Thanks to Bo Horvat and his linemates, Vancouver spoiled Seattle’s long-awaited home opener despite being outscored for long stretches.
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There has never been any doubt about how much Bo Horvat cares.
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The Vancouver Canucks captain did a lot to remind everyone of this on Saturday night in Seattle.
With his team on the ropes, Horvat scored twice to bring his team back to the level, setting the Canucks for a 4-2 win over Seattle Kraken in the opening opener at home at the Climate Pledge Arena.
The Canucks’ top line of Elias Pettersson, JT Miller and Brock Boeser was terrible for much of the night, though they did help deliver Horvat’s second goal on a power play, to the point where head coach Travis Green had to Matt Highmore and Justin. Dowling crawled onto Pettersson’s and Miller’s wings. So the efforts of Horvat and his linemates Conor Garland and Tanner Pearson were especially notable.
It was an explosive opening for the NHL’s newest team, as the magnificent new arena in Seattle rocked through player introductions and into the first period.
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But the Canucks were the better team for most of the first period, before losing their way when Seattle stole a goal late in the first period in the power play.
Seattle should have blown the gates of the game in the second period, but Thatcher Demko was outstanding, saving the bacon for her teammates, who seemed lost in the second verse.
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When Mark Giordano scored early in the third, it all seemed very fitting, as Seattle had been the better team for much of the night.
Horvat’s goal leveled the scoreline before Conor Garland half escaped, again against the flow of the game, and the little winger landed a shot between the legs of Seattle goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer to put the Canucks in a surprising lead. .
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Dowling scored the Canucks’ fourth goal on an empty net. The Kraken’s first goal was scored by Vince Dunn in a power play late in the first period.
This is what we learned …
Huge effort
The Horvat-Garland-Pearson line was by far the best of the Canucks, managing to bring in a lot of energy for almost every turn, staying out of the struggles of his teammates.
Horvat talks about how he sees his role as a leader as acting, doing, speaking only when he needs to, letting his game do the talking.
Surely his companions will find out tonight.
Caught
If you felt like the Canucks were stuck in the ice for an eternity before Dunn scored, you weren’t alone.
Tucker Poolman, Kyle Burroughs, JT Miller and Jason Dickinson were caught on their own side for 1:31 as they killed a Juho Lammikko penalty.
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The great Finn was back on the ice when the puck reached Dunn with 3.2 seconds left in the period, but the Canucks were gassed by then.
He had taken a bad penalty in the offensive zone and the Canucks managed to cancel the penalty, although Kraken had some solid scoring opportunities before Dunn’s goal.
He ended what had otherwise been a solid period on the road for the Canucks on a poor note.
Firm as she goes
The Kraken ran out the door in the second, and if not for Demko, it would have stretched its lead.
First there was a stop at Nathan Bastian, who climbed through the back door to get a chance to get closer, but Demko reacted quickly and made it look easy.
The Canucks goalie slid from right to left to make the save. This would be a topic.
Moments later, the San Diego man slid left to right to deny Alex Wennberg on a crusade.
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He surpassed both stops five minutes later when he stole a goal from Calle Järnkrok, reaching low to his left to stop Järnkrok’s effort on a rebound.
And then, shortly after, he stoned Mason Appleton on a getaway. Kraken’s forward’s shot dribbled behind Demko, but the great goalkeeper lunged back to hit the puck before it reached the goal line.
No punches
With Kraken’s dominant game, the Canucks were struggling to make any kind of backlash.
At one point, the Canucks spent more than 16 minutes between shots, spending more than 11 minutes in the second before taking their first shot on goal.
As it happens, it was Horvat’s target.
After Garland made a loose escape attempt by the Kraken on the right side boards, he fired a quick pass to the slot. The captain had read the entire sequence and was ready for the pass.
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He quickly fired the puck through Philipp Grubauer’s legs to level the score in an unlikely way.
Garland’s assist gave him seven points on the season, a six-game streak for his new team. Every point has been deserved.
Singing with heart
Ann Wilson, lead singer of the rock band Heart, was a good choice to sing Star Spangled Banner before the game.
Heart, of course, spent much of the early ’70s living in Vancouver before returning to the Seattle area and having wider musical fame.
A quality road trip
The Canucks didn’t deserve to win tonight, but a week ago in Detroit, they lost a game they deserved to win.
In the end, they finish their six-game season-opening trip 3-2-1, which is clearly a successful endeavor, even if it wasn’t pretty at times.
They head into Tuesday’s home opener on top, even when they know there’s plenty of room for improvement.
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