Chytil scores twice as Canucks beat Flames 5-1 on opening night

Aatu Räty won a key defensive zone faceoff on the PK, allowing the Canucks to clear the puck a full 200 feet down the ice. The Canucks managed to kill the rest of the penalty off. At the conclusion of the penalty, Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser teamed up to create a good-looking chance for Elias Pettersson, who ripped the puck a touch high:

With just over five minutes left in the first, Kiefer Sherwood got the Canucks on the board for the first time this season, and as usual, his celebration didn’t disappoint:

1-0 Canucks.

Shortly after, Jake Bean took a penalty to give the Canucks their first power play of the season. The Canucks’ power play struggled to get set up, but as it expired, Conor Garland, Filip Chytil, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki turned in a strong shift that resulted in some extended offensive zone time. In fact, as the Flames looked to transition the other way, Lekkerimäki got on his horse and applied more pressure in the neutral zone, helping the Canucks get the puck back into the Calgary end in a hurry.

The Canucks exited the opening frame up by a goal.

Some takeaways from the first:

-Absolutely loved to see Braeden Cootes confidently transport the puck through the neutral zone on the first shift of his career.
-Thatcher Demko’s black skate setup is so damn nice.

Second Period

The second period started with some bad news for the Canucks, as Mackenzie Weegar hit Elias Pettersson in one of the most dangerous spots of the ice. Pettersson went awkwardly into the boards headfirst and after staying down for an extended period of time, went to the room.

The play was initially called a major but was reduced to a minor after further review. On the ensuing power play, Filip Chytil took Pettersson’s spot on PP1. The Canucks’ power play got set up this time, but didn’t get many good looks off on Wolf. Just a few minutes after the hit on Pettersson — which he returned from after missing just one shift — Elias Pettersson (DPetey) hit Connor Zary in a very similar way that Weegar hit Pettersson (the forward).

Again, he was called for five minutes initially, but after review, the penalty was reduced to two minutes. The Flames’ power play was highlighted by some stellar penalty killing from Arshdeep Bains, who blocked two shots and anticipated well to break up a Flames scoring chance.

The Canucks got a power play of their own after Quinn Hughes broke some ankles and forced Calgary to take a penalty afterwards, but once again, their zone entries were abysmal. The second unit did marginally better on their entries, but neither unit tested Wolf much at all.

The second period lacked flow and much action, but the Flames got a power play with a shade over two minutes remaining after Drew O’Connor held onto Rasmus Andersson’s stick. The Flames power play got set up and actually got a great-looking chance off that might have beaten a lesser goalie. But not Thatcher Demko.

After 40 minutes, the Canucks were still up by one.

Some takeaways from the second:

-Cootes jumping up to the Pettersson line while EP40 was out was quite the opportunity for him in his first NHL game.
-Not surprised, but worth mentioning that Kiefer Sherwood was an absolute buzzsaw out there in both the first and second periods.
-I’m pretty sure Jonathan Lekkerimäki has the best shot on the team.
-Would have liked to see the Cnaucks’ top line dominate their matchup a bit more. Will be interested to see what the final numbers come out looking like in The Statsies tomorrow.

Third Period

Filip Chytil immediately took a penalty when he hauled down Connor Zary. On the ensuing power play, the Canucks’ penalty killers were up to the task. At the expiry of the penalty, Chytil stepped out of the box and moved into the Flames’ end with speed. Then it was a weird one, as Chytil’s initial shot hit Kevin Bahl in the head before finding its way right back to Chytil. This time, he made no mistake:

2-0 Canucks.

The Canucks got another power play chance, and again, struggled to get set up. As I said during the summer on Canucks Convo, I like the idea of Filip Chytil on PP1 to help with zone entries.

It quickly turned into a big night for Filip Chytil, who received a breakaway pass from Arshdeep Bains and made no mistake with his move to beat Dustin Wolf.

3-0 Canucks. 

Things got testy after this, as Kiefer Sherwood and Mackenzie Weegar got into it. Sherwood finished the sequence off with what looked like a one finger salute for Weegar. This team’s got some swagger.

Evander Kane made a great pass to Jonathan Lekkerimäki in the slot, and as we’re learning, Lekkerimäki isn’t going to miss very often.

4-0 Canucks.

Unfortunately, Thatcher Demko lost his shutout on a weird one that found its way through traffic and through Demko’s legs.

4-1.

Brock Boeser scored his first goal of the season with just under three minutes left in the game to give the Canucks a 5-1 lead. 

All in all, a great first win for the Canucks. They left the door open a little bit in the second, but slammed it shut in the third.

Some takeaways from the third:

-Solid jump in Chytil’s game tonight. The cut to the middle on his goal was a smart decision and led to the goal.
-Really liked Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s game tonight. He sure looks like he’s here to stay. He drew two penalties tonight and was relentless in retrieving the puck whenever the Flames got it. NOTE: I wrote this before he scored his goal!
-Great game for Thatcher Demko. Not an overly difficult night, but he made the saves that his team needed to tonight, and was instrumental in the win.
-5 goals and no points for Quinn Hughes. That won’t happen often! Nice to see the offence come from throughout the lineup.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game?