In a rare midweek doubleheader, the Abbotsford Canucks had the 30th-placed San Diego Gulls on tap.

Not only did they carry the edge as favourites tonight, but history was well on their side, with a 14-4-0-2 all-time record against the Gulls heading in.

The home team iced a stacked roster due to the NHL’s 4 Nation Face-Off hiatus, which made the pendulum swing even further to their side.

While the Canucks did squeeze out a 3-2 victory, it wasn’t as convincing as they had hoped. They trailed on two separate occasions, and it took a mid-third-period goal to break through for the game-winning goal.

But, as they say, a win is a win, and for a team jockeying for a spot in the top four in the Pacific Division, they’ll take what they can get.

Let’s check in to see how things played out.

Aman – Sasson – Karlsson
Bains – Räty – Lekkerimäki
Blais – Mueller – Di Giuseppe
Nielsen – Stevens – Wouters

Pettersson – Mancini
Wolanin – Woo
Kudryavtsev – McWard

Silovs

The roster was the strongest we’ve seen all season, with most of the Canucks’ heavy-lifting youngsters present.

In fact, each player occupying the top two forward lines has seen NHL action this season.

Fans were also blessed with their first glimpse of one of the organization’s newest toys, Victor Mancini, who had yet to debut at either level.

He formed a pairing with the mighty Elias Pettersson, who was reassigned due to the break.

Arturs Silovs, who sported a 5-1-0 record over his last six games heading in, got the nod in net.

The top pair of Pettersson and Mancini, or as we’ve coined them, the “Pettercini” pair, kicked off the game. This gave CanucksNation its first look at its newest member. He’s number 90 in your lucky number program.

He won over the hearts early, providing a hit and a solid box out at the netfront.

Seconds later, however, the game got going with a very early power play on the home team, with Elias Pettersson getting caught reaching with a hook.

Luckily, the Gulls’ power play lacks much firepower, and the Canucks gained early momentum with the kill. They allowed just one shot on Silovs.

The home team did look shaky out of the gate, giving up several giveaways early. None were more dangerous than Max Sasson gifting Sam Colangelo with the perfect pass in the slot.

He owes Arturs Silovs a coffee after that one.

But immediately after, Jonathan Lekkerimäki was sprung on the rush thanks to a tremendous stretch pass by Christian Wolanin.

He was held up, and in less than five minutes, the game saw its second power play of the night.

The Canucks failed to open the scoring, but just as the time expired, the game’s best chance came courtesy of a wild bounce.

Following the Canuck dump-in, the puck took a wild bounce off the boards, sliding directly to captain Chase Wouters. Wouters had the yawning cage with Calle Clang well out of his crease.

Heroically, the netminder slid over as if on a treadmill to get the glove on it. The save came at a cost, though. Clang remained on the ice in clear discomfort and was forced to leave the game early due to an apparent leg issue.

Enter Oscar Dansk.

Victor Mancini and Elias Pettersson were showcasing some early chemistry, and Mancini nearly had his first solid look with a Canucks’ sweater on.

No, he wouldn’t get credit for a shot on net, but we loved the switch he and Pettersson made to get the solid offensive look.

The period saw 14 shots, with the home team carrying the 9-5 advantage.

And how about this breakout?

Right off the opening faceoff, Mancini made a few nifty plays in the offensive zone, showing off his hands.

But, as the play turned over down the ice, we saw the opposite side of the coin as he and the Canucks suffered a defensive breakdown.

Mancini drifted out of position as the play progressed to force the hit. In doing so, he left a Gull open behind the defence to drive toward the net and collect the rebound to slide it behind the downed Silovs.

Just seconds into the middle frame, the Gulls drew first blood.

But the Canucks wouldn’t trail for long. Mancini was again in on the play, providing the stretch pass for Jett Woo. He tapped the puck to Nils Aman, who sent the one-handed touch pass through to Linus Karlsson.

Using a shimmy shake, Karlsson froze Dansk and elected for the wrap-around. He managed to bank the puck off a Gull defender to even the score just seconds after the Gulls had opened the game up.

Later in the period, Silovs let in a soft one. Former Canuck Justin Bailey provided a nice rush, gaining entry before the puck found its way to Sam Colangelo on the half boards.

Sensing Silovs cheating off the post, the rookie skaters fired the shot to the short side, beating the Canucks’ goalie clean to regain their lead.

But, just like the first time, the Canucks wasted no time in their response.

This time, the red-hot Arshdeep Bains highlighted the night. Receiving the quick one-touch pass from Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Bains cut in and outwaited the entire Gulls team before sending the perfect backdoor dish to Aatu Räty at the doorstep.

That’s points in five straight games for the Surrey native, with eight points in that stretch.

After a scoreless opening period, four goals were split both ways, and the teams remained in a stalemate through 40 minutes.

We didn’t have to wait long for some action for the third straight period.

Carson Meyer broke in on the odd-man rush in tight before moving Silovs out of sorts. Unable to deposit the puck past an unrealizing Mancini, it spilt out to the point where Dillon Heatherington unloaded the heavy slap shot.

Somehow, the puck never found its way into the back of the net.

The Canucks saw their first look of the period shortly after, where Linus Karlsson was lurking for the rebound into the slot. Pettersson provided the weak backhand, but Karlsson couldn’t jam the puck through on the rebound.

At the other end, another Canucks defender blocked a shot, but this one stung. Battling in front of the net, Elias Pettersson took a point shot up high. He skated off gingerly and went straight For the dressing room.

Before we go any further, we’ll assure you that he did return later in the period.

Don’t worry, you can all breathe.

Victor Mancini popped up again, this time activating and breaking up the outlet pass for a tremendous takeaway. Selling shot, the newcomer leaned on his stick and sent the backdoor pass for Sammy Blais, but the puck just hopped over the stick.

But, they would eventually persevere.

Following a strong forecheck from Nils Aman and Max Sasson, the puck went up to Cole McWard, who acted quickly to send the puck toward the net.

After hitting a body on the way, Linus Karlsson jumped on the rebound from the high slot and slid through his second goal of the contest.

And finally, the Canucks carried their first lead of the game with just 10 minutes to go.

As the Canucks typically do with the lead in the third period, they shut things down nicely to close out this game.

But not before Linus Karlsson deposited the empty net goal for his first career hat-trick. Or, so we thought.

Karlsson hit the post on his hat-trick attempt with just one second remaining on the clock.

Luckily, he collected the game-winning goal to knock off the Gulls by a 3-2 nail-biter.

Victor Mancini played well in his debut. He was a dash-2 and made some poor plays that put him out of position. But he also made some sound defensive plays, skated well, and showed good hands for a big-bodied defender. Overall, it was a solid debut.

These two combatants will face off for game two on Wednesday at the Abbotsford Centre. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. PT.