Instant Reaction: JT Miller snaps scoring drought and Bo Horvat pots two to lift Canucks over Oilers

24 hours after the best game of Elias Pettersson’s career and the greatest individual performance by a Canuck in recent memory, the Canucks got the job done in Edmonton despite Pettersson picking up just two assists.

In all seriousness, the Canucks turned in one of their better efforts this season against a middle-of-the-pack but always-dangerous Oilers squad, and were rewarded with a 5-2 win.

Collin Delia did everything and more that could have been asked of the Canucks’ third-string goaltender, making 31 saves on 33 shots.

After giving up two unanswered goals in the first 20 minutes of play, it looked like the Canucks were potentially in for a long night. But JT Miller scored two in the second frame to help the Canucks storm back and tie this one up heading into the third.

In the process, Miller ended his mini-scoring slump, as these were the first two goals he’s scored in his past 11 games. These were Miller’s first two goals of the month of December.

Tied up in the third, the man we like to call Bogilny scored his 23rd of the season with a nifty little move to corraled a puck that bounced off the end boards to deposit the puck home and give his team the lead with less than ten minutes to go. Roughly five minutes later, Ilya Mikheyev added an insurance marker to give the Canucks a 4-2 lead with not much time left.

You knew the Oilers would come out firing with their net empty, but it was Bogilny again — this time off an unselfish feed from Pettersson — who skated home his 24th of the season to end this one by a final score of 5-2. You’re going to see plenty of GIFS this goal and so many others in The Stanchies tonight, but that’s not what this article’s purpose is.

This article is meant to deliver our instant reaction to the game, and ask you to do the same.

Tonight, let’s take it in a slightly different direction. We’re going to give you our instant reaction in five words or less, and ask you to do the same.

Here’s ours:

You don’t have to explain yours if you don’t want to, but the simple explanation of ours is that this team looked absolutely lifeless without Elias Pettersson in the lineup, and with him in the lineup on Thursday night, the guys around him didn’t look that great.

But tonight? Tonight the Canucks’ best players got the job done collectively instead of relying on one Swedish superstar.

Don’t forget to hit us with your instant reaction to this game in the comments section below!

And with that, the Canucks — and us — enter the Christmas break! Merry Christmas to you and yours!