
• The Canucks terrible penalty kill did not have to kill a single penalty. Can’t give up a power play goal when you don’t take penalties. Insert Roll Safe Finger on forehead meme here.

The Canucks get back in action as their three-game homestand concludes when the Chicago Blackhawks come to town. Note the start time as puck drop is at 5:00 PM.