Instant Reaction: Elias Pettersson scores twice as Canucks beat Senators for first win of 2024

I could have finished writing tonight’s Instant Reaction after 20 minutes of play.

That’s where most of the action in this one came from.

Just over two and a half minutes into the game, Ian Cole scored his first goal in 90 games to open the scoring. This was a solid first shift from Elias Pettersson and his linemates, and although EP40 didn’t tip this one, he was key to creating this play by leaving the puck for Noah Juulsen to pass over to Cole.

Then, Pius Suter scored a goal that we can firmly put in the “blink and you’ll miss it” category, as he gloved a deflected puck off the glass behind the Ottawa net and promptly put it in the back of said net.

With three minutes to go in the first, the Canucks looked like they were firmly in the driver’s seat, and heading into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead is a great place to be! But then Elias Pettersson and JT Miller dared to ask, “what about a 5-0 lead?”

First, Pettersson scored his 14th of the season to make it 3-0 Canucks.

That’s two board battle wins and a solid effort on the forecheck that led to that goal, which was pretty nice in itself. Then Nikita Zadorov let go of a point shot that eventually found the back of the net and was credited to JT Miller.

Then Elias Pettersson scored perhaps the luckiest goal of his life on what may have been the slowest shot he’s scored a goal on since his days as a youth.

A few defensive breakdowns resulted in goals for Ottawa in the final 40 minutes, but there was never much doubt that the Canucks would come away with the victory. This one by a final score of 6-3.

Some instant reaction:

-The Canucks converted on their only power play attempt, which was a nice feather in their cap after spending almost all of morning skate talking about the power play.
-With career win 99, Thatcher Demko moved into a tie for fifth place in the most wins in Canucks franchise history. Next up is Dan Cloutier’s record of 109.
-A game like this right before a busy next couple of weeks is just what the doctor ordered. The Canucks managed to keep the ice time of their star players low as they put it in autopilot to hold off the Senators’ comeback attempt.

What’s your instant reaction tonight? Let us know in the comments section below!