Canucks extinguish the Flames 10 game win streak in their beloved skate jerseys

Middle Frame Magic

Five goal period: enough said. Almost everything that could have gone right for the Canucks did, starting with a power play early in the period.

After a few bobbles at the line, the Canucks regained the zone and Hughes, who is now tied for third in the NHL with 19 power play assists, got it to Elias Pettersson on the half wall. And this time, his blast riffled stick side past the ear of Markstrom, after Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin, jumped into the slot to prevent a Hughes blast from the point.

Things went silent at Rogers Arena for a moment when forward Jason Dickinson went into the boards awkwardly courtesy of a Gudbranson shove. He did not return to the game and will not travel with the team on their road trip. More updates will be made available.

Minutes later, Demko brought the crowd to their feet after a great McLean impression.

The Canucks wasted no time doubling up their lead with another power play. Brock Boeser (turned 25 on Friday.) set up a screen in front, and J.T. Miller rung home a perfectly placed rising wrist shot for his 11th point in 12 home games.

Everyone’s favourite fourth liner, Tyler Motte, also joined in on the fun. His shot off the pad of Markstrom found Horvat after Hanifin, once more finding himself in the thick of things threw the puck to the front of the net. If this isn’t a statement game for the Canucks, I don’t know what is.

Even the blade of Markstrom’s skate, which dislodged off the post, seemed to be working in favour of the home squad. Unable to fix it in time, Calgary was forced to put in Dan Vladar with 1:46 seconds left in the period. Did I mention, the Canucks were on the power play, yet again???

Two goal in 1:46 seconds: The Canucks remained possession of the puck, kept their feet moving, and dished it to the front of the net, where good things always happen. With the penalty killers chasing at the top of the point, Boser found a wide-open Miller, who did his best soccer impression, for Horvat to cash in on his second goal of the period.

Before he had time to contemplate a career change, Miller was handed a penalty shot, that’s right, a rare penalty shot, after a mad scram in front of the Calgary net which resulted in Rasmus Andersson covering his hand over the puck.

I’ll let the video speak for itself:

“We want eight”

Darryl Sutter wisely decided to rest Markstrom after the game was blown open by power play goals. The Flames seemed to have a little jump to start the period, crashing Demko’s crease for a disallowed goal. I suppose the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, you jump on them?

Demko continued to look sharp, even sharing a few smiles and laughs with teammates.

Conor Garland scored the sixth Canucks goal after Tanner Pearson’s pass perfectly landed on the tape of his stick. It looked like Vladar made the save but he didn’t get enough.

Things finally looked to slow down after the Flames were awarded their first power play of the game, just for Pettersson to score Vancouver’s third short-handed goal of the year. Why not for extra measure?

By the fifth and sixth power play, Boudreau was throwing out his fourth line. Even the celebrities, Michael Buble and Chase Claypool got right at home with it, although Claypool may have gotten a little too close.

In the final three minutes of the game, Andrew Mangiapane would sneak one of Calgary’s 30 past the sliding glove of Demko to prevent a shutout. But, it didn’t stop him from getting the WWE Championship belt, so all’s well that ends well.

Takeaways

Before we delve in, it would be remiss to not acknowledge the passing of the last Canuck from the 1945-56 season, Ernie Dougherty. He will be greatly missed.

Back to the game: not much went wrong for the Canucks, who scored a goal in virtually every way, except for an empty net. Miller picked up his second four point game of the season, and Pettersson had his fourth consecutive multi-point game. That brings his point total to 37 on the season.

Three’s the magic number: the Canucks are 20-3-0 when scoring three or more goals, and 18-3-3 when the power play strikes.

Black skate jerseys: fans want them, Canucks players want them, make it happen! If Arizona can do it, then so can we.

If the Canucks can keep up the even-strength play, capitalize on extra-man chances, and get a competitive Jaroslav Halak in a back-to-back game, the Canucks will have a chance to close the gap. As of right now, they sit three points back from the wildcard spot.

Vancouver will be on the road for four games, starting with the New York Rangers. In a perfect world, the Canucks will walk away with eight points. Realistically, six will cut it, and nothing less. Puck drop is at 4:30 PM.