Linus Karlsson scores twice as Canucks fall 7-4 to Mammoth

First Period

The Canucks came out flying to start this game. At the same time, Utah looked especially sleepy out of the gate. That was a perfect recipe for the Canucks to put together one of the best opening ten minutes they’ve played all year.

Less than three minutes in, Linus Karlsson said thank you very much and scooped up a sloppy breakout pass and promptly opened the scoring in this one:

It was all Canucks in the first ten minutes of this one, and with the shots reading 9-1, Evander Kane nearly ripped home the Canucks’ second goal of the night when he wristed a shot short side that rang off the post behind Karel Vejmelka.

It took over 10 minutes for the Mammoth to record their second shot of the game, a Mikhail Sergachev wrister from the point that Nikita Tolopilo had no trouble with.

Shortly after, Tolopilo made his best save of the night after the puck came out in front to Brandon Tanev. Immediately after, PO Joseph was called for upending Tanev, giving the Mammoth the game’s first power play. That’s typically a good way for a team to find their legs. The Canucks killed that one off without surrendering a shot, and Filip Hronek’s ability to read and break up plays really stood out during the kill.

With just over six minutes left in the first, we got a real disaster class in how to deal with forechecking pressure from the Canucks’ third pairing. First, with his teammates yelling “Wheel! Wheel!”, PO Joseph instead dropped the puck off to Victor Mancini, who dealt with the pressure he was under by not rimming the puck around hard enough to get out of the zone, but also too hard for Brock Boeser (the lowest forward at the time) to reach. The Mammoth quickly took advantage, and in the blink of an eye, this one was tied up.

1-1. 

Before the end of the first, Ty Mueller had a great chance to score his first career goal, but was denied by Vejmelka.

After a turnover in the neutral zone, the Mammoth broke in, backing up the Canucks’ defence far enough for Clayton Keller to snipe a wrister (that on second look deflected off of Buium’s stick) home to give Utah their first lead of the night.

2-1 Mammoth after 20 minutes of play.

Second Period

Linus Karlsson started the second period with quite an eventful shift. First, while behind the net, Karlsson tried to flip the puck over the top, with hopes of banking the puck in off of Vejmelka. After the puck made its way back to Mancini at the point, Karlsson tipped the puck past the Utah goaltender, tying the game up at two all.

2-2.

Filip Hronek was called for holding (only after he was hooked, mind you), and just over five minutes into the second, Utah got their second power play opportunity of the night. That gave Tolopilo the opportunity to make his best save of the night:

Later in the power play, Clayton Keller deflected a point shot past Tolopilo, but the goal was immediately waved off due to a high stick. After a league-initiated video review, though, the call was overturned.

3-2 Utah. 

The Canucks got a power play opportunity with just over 10 minutes left in the second. Not only did they not score, but they gave up two breakaways. Both times, the Mammoth players struck iron. Just to see how far they could push their luck, the Canucks pulled off an awful line change and chased the puck around their own end while Utah snapped the puck around and found Dylan Guenther at the side of the net.

4-2. 

Third Period

The Canucks had some power play time left over to work with, and Jake DeBrusk deflected home a shot just 20 seconds into the period to pull the Canucks within one.

4-3.

Utah answered almost immediately, however, quickly restoring their two-goal lead.

The Canucks got another chance to work on the power play, and Brock Boeser — and the Canucks’ first unit as a whole — stayed hot.

5-4, Canucks back within one. 

The scorefest continued, as six minutes after the Canucks’ power play goal, Liam O’Brien banged home the Mammoth’s sixth goal of the game.

6-4.

The Canucks got a late power play, and even pulled Tolopilo to go to six on four, but Clayton Keller deposited his hat trick goal into the empty Canucks goal to put the finishing touches on this one. 7-4.