My love for hockey started with family.
It started with going to Chilliwack Chiefs games with my grandpa in the original Chilliwack Coliseum, sitting on the hard, wooden bleachers.
It started with some mildly mangled old hockey cards passed down by my older brother, and deciding that Petri Skriko was my favourite Canuck, because of his great name and the number of goals on the back of his card.
It started with watching Hockey Night in Canada with my parents, and listening to my dad tell me stories of watching Stan Smyl, while developing my own affection for the likes of Cliff Ronning, Pavel Bure, and Trevor Linden.
On Sunday, I went home to Chilliwack for a belated Easter dinner and, after following the kids around on their annual Easter egg hunt (and plucking the candy they missed from their hiding places for my own basket), I sat down with my dad to watch the Vancouver Canucks play the Anaheim Ducks.
The stakes were lower than when we watched the 1994 Stanley Cup Final together, but it was still special, made all the more special for its rarity these days. We talked hockey, reminisced about the past, and caught up on the present.
I sincerely hope for some more meaningful Canucks games to watch with my family in the future. But for now, I watched this game.
The Ducks had something to play for in this game, as they could clinch a playoff spot with a win. That might explain the energy crackling throughout this game, as it was chippier than a too-thick salsa.
Radko Gudas absolutely leveled Liam Öhgren with a clean open-ice hit early in the game, which ultimately led to Teddy Blueger dropping the gloves with Gudas later in the period. I don’t think players should have to fight for a clean hit, but you can see exactly what Blueger is trying to do: he’s a veteran standing up for a young rookie, even if that means taking on a scary customer like Gudas.
It’s important to note that Blueger has a lot to play for as the season comes to a close. Blueger is clearly making a case to be a culture carrier for the Canucks, as the pending UFA aims to earn a new contract.
The Ducks opened the scoring just after a power play. Blueger’s initial act of retribution — stick-breaking crosscheck — was flagged by the officials, but even though the Canucks killed that penalty, he couldn’t get back into the play before Chris Kreider poked a rebound to Cutter Gauthier at the back door for an open net.
The Canucks responded with one of the best moments of the season: Curtis Douglas’s first career goal. The hulking winger had some scoring touch in Junior and has popped in a few goals in the AHL, but had gone 40 games in the NHL without finding the back of the net. When he finally scored in game 41, the 26-year-old responded with one of the most exuberant goal celebrations we’ve seen in years.
The play started with Ty Mueller gaining the offensive blue line and dropping the puck to Kirill Kudryavtsev, a duo recently called up from the Abbotsford Canucks. Kudryavtsev threw the puck towards the net, and it took a deflection to wind up behind Lukas Dostal. Douglas was first to the loose puck to knock it into the net. Then the hootin’ and hollerin’ commenced.
You can tell that Douglas is a popular teammate already, and this moment meant a lot to the Canucks. Just look at how Aatu Räty launched himself into the celebration, if only to get his head up to the same height as Douglas’s to congratulate him.
“I thought it might never happen,” said Douglas after he was handed the Player of the Game firefighter axe by Teddy Blueger. That’s a telling quote.
“It was awesome,” said Blueger. “I think you saw how much that meant to him. He’s had some chances. You think back to your own first goal: it’s a big moment in your life. Been chasing that dream for a long time, so guys are super, super happy for him. He’s been great for us — great character in the room, brings a lot to the team. It really gets the guys going.”
It was also the first career point for Kudryavstev and would have also been for Mueller, if Aatu Räty didn’t get a touch on the puck after Kudryavstev’s shot. That could’ve been cool: a goal entirely made up of NHL firsts. Thanks a lot, Räty.
I’ve long been a believer in Kudryavstev. Right after he was drafted in the seventh round in 2022, he caught my eye at the Canucks’ prospect development camp. He set himself apart from the other prospects with how he ran drills. He never just did the basics of the drill: he always threw in a little deception — a shoulder dip or a stick fake — that gave each drill more of a game-situation feel. He wasn’t content just to learn a new skill, but to learn that skill within a useful context. Now, four years later, I still like his steady game, and firmly believe he has NHL potential.
Kudryavstev looked right at home in this game, albeit in a limited, third-pairing role. The Canucks outshot the Ducks 6-to-2 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, and he had a 77.8 xGF%. That’s a strong performance while facing a pretty steady diet of the Ducks’ second line.
Jake DeBrusk continued his power play merchant season with his 18th power play goal of the season and just his 21st goal overall. This time, he didn’t have to shoot the puck or even move his stick at all. After some strong puck movement by the first unit, DeBrusk placed his stick at just the right angle in the bumper, and Marco Rossi used it as a ramp to launch the puck into the net.
I thought Nikita Tolopilo had a strong night. He came up with some fantastic saves, often by using one of his chief virtues: big. He’s just a big dude. Full-on bigness. When he stretches across the crease, he takes away the entire bottom of the net and about six inches on either side of each post. It helped a great deal on a wide-open Gauthier chance midway through the second period.
The Canucks took a rare two-goal lead with something even more rare: a shorthanded goal by Brock Boeser. While he’s scored a lot of goals in his career, this was just his second shorthanded goal. Here’s the thing: his previous shorthanded goal — way back on February 15, 2021, against the Calgary Flames — was kind of scored 5-on-5. Down by one and on the penalty kill, the Canucks pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker for an offensive zone faceoff, going 5-on-5 with 37 seconds left in regulation. So, when Boeser sniped off the post and in, it was technically a shorthanded goal, but also not really.
Boeser’s shorthanded goal on Sunday, on the other hand, was a true shorthanded goal. He made a great defensive read after Filip Hronek forced a pass to the point, poking the puck past John Carlson and racing up the ice for a breakaway. From there, Boeser made it look easy with a deke to the forehand and an upstairs finish.
The goal was also a “ball don’t lie” moment, as the Canucks’ penalty for delay of game came after the Ducks’ Ian Moore ran into Tolopilo in the crease, but wasn’t called for goaltender interference. Did Tolopilo intentionally skate to the top of his crease to draw the contact? Of course. But he’s entitled to the blue paint; Moore isn’t.
Okay, the ball partially lied. The Ducks got one back on that same power play. Jackson Lacombe sent a long, but quick pass from the left point to Gauthier at the top of the right faceoff circle, forcing Tolopilo to move a long distance to get set. He couldn’t get his pad sealed off against the ice in time, and Gauthier’s one-timer zoomed past him like it had gone to plaid.
Then the Ducks got a bounce. Filip Hronek’s clearing attempt caromed wickedly off the corner boards directly to Kreider in the slot. Tolopilo made a great stop on his quick shot, but Leo Carlsson was first to the rebound and hoisted the puck over the sprawling goaltender to tie the game.
Neither team could end the game in regulation, leaving it to be decided in overtime. That’s when Drew O’Connor made a stupendous play. After Hronek was stopped on a chance created by a heads-up stretch pass by Rossi, O’Connor came flying in like Rey Mysterio to steal the puck from Beckett Sennecke and create a chance, drawing a Kreider slash in the process.
The 4-on-3 power play drawn by O’Connor was nearly wasted, though not for lack of trying. The Canucks fired six shots on goal, but some of the setups were a little too telegraphed. It’s like the Canucks’ plays were in large print, making them too easy for Dostal to read.
The sixth shot, however, found purchase in the net behind Dostal. Rossi played catch with Zeev Buium at the top of the zone to create a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle that slid low under Dostal’s pad, much like Gauthier’s one-timer beat Tolopilo earlier in the game.
It’s hard to deny that the vibes around the Canucks are much-improved from where they were earlier in the season. There’s a supportive feel to the team, as they lift each other up and cheer on their successes in the tail end of this failure of a season. But it’s easy to feel loose and carefree when there’s nothing at stake. The Canucks are trying to build something for the future, but when true trials and tribulations come, will there be a firm enough foundation underneath?
Only two more games to go: one more at home, where the Canucks will try to give their home fans something to cheer about for once and possibly play spoiler for the Los Angeles Kings, and one on the road, where they’ll look to shatter the confidence of the Edmonton Oilers before they go into the playoffs.
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