Canucks score five unanswered beating Detroit

Bo Horvat #53 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates his third period goal with teammates Elias Pettersson #40, Brock Boeser #6, Quinn Hughes #43 and J.T. Miller #9 during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on October 22, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

A late vulnerability from the Red Wings let the Canucks run away with the victory at Little Caesars Arena Tuesday night. A hat trick from team leader Bo Horvat late in the game assisted in Vancouver deflating Detroit 5-2. A breakdown of control and too much open ice handed the Red Wings their fifth straight loss.

With the home advantage back in their hands, the Red Wings looked to end the four-game slide and teach Vancouver a lesson. They suffered a 5-1 beating in western Canada, taking another two losses against Calgary and Edmonton. While their recent defeat showed tremendous effort from Detroit, the time back home prepared them to even the series with the Canucks bringing the same fighting spirit seen on Friday. The Canucks go for their second straight after winning a tight one against the New York Rangers on Sunday. Showing vulnerabilities would give the Red Wings a shot at starting the homestand with a win.

Vancouver made the challenge difficult fast when they got on the power play two and a half minutes in. They failed to score on the man advantage, but after seven minutes elapsed, they outshot Detroit 8-1. The Red Wings started to fight back getting pucks to the net where goaltender Jacob Markstrom stood for the Canucks.

By the midway point, Detroit was in reach of Vancouver on shots to the net but continued to trail. A huge opportunity came to pass with Brock Boeser taking a double minor for high sticking Frans Nielsen. The four-minute power play for the Red Wings increased their scoring chances, but none found their way behind Markstrom. Before Vancouver saw the end of the penalty, they committed another to give Detroit a 5 on 3 for more than a minute.

It saw Anthony Mantha, who already had two shots recorded making his third a charm. Getting open in the Vancouver zone, the 25-year-old right-winger sniped a shot that flew through traffic and into the net for his seventh of the season. It was a big moment for them to carry the lead, but defending it to the horn would be better. That was just what Detroit did as they avoided a change of score on the late penalty to come through 20 minutes with the 1-0 lead. It marked the third time this season that the Red Wings led after one.

Trying to keep their lead for as long as possible, Detroit fought for puck possession, adding a few good attempts to increase the score. Dylan Larkin had a breakaway on a stretch pass, but his wrist shot was saved off the pads of Markstrom closing the net off to his left. Detroit continued the onslaught that soon led to a scuffle after eight minutes. In Evgeny Svechnikov’s move to slap the puck loose from Markstrom, he caused a one on one with Jake Virtanen that led them to match roughing penalties.

The teams went 4 on 4, but an interference call to Vancouver gave Detroit a man advantage. It resulted in a goal from Dennis Cholowski who rifled the puck that went along the stick of Alexander Edler to assist him in his first of the season. It was the second goal allowed by the best PK unit in the NHL.

The push from Detroit had them as the dangerous team to control and dictate play. With two minutes left, it was almost 3-0 on a shot from Mike Green at the blue line that pinged off the post. Larkin tried to get to the rebound, but Jordie Benn cleared it before he could wind up. Despite the missed opportunity, the Red Wings took a power play late in the second, where Markstrom made important saves. The Canucks felt the pressure but managed to get out of trouble with 40 minutes in the books. Detroit outshot Vancouver 17-11, showing a true force of offense and the chance to continue dictation going into the third.

The Canucks took advantage of the Red Wings who let them get second chances on shots to the net of Jimmy Howard. Horvat got his team on the board and soon after, had a two minute power play to try and notch the fourth straight goal on the man advantage. It was all tied up on a drive from Quinn Hughes that flew down the center before getting into the net. Horvat  earned credit as he got a piece of the puck on his stick for his second of the night.

The momentum changed so quickly leading the Canucks to silence Detroit and wait for their moment to take the lead. It came on a shot from Virtanen that deflected off the skate of Filip Hronek for his first and a 3-2 situation. Leaving too much opening space, the Canucks took advantage of scoring chance that gave Tim Schaller his first widening the gap to two goals.

It was their fourth unanswered of the period and with the Red Wings out of ideas, they chose to get desperate and pull Howard. It only made things worse for them and great for Horvat as he managed to score on the empty net to complete the hat trick that marked his first career hat trick.