Canucks 3, Blues 2 (OT): A weird night, a good night, Elias Pettersson takes flight

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Upon further review, it was a weird night.

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And it was also a very good night.

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The focus was supposed to be on the Vancouver Canucks debut of Finnish prospect centre Aatu Raty. It was supposed to be on how the struggling and depleted St. Louis Blues would respond Thursday after trading Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari.

And it was supposed to be whether occasional volatile goaltender Jordan Binnington could keep composed and once again frustrate the Canucks.

Binnington would play his role to perfection with 37 saves in regulation as the Blues looked like they claimed a 2-1 victory and their fifth-straight decision over Vancouver. But Andrei Kuzmenko then pounced on a rebound with 29 seconds left in regulation time to force overtime.

The issue was finally settled in dramatic overtime fashion when Elias Pettersson went coast-to-coast and beat Binnington to the far glove side to cap the comeback with 15 seconds remaining. Pettersson would finish with four points, a career-high 10 shots and 17 attempts.

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That will stick in the memory banks. And so will a pair of goal challenges that didn’t go the Canucks’ way.

A successful goaltender-interference bid by the Blues in the first period to deny a J.T. Miller goal, and an over-ruled effort by the Canucks to claim a high stick before should negate the second Blues goal, proved to be pivotal.

And when back-checking rookie Tyler Tucker dove and took the net off its moorings before the puck entered the net, you just knew it was going to be one of those nights. The Canucks had six shots on four power plays. They outshot the Blues 41-22.

When Pettersson set up Miller for a short-handed goal midway through the final period, it should have been that rallying point. Binnington then dove to deny Brock Boeser and Pettersson couldn’t convert a rebound.

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Here’s what we learned as Alexi Toropchenko and Tyler Tucker scored the Blues, while Miller and Kuzmenko replied for the Canucks, who host the Boston Bruins on Saturday:

NEXT GAME

Saturday

Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks

4 p.m., Rogers Arena. TV: CITY, Sportsnet. Radio: AM650.

That’s goalie interference, really?

It was looking good in the first period.

Conor Garland hustled to draw a delayed holding penalty, and when Miller had nothing but a yawning cage to deposit a cross-ice feed, it opened scoring. 

But not so fast. The Blues issued a challenge.

They were convinced Garland interfered with Binnington’s ability to make the save on Miller because of contact at top of the crease. Garland’s left skate briefly touched the stopper’s pad on edge of the blue paint, and after a lengthy review, the goal was called off. Garland shook his head.

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If that wasn’t bad enough, the Canucks then went on an error-filled power play. Quinn Hughes had his back pass to the point picked off and Pettersson fell in retreat, which allowed Toropchenko to hold off Anthony Beauvillier and go far side on Arturs Silovs to open scoring.

It was the 10th shorthanded goal of the season allowed by the Canucks.

Officially, the league said this:

The decision was made in accordance with Rule 69.1 which states, in part, “Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal.”

That’s not a high stick, really?

Early in the second period, the Blues took a 2-0 lead when Tucker scored his first NHL goal with a wrist shot from the point that beat Silovs low to the glove side. 

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However, the Canucks contended that before the shot, Ivan Barbashev had contacted the puck with his stick that was above the shoulders. After a video review the goal stood and the Canucks received a bench minor for the failed challenge, served by Garland.

The winger then sprinted from the penalty box, and on a breakaway, he was denied on a forehand deke as Binnington just got enough of his skate on the effort.

Welcome to training camp 2.0

“I hate to say it, but it’s like an extended training camp,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said Thursday morning. “There are still systems stuff and we’re chipping away and we have to become a better practise team. And that will translate into our game. 

“There have been some positives and competition drives that.”

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The fast-tracking of Raty, 20, adds to audition season and another dimension to who might get an early leg up on the 2023-24 roster. He had no trouble keeping pace and didn’t back off from contact in his 7:37 of ice time and no shots. As the key acquisition in the Bo Horvat trade, he played as expected. And not as expected.

The left-handed Raty makes a habit of switching to the right side in taking draws. He did it Thursday.

“A conscientious guy and a 200-foot centre, who can play the wing,” said Tocchet. “He’s a young guy we’re going to develop. It’s competition. I like players being comfortable and not comfortable. We’ve got to get people pushing people and that’s the best way — whether through the AHL (recalls) or other means. 

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“We can’t get comfortable. We have a lot of work to do I and I want to see what other guys can do and other guys have to make sure they stay in the lineup.

In that respect, expect to see prospects Linus Karlsson, Danila Klimovich, Tristen Nielsen and Arshdeep getting NHL looks before the National Hockey League regular season winds down.

They should all realize that Swedish rookie centre Nils Aman had a strong camp in September and made the opening-night roster.

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