Abbotsford Canucks weekend recap: Aatu Räty grabs five points in a weekend doubleheader sweep against the Barracuda

The Abbotsford Canucks entered the weekend on shaky ground, having lost 11 out of 18 games since the start of 2024. Adding insult to injury, they suffered shutouts in eight of those matches.

However, after winning two games in San Jose this weekend and scoring nine combined goals, the Canucks now hold a four-game winning streak, three of which were secured in extra time.

We kick off our recap on Friday night.

Up front, it was the typical names, with the notable absence of Arshdeep Bains, who was making waves with the Vancouver Canucks.

On defence, Filip Johansson made a welcomed return after an eight-game hiatus, while Nikita Tolopilo earned his third consecutive start between the pipes.

The opening period brought all that and more, with a total of five goals shared between the two squads.

The Canucks drew first blood, wasting no time getting on the scoreboard, thanks to some strong board work by Aatu Räty to kickstart the play up the ice. After a drop pass from Marc Gatcomb, Cole McWard, buried a quick snapshot for his third goal of the year.

Midway through the period, with penalties to Ty Glover and Chase Wouters, the San Jose Barracuda went to work on a 5-on-3 opportunity, leading to an equalizer from Thomas Bordeleau. The Barracuda then took the lead, with Tanner Kaspick finding the net shortly after.

However, the Canucks responded swiftly, with Vasily Podkolzin converting on a slick pass from John Stevens to tie the game at two apiece.

Late in the period, with the Canucks on the man advantage, they would concede a shorthanded goal via Anthony Vincent thanks to a terrific feed from Jacob Peterson.

After a high-flying first period, the second was rather uneventful.

Just minutes in, John Stevens finished off a quick tic-tac-toe bumper play to pick up his second point of the night and even the score at three. The power play tally marked their first in 16 attempts.

Abbotsford came out strong in the third period, and in his first game in nearly a month, Filip Johansson punched on a loose puck before sending a rocket fast to the San Jose netminder for his fourth of the season.

Shortly after, former Canuck, Jack Studnicka capitalized on a scramble in front of the net to even the game up yet again.

With the score deadlocked after 60 minutes, the Canucks saw overtime for the third consecutive game.

Abbotsford fired six shots on target in the extra frame but could not solve Georgi Romanov, and for the second Canuck game in a row, they would resort to a shootout to solve things.

After five shooters, no one was able to solve the goaltenders.

Cue Linus Karlsson, who slithered his way toward the net to snap his third game-clinching goal in three games–two in a shootout, and one in overtime.

The Canucks take home a 5-4 shootout victory over the Barracuda.

On Saturday, the Abbotsford Canucks wrapped up their three-game road stint with a daytime clash against the San Jose Barracuda, picking up their fourth consecutive victory, and maintaining a perfect 3-0 record on their road trip.

The lineup presented some chaos as the team welcomed back Akito Hirose, who skated as an extra defender for his first game since December 2nd. As a result, they ran 11 forwards and seven defenders.

Arturs Šilovs got the nod after a three-game break, which saw his counterpart (Nikita Tolopilo) secure wins in three straight.

For the second game in a row, the Canucks had gotten on the board early, and oh boy, did they do it in style.

After a scramble on the half-wall, Sheldon Dries managed to poke the puck through to a wide-open Linus Karlsson. Karlsson scored one of the prettiest goals of the 2023-24 campaign, going between the legs for his 12th of the year and first of three points on the night.

The duo wasn’t done there, as moments later, Karlsson delivered a shot toward the net, which Dries redirected past Magnus Chrona. With the goal, Dries not only doubled their lead but notched his 100th AHL career goal and 52nd with Abbotsford.

The period ended with a Thomas Bordeleau goal, scoring his second goal of the weekend, cutting the lead in half after 20 minutes.

Similar to Friday’s match, the second period was relatively quiet in terms of scoring chances, and after 40 minutes, Arturs Šilovs, remained composed, making 18 stops to retain the Canucks’ 2-1 lead.

The Barracuda came out the gate strong in the final frame, with Scott Sabourin capitalizing on a loose puck in front of the net, punching it past the Šilovs just two minutes into the period to knot the game at two apiece.

Taking matters into his own hands, Räty embarked on a solo rush up the ice while killing a penalty, jumping on his own rebound and cashing in for his second point of the night.

From there, the Canucks never looked back.

With just over five minutes remaining, Chase Wouters provided insurance with his eighth goal of the season, tipping in a shot from Alex Kannok Leipert.

With the Barracuda’s net pulled, Räty sealed the victory with an empty-netter, securing a 5-2 win for the Canucks and completing the sweep of the road trip with six points.

Räty’s impressive performance extended his point streak to four games, during which he has tallied three goals and amassed seven points. Joining him in this stellar run is Linus Karlsson, who also boasts seven points in four games.

As a result, both Räty and Karlsson now occupy the second spot on the Abbotsford Canucks’ points leaderboard, each with 34 points to their name.

The Canucks defeat the Barracuda 5-2 to sweep the weekend doubleheader.

Abbotsford will return home on Tuesday to kickstart a two-game midweek series against the Colorado Eagles.