After the Abbotsford Canucks managed to fend off most of the Texas Stars’ top guns for two games, the sharpshooters were hungry for revenge in Game 3.

Back in the muggy atmosphere of Cedar Park, Texas, the home team came out firing, erupting for five goals—four on special teams—to overwhelm goaltender Arturs Silovs and hand the Canucks their first loss of the series.

And finally, it was the big names who delivered, with Matěj Blümel, Justin Hryckowian, and Kole Lind combining for four points and 16 shots to fuel a 5-2 smack.

A wild, five-goal first period set the tone, and though the Canucks trailed by just one after 20 minutes, their play fizzled as Texas fed off the home crowd. Credit goes to Remi Poirier, the Stars’ netminder, for his efforts but Abby just never seemed to collect their A-game throughout this match.

Of course, for the only team still standing after four gruelling rounds of playoff hockey, an off night felt inevitable at some point.

But the Canucks are no strangers to adversity.

With Game 4 looming Wednesday night, you can expect the Canucks respond as they have for months: regroup, refocus, and come out swinging to reclaim their series edge.

After seeing just a few shifts back from injury, Aatu Räty left Game 2 midway through the first period and never returned. As expected, he was absent for Game 3 with no update on his status.

Drawing back in the lineup is Ty Glover, who slotted back into his usual spot on the fourth line. The only change in the line combinations came on that very same fourth line, where Jujhar Khaira and Chase Wouters swapped roles.

And of course, Arturs Silovs, fresh off his fifth shutout of the Calder Cup Playoffs, grabbed his 15th consecutive start to lead the team out of the dressing room.

Game 2 wrapped up with a spirited Saturday night line brawl, with emotions running high.

Well, this game picked up right where things were left, with skirmishes taking place within seconds of the game’s initial puck drop.

Moving onto offensive looks, the night’s first good chance came courtesy of the away team, following a good up-ice transition.

Gaining entry was Juhjar Khaira, who dropped the puck to Tristen Nielsen before finding a locked and loaded Sammy Blais.

The Stars’ netminder, Remi Poirier, slid over to soak in the one-timer to signal the game’s first save.

Did we mention that the physicality was dialled in? With several hits in the period, none were bigger than the one dealt to Max Sasson.

In addition to the first shot, it was the Canucks who grabbed the game’s first powerplay.

But not before Arturs Silovs left his mark on the early stages of the game, stretching out to make one of his acrobatic stretch saves that we have grown accustomed to within this playoff push.

With things still tied, the Canucks special teams went to work. And they made it count.

On said man advantage, Arshdeep Bains and Christian Wolanin played hot potato on the blueline, before Wolanin backed off to the trigger spot.

Receiving the give-and-go, he rifled the one timer to the far side top corner, beating Poirier clean for his second goal of the series.

Unfortunately, that momentum was short-lived as the Canucks took a penalty of their own almost immediately following their opening tally.

Silovs was dialled in from the onset, and bailed his team out of several strong looks. None more impressive than sliding over to absolutely rob Matěj Blümel blind with his stretched-out glove.

But with Texas pressing hard for most of the stretch, he could only withstand so much pressure.

With a good individual effort, former Canuck Kole Lind recouped the drop pass off his skate, curled around and delivered a perfectly placed wrist shot past the netminder for his second of the series.

Of course, that goal came on the powerplay, which puts an end to an incredible run of PKs stretched throughout their run.

With that goal, they were a measly 39/41 for the postseason.

We joke, of course.

Texas ran with that emotion, grabbing several chances to take a 15-3 shot advantage.

But Silovs wasn’t backing down, making several more athletic saves to fend off the Stars’ push.

But again, he could only do so much.

After another penalty, Texas’s power play went to work and grabbed its second PP marker of the game. Incredibly, this was the first time the Canucks had allowed more than one powerplay goal all postseason.

If you’ve tuned in Rinkwide for our post game show, we’ve often talked about how the Canucks had dodged bullets with a few of the Stars’ top shooters lack of production.

Perhaps we threw the jinx at them because they were out for blood in Game 3.

And just moments after the Blümel powerplay goal, he doubled up for his second of the game…

This time on the penalty kill.

With four of Abbotsford’s powerplay unit in deep, they got caught up in the clearing attempt, which sent two Stars on a shorthanded odd-man rush.

Arttu Hyry, who hails from the same hometown as Aatu Räty (Oulu, Finland), delivered the cross-ice dish to Blümel, who scored from the identical spot as his first to double their lead.

Blümel led the entire American League in regular-season goals with 39, so it was just a matter of time before he announced himself to this series.

The scoring wasn’t done there, though. This game was making up for the 1-0 result on Saturday, unloading a flood of goals for the opening period.

And on that same powerplay, the Canucks got things back within one.

Working things around the perimeter, Bains delivered the shot from the top of the circles, which happened to redirect off of Linus Karlsson, who had planted himself in the blue paint.

It was a wild ride for an opening period, marked by undisciplined calls and even worse penalty killing on both ends.

Although the Stars enjoyed an incredible shot advantage, the game was still dead tight, with the chance for either team to pull ahead in the middle frame.

But the big challenge ahead? Slow down, Matěj Blümel, who burst out of the gate with two goals on six shots.

The middle frames’ initial five minutes saw both teams exchanging chances, none of which were considered relatively high danger.

The best chance came via Kole Lind, after Antonio Stranges danced his way through the zone, using that excessive edgework, before threading the backhand pass to Lind.

Silovs was up to the task, flashing up the blocker to steer the puck aside.

We mentioned that Blümel was on hat-trick watch, yeah? Well, he was dead set on delivering, making a push for a breakaway attempt.

Stripping Wolanin at the blueline, he fought between two defenders to break through up the ice. Luckily, Victor Mancini, with help from Wolanin pressure, was having none of it.

The Stars would find a double-up, though.

With a broken Arshdeep Bains stick, the Stars turned the puck over and built up from their own zone.

Squeezing up the guts and past the Canucks back line, Jack Becker took the pass before fanning on his original shot.

That worked out, however, as the puck popped out directly to Stranges, who deposited the easy goal to double his team’s lead.

The Canucks continued to be exposed, while the Stars racked up several more opportunities.

Second periods have typically been a strong suit for this Canucks team during this Calder Cup run. But this one fell short, with little pushback for the pressing Stars.

After a snoozy second, the Canucks needed some life. Anything, really.

And Max Sasson was looking to provide that spark, using his legs to break through for a chance.

Thanks to some pressure from Jonathan Lekkerimäki on the defensive half wall, the Stars forward threw the puck toward the centre.

Waiting and ready was Sasson, who turned on the afterburners and sprang ahead to beat the defence.

Unfortunately, he could not break through for the clear break, but drew a hooking call as he was manhandled from behind.

While they weren’t able to capitalize on their first opportunity, the Canucks did enjoy back to back powerplay chances.

But it didn’t matter; the Stars tripled their lead by scoring their second shorthanded goal of the game.

Who had that on their bingo card?

Off the defensive face-off win, Karow leisurely galavanted his way up the ice to gain entry to the Abby zone.

Despite losing the puck initially, Linus Karlsson tossed a pizza right up the gut and directly to Hyry, who gave it back to Karow.

Dodging the Tristen Nielsen check, he cut back to fire a wicket shot to the top corner above Silovs’ shoulder.

From start to finish, they don’t get much uglier than that, folks.

That goal summed up the game well for the Canucks, who just didn’t have their stuff in Game 3. Even when they could muster up a hair of offence, Poirier was up to the task – but that offence did not come often.

The Stars came out strong and never let up, taking advantage of the home crowd to take their first victory of the Western Conference Finals.

Sometimes, you have to give credit where credit is due. Fueled by anger from a late disallowed goal in Game 2, the Texas Stars, especially their top players, came out with something to prove. And prove it they did.

While the Canucks held on through 20 minutes, the game never truly felt in reach for the visiting team. And as mentioned at the top, a game like that was somewhat expected. They aren’t all going to be perfect.

Bright spots were Linus Karlsson, who led the team with five shots and another AHL-leading goal and assist to continue his terrific postseason. Meanwhile, with two more assists, Arshdeep Bains continues to rack up helpers with 11 in the postseason.

Between the pipes, Arturs Silovs ate five goals. Yet, with 31 saves, he played much stronger than his statistics may indicate. He made several acrobatic saves and certainly held them in the game, if they ever were in the first place.

With a 2-1 series, Game 4 comes on Wednesday, June 4th, with another 5:00 pm (PT) puck drop at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas.