Last time these two teams met, they were tied for fourth in the Pacific Division and embroiled in an all-out battle for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. One week later, a 1-1-1 run by the Canucks had them two points behind the Coyotes—with Arizona also holding a game in hand.

That made for a classic “four-point” night at Gila River Arena—and about as close to a must-win game as you can get in February.

The lineups were provided by Jeff Paterson, and they featured a number of changes for the visiting team. Thatcher Demko stepped in for the second half of a back-to-back, Adam Gaudette replaced Markus Granlund, and Alex Edler returned from the IR to take Derrick Pouliot’s place. #Canucks Twitter spent much of the pregame rejoicing.

Demko would be trying to extend his perfect NHL record to three wins in three starts. Darcy Kuemper tended the twine at the other end of the rink. 

The opening period featured some brand new line combinations from coach Travis Green—including a new top line of Nikolay Goldobin, Bo Horvat, and Brock Boeser. That line started the game, with Tanner Pearson and Josh Leivo slated to follow on Elias Pettersson’s wings.

Alex Edler hit the ice for his first shift since suffering a horrific facial injury—and he looked surprisingly good. John Garrett still felt the need to call out his messed up teeth, but other than that it was hard to tell that Edler’s grill had been smashed in just a few weeks ago.

The game’s first moment of excitement came when Jay Beagle mixed it up with Ilya Lyubushkin behind the play, resulting in coincidental penalties and two minutes of four-on-four play—though neither team made much of the opportunity.

As the period approached its halfway point, the shots were tied at three apiece—and the only real offensive chance for the Canucks had come at the behest of an all-new checking line featuring Antoine Roussel, Adam Gaudette, and Tyler Motte.

Goldobin finally gave the Canucks a chance to generate some real pressure—making a smart move behind the net that forced Brad Richardson to take a tripping penalty. Afterward, Richardson shoved Goldobin and attempted to stare him down, but Goldobin stood his ground—another piece of evidence for Tyler Shipley’s “Goldy Is Actually A Badass” theory.

The embattled Newell Brown tried a couple of revamped powerplay units out, but the new combos left a lot to be desired.

It took the Canucks a full 1:50 of powerplay time before they even took a shot on net, but that blast from Boeser sparked a handful of scoring chances. None of them went in, however, and the Coyotes were able to spring Richardson on a breakaway as he exited the box. The former Canuck made no mistake, beating Demko with a wrister on the blocker side to put Arizona up 1-0.

Deadline acquisition Tanner Pearson then picked the perfect time to make a mark on his new organization. Ryan Spooner made a brilliant three-line pass to a streaking Pearson, who mimicked Richardson with a blocker-side wrister—and Pearson got the exact same result, tying the game at one apiece.

The game didn’t stay tied for long. On the very next shift, Vinnie Hinostroza stripped Ben Hutton of the puck behind Demko’s net—and then fed a short pass to Richardson, who banged in easy goal as Demko got caught moving the wrong way. Arizona was back ahead just 44 seconds after the Canucks had tied things up. It was Richardson’s second goal of the period and his 14^th of the season, tying his career high from 12 years ago.

Gaudette was lucky to escape without an injury as Connor Garland hung out a leg and sent Gaudette airborne with a knee-on-knee. Roussel made a few threats in Garland’s general direction, but the Canucks otherwise avoided retaliating—and thus earned their second man advantage of the game.

The only significant chance for the Canucks came at the tail-end of Garland’s penalty, with Goldobin setting up Leivo for a clear shot from in close that really should have gone in. Kuemper, however, responded with a save so nice that the Gila River Arena DJ immediately played a clip of Lil Jon screaming “YEAAAH!” Or that’s what they play every time a home penalty expires. Who’s to say?

The first period ended with Vancouver leading Arizona in shots by a margin of 11-6—but with the Coyotes ahead on the scoreboard to the tune of 2-1.

Doug MacLean claiming that the Canucks started Demko tonight because of “the rebuild”—and not because Jacob Markstrom played a game that went to the sixth round of the shootout less than 24 hours prior.

Pundits and trying to incite a goaltending controversy in Vancouver. Name a more iconic duo.

The second frame got off to about as exciting of a start as the first—which is to say, not exciting in the least. Each team managed a single shot on net through the first five minutes of the period.

The action didn’t heat up until seven minutes in, when Alex Edler sprang Josh Leivo and Tanner Pearson on a two-on-one with a pitch perfect multizone pass. Leivo expertly saucered the puck over to Pearson who rocketed a shot at the open side of the cage—but Darcy Kuemper proved equal to the task again by diving across to make a scintillating save and left Pearson flabbergasted.

Brad Richardson nearly picked up his hattrick goal when he tipped a shot past Thatcher Demko—but he couldn’t beat the post. Had it gone in, it would have marked Demko’s third goal allowed with just nine shots against.

A few minutes later, it was a moot point. Vinnie Hinostroza and Richard Panik drew Demko out of position on a two-on-two and Brock Boeser failed to pick up the late guy—who was, you guessed it, Brad Richardson. Panik made a smart pass back to Richardson, who had a wide open net into which he deposited his third goal of the game—notching both his second-ever hattrick and a new career high at the age of 34.

The implications were terrible for the Canucks, but it was still hard not to cheer for Richardson—who remains popular in Vancouver and seems like he deserves this one after Nikita Tryamkin broke his femur that one time.

Luke Schenn’s solid play continued late in the second when Mario Kempe attempted to whack at a puck Demko had covered—and was met by a stiff Schenn forearm. The Canucks have struggled to clear the crease all season, and that appears to be Schenn’s primary talent.

The Coyotes received their first powerplay of the game when Ben Hutton went to the box for holding, and a minute later they turned it into a five-on-three as Antoine Roussel took a careless high-sticking penalty.

Arizona only needed 40 seconds to set Alex Galchenyuk up for a one-time blast from the halfboards that Demko didn’t have much of a chance on. It was the Coyotes’ fourth goal in 16 shots and left them with more than a minute of powerplay time remaining—though they mercifully failed to convert on it—and a 4-1 lead.

Roussel came flying out of the box and received a clean breakaway pass, but Kuemper stepped up again with a casual pad save. The puck went back up the ice and the Coyotes broke in two-on-one until Derek Stepan flubbed the chance—though it should be noted that Demko sprawled across the net and put himself in a good position to make the stop anyway.

This wholesome meme:

And of course those Dice and Ice highlights for anyone who hadn’t seen them yet—especially the Bo Horvat photobomb.

The Canucks needed to turn the momentum quickly if they hoped to comeback in the third, but less than two minutes in they found themselves shorthanded again—with Adam Gaudette in the box for a high-sticking double minor.

Before the Coyotes could set up, Troy Stecher and Derek Stepan collided awkwardly in the corner and Stepan came away with what looked—and sounded—like a brutal knee injury. For Arizona, it was one more in what has been a ridiculous string of injuries this season.

Shaken by the loss of Stepan, the Coyotes didn’t produce much in the way of chances for the rest of their extended powerplay—and they managed to give up a shorthanded breakaway to Loui Eriksson of all people, who rang it off the post.

Moments after Gaudette’s penalty expired, Antoine Roussel took a pass from Alex Biega as they entered the zone and then wired it through a double-screen and past Darcy Kuemper to cut the lead in half. With the goal, Roussel tied his career high in points with his 29^th—and the assist marked Biega’s fourth point in three games.

Roussel celebrated with his best Alex Burrows impression, trying—and failing—to break his stick over his knee.

The celebration would be short-lived. Alex Edler tripped over a couple sprawling players, resulting in an Arizona two-on-one between Vinnie Hinostroza and—you’re not gonna believe this—Brad Richardson. Hinostroza fed a pass through Biega and onto Richardson’s waiting stick blade for the tap-in goal. It was Richardon’s fourth of the night, making him the first Coyote since Keith Tkachuk in 1997 to notch a hattrick+1.

It also marked the culmination of a tough, tough night for Bo Horvat.

Richardson’s fantastic fourth made it 5-2 Coyotes—and that score would stand until the final buzzer sounded despite a late powerplay and a moderate amount of futile pressure from the Canucks.

This was the first loss of Thatcher Demko’s career, and it was a big one. However, it wasn’t one that could be laid entirely on his shoulders. Demko didn’t receive a ton of support from his  defense, and the backchecking of the forward corps was particularly sparse. Overall, the entire team came out flat in what was hyped up as a “must win”—and that can’t be considered anything but disappointing.

With the win, the Coyotes earned the metaphorical four-point game and swept the season series between the teams.

With the loss, the Canucks slipped to 12^th place in the Western Conference—and five points back of the last wildcard spot. With only 17 games remaining, time is beginning to run out for a turnaround.

This truthy tweet is about as positive a wrap-up on this game as we can provide:

To some on #Canucks Twitter, Pearson has already solidified himself as a top-line player. While the early hype will inevitably die down, Pearson did look good tonight. He notched his first as a Canuck and very nearly got his second. He also pulled down some monstrous special team minutes.

Edler returned from a near month-long absence—and the destruction of his face—to play 23:12, leading the blueline. Aside from a couple nice stretch passes, Edler’s offensive skills weren’t on heavy display tonight—but his importance to the team’s overall defensive game remains indisputable. He led the team with five blocks.

Roussel continues to produce in limited icetime. He played only 13:28 tonight—third least on the team—and still managed to put up a goal, three shots, and three hits. Roussel seems to shift momentum in the Canucks’ favour every time he touches the ice—when he’s not taking ill-timed penalties, that is.

The Canucks head to Vegas for a Sunday matinee matchup against Mark Stone and the Golden Knights. The start-time is 1:00PM PST, and it will be broadcast on Sportsnet Pacific.