The Vancouver Canucks dropped their second straight pre-season game as they fell 4-2 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Aatu Räty each scored their first of the pre-season, while Artūrs Šilovs was credited with the loss after allowing four goals on 24 shots. Nikita Tolopilo also saw some action in this game, stopping all eight shots he faced during the third period.
There was plenty of emotion in this game, as it featured some questionable hits and a combined 50 penalty minutes. Adam Klapka of the Flames hit Akito Hirose into the boards, which knocked the Canucks defenceman out of the game, while Connor Zary hit Conor Garland in the numbers against the boards, which resulted in a scrum of eight penalty minutes. In total, 58 hits were thrown in this game, with Vancouver holding a slight 30-28 lead once the final whistle had sounded.
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The Canucks penalty killers deserve a lot of credit for their performance in this game. Calgary went 0/5 with the man advantage, with Vancouver limiting the Flames to only five shots. The Canucks were also able to generate five shorthanded shots and were led by Mark Friedman with two. While it is only the pre-season, Vancouver’s penalty kill has been lights out so far, which is a positive sign heading into the regular season.
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When asked about his team’s performance, Head Coach Rick Tocchet said, “I actually liked the effort. You know, we had some young guys in the lineup, and I thought they did well.” Tocchet also mentioned some areas the team needs to clean up, mentioning the teams play in front of their own net, playing a bit quicker overall and adding more grit to their game.
One player who stood out once again was Räty. The 21-year-old had a full stat line, finishing with a goal, three shots on net and two hits in 18:05 of ice time. While he struggled in the faceoff dot, only winning 42% of his draws, he did go three for five while on the penalty kill and was one of two players to win a draw while shorthanded. Based on his performances throughout the pre-season, it is hard to imagine Räty not starting the year in the NHL, as he has been the Canucks most consistent forward over the past week.
Lastly, Carson Soucy had a strong game at both ends of the ice. In 25:05 of ice time, he led the team with five shots on goal, threw five hits and recorded an assist. The Canucks as a team held a 12-8 shots advantage at even strength when he was on the ice while also giving zero high-danger chances on the penalty kill. While some areas need to be cleaned up, like his two penalties, Soucy led by example and was one of Vancouver’s strongest players against Calgary.
The Canucks will now get a day off before flying to Edmonton to take on the Oilers. This will be the first of two pre-season meetings against Edmonton, with the two teams also facing off on Friday, October 4, at Rogers Arena. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 pm PT from Rogers Place.
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