The Vancouver Canucks will need a new mantra. They can’t say that it’s “only one game” because now it’s two.
The team got 37 saves from Casey DeSmith in the backup goalie’s first start for the Canucks, and fellow newcomer Sam Lafferty used his speed and power to score an impressive third-period winner as Vancouver beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 Saturday in Alberta to sweep the teams’ season-opening two-game series.
And honestly, even though the Oilers outshot the Canucks 40-16, Saturday’s game was at least as surprising as Wednesday’s 8-1 blowout as Vancouver recovered from an early deficit and stared down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, on the road, for a second straight game.
After a terrible opening shift that saw Vancouver turn over the puck and allow Draisaitl to score uncontested at 42 seconds, the Canucks outplayed the Oilers in the second half of the first period, got deflection goals from Andrei Kuzmenko and Nils Hoglander and never trailed after that.
“We knew that they’re going to come out hard, which they did,” DeSmith told Hockey Night in Canada’s Scott Oake in a walkoff interview. “But we rebounded really well. We got two goals before the end of the first. We’d like to be better in the second, obviously, but that’s a big character win. This is a hard place to win and a really good team.”
DeSmith was sharp throughout, beaten twice during scrambles in front of the net that the Canucks should have defended better, and once by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on one of seven Oiler power plays. But his biggest saves were in the third period, which included a 52-second five-on-three for Edmonton during which DeSmith made key saves on McDavid and Zach Hyman.
Emergency callup Jack Studnicka scored the other Vancouver goal on a two-on-zero break in the second period, which the Canucks escaped tied 3-3 despite getting outshot 18-6 and putting McDavid and Draisaitl on the power play four times.
Winners of Games 1 and 2 for the first time in seven years, the Canucks travel Sunday to Philadelphia to continue a five-game trip with a match Tuesday against the Flyers.
PENALTY PROBLEMS
It’s not often you win a game in Edmonton when the Oilers get seven power plays, but Canucks penalty killing did not break, although it bent pretty heavily in the middle period when McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins scored with the man-advantage.
The penalties, some careless, some bad luck, are something the Canucks need to clean up. But their shorthanded play was a positive takeaway by the end.
Vancouver was shorthanded for a stretch of 3:08 in the middle of the third period when Filip Hronek’s accidental high stick was followed by a puck-over-glass penalty to Phil Di Giuseppe. But Canuck penalty killers made it challenging for the Oilers to complete seam passes and when they did, Draisaitl ripped a one-timer off the post.
Good or bad, penalty killing will be a constant sub-story to the Canucks season. Last year, it was the worst in the NHL while Edmonton had the most lethal power play, at 32.4 per cent, since the league began tracking special teams in the 1970s. In the first two games, the Canucks killed eight of 11 disadvantages. Against McDavid and Draisaitl, that’s actually a win for Vancouver.
CASEY GETS AN AT-BAT
DeSmith’s early appearance in the schedule is significant.
The Canucks acquired the proven backup in a pre-training camp trade with the Montreal Canadiens because he was an upgrade on Spencer Martin, who was soon waived. But starting him in Game 2, three days after the season-opener and with the current road trip spaced over 11 nights, is evidence that coach Rick Tocchet is serious about load management for starter Thatcher Demko.
Demko left Wednesday’s win in the third period due to the flu, but he practised Friday and was available to play Saturday. How much better might Demko be able to maintain his game and stay healthy if he is asked to play, say, 50 games this season instead of 60?
But to give the starter regular nights off, the backup must prove he can win. Every game will be important to the Canucks, who have little margin for error if they want to make the playoffs.
“It feels so good to just come in, be a part of the team, contribute early and get a win for the guys,” DeSmith said. “I thought we closed out the game in tremendous fashion and we’re going to hold a lot of leads if we do it like that.”
DeSmith was the key closer.
J.T. MILLER FOR SELKE?
Informed by Tocchet in the summer that he would be frequently used to match up against top lines, Miller has embraced his two-way assignment and passed the toughest test there is: limiting McDavid and Draisaitl to one even-strength goal in two games.
Miller’s fancy stats were ugly on Saturday (25 per cent Corsi, expected-goals of five per cent) but with the game on the line in the third period, he was massive on the penalty kill and in the faceoff circle, where he won two late draws against Draisaitl when the Oilers were skating six-against-five. Miller also led all players with eight hits, twice the total of his nearest teammate, and finished with 22:44 of ice time.
LAFFERTY IS NO JOKE
There was some criticism of general manager Patrik Allvin acquisition of Sam Lafferty last weekend, when the Canucks surrendered a fifth-round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who accepted something rather than get nothing by losing the speedy depth forward on waivers.
On Saturday, not only did Lafferty break a 3-3 tie at 2:56 of the third period by bursting past Edmonton defenceman Mattias Ekholm, but Tocchet gave him three shifts in the final four minutes to help defend the Vancouver lead.
You couldn’t help notice his speed on the winning goal. But what was really impressive was his tradecraft, as Lafferty tucked the puck under Ekholm’s stick as he cut to the net, then extended his left leg to protect the disc before chipping it stick-side on goalie Stuart Skinner.
Based on history, a fifth-round draft pick has about a 10 per cent chance of becoming an NHL player. The chances of Lafferty helping the Canucks this season seem exponentially higher.
PROP BET BONANZA
OK, so who had Sam Lafferty, Jack Studnicka and Nils Hoglander scoring for the Canucks, who go 2-0 with Casey DeSmith in net?