After quiet trading deadline, elastic canucks a different victory with low scoring

Vancouver-Fielding Questions After Friday’s Trade Deadline on Vancouver Canucks’ Challenge to score, posed general manager Patrik Allvin high: “Will it be hard to win 2-1 every night and get into the playoffs? It is likely to be. “

But to win 3-1 with an empty net? Now it can be a path to the playoffs.

Canucks generated another low scoring victory on Friday night over Minnesota Wild to move back to a playoff position (and within seven points of nature, with a game in hand) in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference.

Elias Pettersson, still spending this week launching his troubled season again, blistered in a power game-husing you? – To his first goal in 16 games. And Kiefer Sherwood broke an equally long scoring drought in the third period as Vancouver survived Minnesota to win 3-1 while becoming Outshot 38-20.

This is not a sustainable winning strategy when Canucks goalkeeper Kevin Lankin made 37 rescues, 14 of them in the last period when Vancouver once again played in retreat.

It demonstrated the elasticity that is one of the positive features that Canucks has established in a season that has so far been like a blindfold go through a 62-game minefield.

But it also reminded us of something else that Allvin said of the difficulty of trying to win 2-1: “I think we have players who are able to score goals here.”

Of course, Pettersson is one of them. Friday’s first-period laser was just his 12^Th Goals this season. He is talented enough to double it in total in the last 20 games.

But Sherwood is also able to contribute goals, and so are his fourth-line partners, Teddy Blueger and Nils Hoglander. Bluger scored a one -handed empty night with 54 seconds left to expand Canucks’ winning row at Rogers Arena for four games.

It took Vancouver two months to win four home matches at the start of the season.

Against nature, the Hoglander-Blueger-Sherwood line was noticeable all games that spent so much time in the offensive zone and the defensive.

Despite his recent slump and sliding down the lineup, Sherwood has 14 goals this season. Hoglander has only scored five times, but had 24 goals last year. Blueger has 19 points in 62 games and spent most of last season as an effective third -line center.

Allvin’s decision to neither add nor pull players at Friday’s deadline left a few holes among the top six-forward group, from which JT Miller was traded in January.

But the six six forward on Canucks can make a difference.

“I think we are probably just thinking of ourselves as more of a line that can contribute,” Blueger said when asked “the fourth line.” “Even today, before we scored, it felt like the most we were in their zone. We feel connected and we also try to play hard, try to play. I don’t think we put too much into where we are in the set -up, or what (order) we go out to start a period. It’s just a matter of working and competing. “

Sherwood said, “I think we just want to feed the team’s identity. I think I and pigs can use our speed and our work, and Teddy is really responsible. We just have to continue to build and create these o-zone, buzzing, energy changes for the rest of the team. The beautiful thing about it is when you play the right way, many times you are rewarded. “

After Brock Fabers Power-Play one-hour tied it to Minnesota at. 7:12 of the third period, Sherwood scored several seconds after Vancouver defender Tyler Myers his stick and tried to play the puck out of the zone, the sherwood played the winner at 1 p.m. 16:45.

The wild defender Jon Merrill cleared the puck directly to Canuck Filip Hronek, whose hard passport to the back post was deeply handled by Sherwood from his skate before the wing shot a short side of goalkeeper Filip Gustavsson.

Bluger scored by reaching past Faber, who thought he had puck-screened, to stick a one-handed shot in the empty net. The goal was helped by Pius Suter, one of three imminent Canuck -free agents who survived the trade deadline in Vancouver.

Marquee Holdover, Brock Boeser, had five shooting attempts and assisted at Pettersson’s Power-Play goal at 1 p.m. 16:14 in the first period.

“Your head is in a blender,” Boeser said of his trade death experience. “Like, you hear so many things, you don’t know what’s true and what’s not true. It was a long week and I’m just glad it’s over. “

What does it mean for the longest rented canuck to stay in Vancouver-in the least until July 1st.

“Yes, it means a lot,” Boeser said. “Some of my best friends are on this team and we have such a good team, so many good guys here and we are just in search of an end game. I think it’s our main focus right now. You know, of course, it’s a little hard to focus on it with all that noise, but now I’m just so glad it’s over and I can really just focus on helping our team win games and being better for our team. “

“I think it’s a little relief because all guys are liked in the dressing room,” Sherwood said. “It’s also probably a message about camera or whatever you want to call it – just that they believe in us to keep the group together and give us a chance to go ahead and see what’s happening. I think if it is something, it is authorizing. “

Suddenly the Stanley Cup favorites with their deadline added to Mikko Rantan visit Dallas stars Rogers Arena on Sunday. Canucks have to continue to win.

“I think we have good players with a lot of talent, and still some big players are missing,” Blueger said, referring to the wounded defender Quinn Hughes and goalkeeper Thatcher Demko. “We just have to execute, stay together. Of course, everyone (outside of Vancouver) seems that we are not very good and probably the odds are against us. If we come in we all surprise. And if we come in, everyone will still have us out in four games. In a way that is good. We have nothing to lose. “