The Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames came together on a blockbuster trade last week and it didn't take long for the two players at the centre of the deal to make an impact with their new teams.
Andrei Kuzmenko of the Flames and Elias Lindholm of the Canucks both scored goals in their debut game on Tuesday — and Lindholm scored twice.
Lindholm's first goal came on the power play, when he deflected a point shot from captain Quinn Hughes past Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov late in the first period.
His second goal was nearly identical, a power play deflection off a point shot from Hughes late in the second period. The pair of goals give Lindholm 11 now on the season.
Lindholm led all Canucks forward with 21:01 of ice time in what ended as a 3-2 win.
"There’s a lot of good players on this team," Lindholm said after the game. "For me, it was kind of easy tonight. I didn’t have to do too much. They made it easy for me."
Kuzmenko's goal came only five minutes into a game against the Boston Bruins, on the power play. As the Flames carried the puck into the zone, winger Jonathan Huberdeau found Kuzmenko with a pass to the top of the slot and Kuzmenko wasted no time wiring a shot past Jeremy Swayman. It was Kuzmenko's ninth goal of the season and first since he scored two in a game against the Sharks on Dec. 23.
Kuzmenko finished the night with two shots on goal and his line featuring Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich carried the play in a 4-1 win.
“The execution was there. Kuzy is a good player, plays well," Hubderdeau said after the game. "He’s a guy who can shoot the puck, make some plays. And Sharky (Sharangovich), as a centreman, was really good tonight as well defensively. We just have to keep things going.”
The Canucks acquired Lindholm, a pending unrestricted free agent, from the Flames on Jan. 31 for a package that included Kuzmenko, prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, and a first-round and conditional fourth-round pick of the 2024 NHL Draft.
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