Canucks PP surges in win over Detroit

J.T. Miller #9 of the Vancouver Canucks is congratulated by teammates after scoring during their NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Arena October 15, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

A let-up of defense and special teams gave the Vancouver Canucks an easy victory on Tuesday. A wakeup of their struggling power play saw three come from it to give them a 5-1 beating to the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Arena. J.T. Miller had two on the night along with goaltender Thatcher Demko earning a premier win in his debut with the team.

Detroit’s loss to Toronto didn’t cause much tension with the squad as the headed into Western Canada for a road trip. Their second loss kept them on the up and up that more wins were on the horizon. Getting one against the Canucks would be a challenge as they have enjoyed their time on home ice. Their last two games saw them outscore opponents 11-4 with one more stint at home before their journey back east. With the show of strength, they would do everything to keep Detroit quiet while they attempted to bring life to their lines.

Thirty seconds into the game, Dylan Larkin scored with some help from Anthony Mantha showing Detroit’s first line already in gear. Mantha gave him a nifty pass before the Michigan native backhanded the puck behind Demko who made his season debut. In an attempt to regroup, the Canucks went heavy into the Detroit zone but didn’t produce threatening shots at Jonathan Bernier in net for the Red Wings made the necessary stops.

Vancouver had a power play after eight minutes of play but little impact was made as the Detroit PK did their job. When they returned to even strength the shots on goal were 9-2 in favor of the Canucks. The Red Wings picked up the slack and attacked the opposing net where a play near had them a bigger lead but Demko managed the save.

With four minutes left, Detroit went on a six-shot run with the Canucks trailing but got back on track. At the two-minute mark, the Canucks got the game even with Tory Stecher getting near the slot to wrist one for his first of the season. They finished the period outshooting Detroit 14-8 indicating their sudden control of power.

The Red Wings didn’t make things better for themselves as Mike Green took a penalty 53 seconds into the period. For just the second time in 16 power plays, the Canucks achieved the lead with Alexander Edler scoring on a well-timed shot that went through everyone in the slot and past Bernier for his third.

Elias Pettersson caught a rebound in front of the net where he tipped it in leaving Bernier helpless to stop it making it 3-1 after four minutes elapsed in the second stanza. Another power play opened the door for the Canucks to conduct another successful goal. With Edler’s drive from the far end, it was redirected and went off the stick of J.T. Miller for his second to open a three-goal gap on Detroit.

Andreas Athanasiou pushed himself to get his legs into play and change the tide for his team. He had three shots on Demko but no significant change in the scoreboard. Their first power play arrived with six to go with the special teams coming up short as Vancouver’s defense cut them off at the neutral zone. They finished 40 minutes in a very good spot with Detroit at a loss on how to recover.

The third was a full control for the Canucks even though the Red Wings had kept up on shots to the net. The difference-maker was the energy output that Vancouver clearly emitted on the ice. After killing off a 5 on 3 giving Detroit very little, they ruffled feathers at 4:38 when Mantha took a double for unsportsmanlike conduct and tripping of Sutter while he got called for roughing on Mantha. While it didn’t bring much to the table for either, the frustration of being behind didn’t help matters. A holding call to Jacob de la Rose set up the Canucks fifth power play where they scored on Miller’s drive from the slot earning his second of the night that put the nail in the coffin.

A scuffle between the two saw penalties go to both teams 20 seconds after goal involving Adam Erne and Stecher. After both cooled off from their time in the boxes, the Canucks continued on the path of holding their lead through the last six minutes of play when the horn sounded their victory.