Elias Pettersson is returning to form with the Canucks

Finally, Elias Pettersson is playing like himself for the Vancouver Canucks.

After struggling through the first half of the 2021-22 regular season, the Canucks highest-paid forward has found some consistency in his game and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

With COVID-19 sidelining key players across the Canucks’ roster including big-name contributors like Bo Horvat, Conor Garland and J.T. Miller, the 23-year-old Swede has really elevated his game and is a major reason why the Canucks remain in the fight for a playoff spot.

Quietly carrying the team on his back, Pettersson has been a point-per-game player through his last six games (five goals, one assist), and he’s finding different ways to put the puck in the back of the net.

Pettersson’s luck started turning around when he notched two goals in a game while paying a visit to Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. How he went about scoring those goals wasn’t pretty, but it helped get the monkey off his back and get the ball rolling in the right direction. Take a look:

Pettersson scored another goal that fit his description a little better than the bank off the goalie from behind the net. This time, he was deking before faking out a defender and bulging twine in what would turn out to be a 4-2 win.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1482817050221420549

With a little pep in his step back on home ice, the video below shows Pettersson in typical Pettersson-like fashion beating goaltender Mikko Koskinen with a wrist shot off the rush, just how the coach drew it up. Check it out:

His recent play has him with 11 goals on the season and five goals in his last six games. Those same five goals were scored  faster than the first six he produced this year ,a clear sign he’s returning to form.

His growing confidence, mixed with his list of previous accomplishments should be enough that his stat sheet continues to rise through the back half of the campaign. Don’t expect him to lead his team in points by season’s end, but don’t be surprised if he goes on a bit of a tare and makes up some serious ground. After all, the Canucks will need him to do just that if they want to be a playoff team.

Pettersson and the Canucks return to the rink on Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada. It’s an important divisional matchup for Vancouver, so be sure to tune in to see if Petey’s hot streak continues against his former teammate Jacob Markstrom and the Calgary Flames.

The puck drops at 7:00 PM!