Without injured top-six forwards Brock Boeser and Tanner Pearson, the Canucks found a way once again to get it done.
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Bruce Boudreau searched for the right reference to reflect the magnitude of the moment Tuesday.
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The Vancouver Canucks coach knew a matchup with major playoff-chase implications — the latest and greatest must-win game — called for something special; something to acknowledge what his club would face in the healthy and wealthy Vegas Golden Knights roster.
“Herb Brooks said if you play them 10 in a row, they might win nine, but they might not necessarily win them all,” said Boudreau. “It’s very capable that if we play our best, good things can happen.”
We assume he was talking about the ‘Miracle on Ice’ stunner during the medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, NY The US defeated the dominant defending gold medalist Soviet Union 4-3.
“There isn’t an athlete in the world who doesn’t want to be the underdog,” Boudreau continued. “I tell the guys the best feeling in the world is doing something others don’t think you can. We’re playing a great team, and if we can beat this team, we can beat anybody is what I tell them.”
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The message was received in the best possible way. Without injured top-six forwards Brock Boeser and Tanner Pearson, they found a way once again to get it done in a wild 5-4 overtime decision.
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The Canucks scored early, and after Shea Theodore got the visitors within a goal early in the third period, they couldn’t hang on as Theodore struck again with 41.4 seconds remaining in regulation. However, in the extra session, it was Quinn Hughes pouncing on a rebound off a Conor Garland shot just 51 seconds into overtime to seal the deal.
It was the Canucks’ fourth-straight win and Thatcher Demko finished with 41 saves.
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It put the Canucks within three points of the Golden Knights and still six back of the Dallas Stars, who hold down the final wild-card spot.
Here’s what we learned as Bo Horvat, Vasily Podkolzin, Elias Pettersson and Brad Richardson scored for the Canucks while Alec Martinez and Michael Amadio also scored for the Golden Knights:
PETTERSSON IS A HIT
When the centre-turned-winger landed two heavy offensive-zone hits along the end boards early in first period — and then hustled back to break up a couple of scoring chances — it was a sign of how dialed in he was to make a difference with and without the puck.
Early in the second period, Horvat was denied from the slot before Pettersson wired a shot off the post and Podkolzin was present to bang home the rebound.
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Pettersson was then credited with his 26th goal on a shot that went off Zach Whitecloud’s skate, crossed up Lehner, and appeared to sneak across the goal line. A video view confirmed the goal to make it 3-1.
Pettersson wasn’t done.
On a 2-on-1 break with Richardson, he gave Lehner a look like he might shoot to freeze the stopper and slipped a cross-ice feed for a 4-2 lead after Amadio had cut the deficit to 3-2. It was more than just the three points that increased Pettersson’s output to 16 points (8-8) in the last 10 games. And in the dying minutes, he was denied again on the doorstep.
He’s skating more freely, playing on instinct to dish sweet feeds or break up opposition passes.
HORVAT ON A HIGH
The Canucks captain was asked earlier this week if we’re seeing the best version of the center, who’s on a points streak with 11 (9-2) in his last 11 games, including a career-high 31 goals.
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Of course, Horvat did the expected. He did not want to put a ceiling on his capability of him to lead by example on the ice and be a voice of reason in the room. The drive showed in the opening two minutes when he opened scoring from what has become his power play sweet spot from him.
He maneuvered into the bumper position, took an Alex Chiasson feed from beside the net, and snapped a quick wrist shot past Lehner.
CIRQUE DU SALARY CAP
Big games often bring big drama — both on and off the ice — and the Golden Knights didn’t disappoint.
Their pre-game salary cap acrobatics to remove captain Mark Stone from long-term injury reserve in his return from a Feb. 8 back injury rivaled the Cirque du Soleil show across from Rogers Arena.
After all, the Golden Knights now have a record seven players on LTIR to be cap compliant. They challenged the Canucks with a third line that had Chandler Stephenson between the recently-returned Max Pacioretty and Stone. That’s depth.
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“We’re right where we want to be,” Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer said following the morning skate. “We’re getting bodies back and we’re in a good spot. In 14 years in the league, I haven’t dealt with this many injuries for this long to that many key people, A credit to our group and our depth. We still have a pulse.
“Pacioretty changes our team. (Brayden) McNabb and (Alec) Martinez back last week changes our team and Robin Lehner changes our team. Mark Stone is our captain and our leader and you can’t understate his importance to our group.
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