Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
The Canucks opened the scoring early in this one, and surprise surprise, it was Quinn Hughes getting the party started. Hughes moved in on an odd-man rush and slid the puck to Conor Garland, who buried the puck past Jordan Binnington.
1-0 Canucks. 
What a pass it was.
The Canucks’ neutral zone play was phenomenal early in this one. St. Louis couldn’t get anything going because the Canucks’ coverage was on point.
Unfortunately, Carson Soucy took a hooking penalty, giving the Blues the first power play of the game. FORTUNATELY, the Canucks killed it off. Tyler Myers made some nice plays on this sequence, too. Nice to have him back.
It appeared as though the Blues tied the game up with five minutes to go in the first, but the goal was emphatically waved off due to goaltender interference.  St. Louis challenged for goaltender interference, claiming that it was Hughes who pushed Dylan Holloway into Kevin Lankinen. The call stood, and the Canucks got their first power play of the game as a result.
It was there that they did something they hadn’t done much of lately. Move the puck into the slot and get a quality shot off from the bumper position. Brock Boeser took the shot, and Conor Garland buried the loose puck for his second goal of the game.
2-0 Canucks heading into period number two.
The Canucks kept up their momentum in the second, and the road warrior, Kevin Lankinen, made three huge saves in the span of a minute when the Blues began pressing.
Robert Thomas was called for tripping Derek Forbort later in the frame, giving the Canucks their second power play chance of the game.
The Canucks’ power play continued to look dangerous. First, there was an Elias Pettersson one-timer set up by JT Miller and Quinn Hughes. Then there was a breakaway chance for Miller, which he made no mistake on, rifling a shot past Jordan Binnington’s blocker side to make it 3-0 Canucks. 
That’s an assist from Kevin Lankinen! His first point as a Canuck.
Power play goals? Solid defending? Rush offence? Shots from the slot? Who is this team and what did they do with the Canucks?
The Blues got a power play chance of their own after Tyler Myers was called for tripping, and it was the Blues’ turn to score, as Dylan Holloway blasted a one-timer past Kevin Lankinen to make it 3-1. 
Nils Höglander took a high sticking double-minor to give the Blues a prime opportunity to come back in this one. Instead, Pius Suter ripped one five-hole after a nice play by Tyler Myers at the Vancouver line to stop the St. Louis zone entry attempt.
4-1 Canucks. 
The Blues tried to forge a comeback in the third, and managed to score just under five minutes into the final frame to chip into the lead. 4-2. 
The Blues pulled their goalie with over four minutes to go, and Conor Garland nearly picked up the hat trick. Instead, it was Myers who put the icing on the cake.
5-2 final.
Some more takeaways from tonight:
-Quinn Hughes becomes the first Canucks defenceman in franchise history to tally 100 multi-point games. Can’t say enough good things about him. Nice for his teammates to show up with him tonight.
-Liked what I saw from DPetey again tonight.
-Tyler Myers was a welcome addition to the lineup tonight. Nice to see Elias Pettersson (D) get another chance instead of sticking with Vinny Desharnais. Myers was great.
-Season-high seven shots on goal for Elias Pettersson (F) tonight. Liked what I saw from both him and Miller tonight. Both guys going is the Canucks’ only chance at doing anything this season. Obviously both players have more to give than what we’ve seen from them this season.
-Good to see the Canucks chase Binnington out tonight.
-Really, the Calgary Flames are the main team to worry about when it comes to the Canucks’ chances of making the playoffs, but the Blues are the other closest team to that conversation. Make no mistake. This was an important game.
-We’re getting into the time of year when teams like the Canucks have the “must-win” label placed on them.
-The Canucks have struggled to score as of late, in case you hadn’t heard. There’s been plenty of discussion right now about the lack of scoring the Canucks have gotten from players not named Quinn Hughes. Tonight, the Canucks got points from Lankinen, Hughes, Myers, DeBrusk, Miller, Pettersson, Boeser, Suter, Myers, and Garland.
-Hard to make the case for Thatcher Demko to start the majority of games when Kevin Lankinen plays like this.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
And be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver! Jeff Paterson and Irfaan Gaffar have you covered for all of your postgame needs moments after the final horn!
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