Coach Willie Desjardins has said that he is still in the evaluating stage of this year’s team and after Monday night’s 2-1 shootout victory over the mighty Anaheim Ducks, he should be closer to knowing what type of team he has this season.
After a scoreless first period, Sami Vatanen scored the first goal of the season for the Ducks on a slap shot from the point at 1:56 in the second period.
Not too long after, Canucks forward Adam Cracknell tied the game on a sharp-angle shot at 8:38. Jannik Hansen‘s shot from the right circle was denied by Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen, but the rebound went right to Cracknell who put the puck in off Andersen’s shoulder.
After a scoreless third period, the game headed into overtime, which was Anaheim’s first experience in the newly adapted 3 on 3 format. Fans crossed their fingers when Corey Perry drew a hooking penalty against Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler at the 2:42 mark, but the team failed to convert on the ensuing power play.
In the shootout, Ryan Miller was stellar making a magnificent poke check save on Corey Perry after Alex Burrows successfully scored the eventual winner.
The big story going into the game was of course long-time fan favorite Kevin Bieksa playing his old squad, and it sure must have felt weird wrestling for the puck along the boards against his old mates.
“Like I said before the game, I was hoping that once the game started it would feel like just a normal hockey game and it did. There were a couple of times during timeouts you look over, and it’s a little different. But I felt like once the puck dropped and the game started, it was business as usual.” said Bieksa after the game.
The Canucks got a big win against a veteran Ducks team, and hope to build on their momentum as they face the Los Angeles Kings Tuesday night at the Staples Center.
Written by: Hamed Amiri
