Early on, Filip Chytil continued the trend of good things happening when he’s on the ice. For his first few shifts, his line created multiple good chances, and Chytil was right at the forefront of it all. Just under ten minutes into the game, Chytil drew the game’s first penalty when he broke into the Sharks’ zone with speed and was tripped up.

Chytil has used his speed plenty since arriving in Vancouver, and the Canucks are better because of it. The Canucks’ power play looked solid on their first chance of the night, with their best chance coming off of Filip Hronek hitting the post. The away team was all over the Sharks early in this one, but this was the first shot(s) they gave up:

Thatcher Demko picked up right where he left off early in this one.

Now, they may have started hot, but the Canucks took their foot off the gas big time later in the first. They went 13 minutes between shots, and when they had chances to shoot, they looked to pass instead.

The Canucks got another late power play to close out the first, and had over a minute to work with to open the second period.

They didn’t convert, and this is a key part of tonight’s story.

Back at 5v5, Fil Chytil and Drew O’Connor combined to create a solid chance seemingly out of nowhere simply by using their speed in the neutral zone:

Carrying the puck with speed through the neutral zone… what a concept!

Later, Conor Garland drew his 25th penalty of the season, which places him sixth in the NHL in that category on the season. The Canucks’ power play didn’t convert on their third chance of the night, but that’s not the story there. The story is that Elias Pettersson (the forward) was taken off of the first unit in place of Pius Suter.

Now, is that because Rick Tocchet thinks Pius Suter gives the Canucks a better chance of scoring with the man advantage than Elias Pettersson does? No, probably not.

It is (likely) because Pettersson, who was eager for the added pressure that was headed his way following the JT Miller trade, has just one assist in the four games he’s played in since the trade. He missed the net on a 2-on-1 sequence in overtime before the Detroit Red Wings put the Canucks away at home on Sunday. The big moments have been there, and Pettersson has come up consistently short for his team.

He’s played with the Canucks’ two best wingers in Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser. That didn’t work, so he’s got new wingers. And so far, that’s not working either. Pettersson registered three shots on goal in the Canucks’ first game without Miller, which came in Dallas on the day of the trade. That’s also the last game Pettersson registered a point in. Yes, he’s played great defence. Awesome.

At some point, you have to pick your spot as a coach to let your star player know that you need more from him, and that’s what Tocchet did tonight.

This one remained scoreless through 40 minutes of play. The bad news was that the Canucks didn’t have Conor Garland, as he exited in the second period after getting tied up with Jake Walman. The GOOD NEWS was that he came back just over five minutes into the third.

Noted Canucks fan Macklin Celebrini took a puck over glass penalty, giving the Canucks a prime chance to score the first goal of this game. This time, Elias Pettersson was out with the first unit.

And the power play was an absolute mess, with William Eklund getting the best look of any player. Just not able to set up at all. Dumping the puck in and then not doing anything after that… Then the first unit got off the ice.

Chytil aided in some controlled zone entries, then another controlled entry from Pius Suter led to Suter wristing a puck toward the net and Dakota Joshua deflecting the puck past Vitek Vanecek to open the scoring.

Also, assist for Tyler “Bobby” Myers. Write that down.

Following the goal, Thatcher Demko made one of his best saves of the night when he flashed out the left pad to deny a rebound chance and keep his team in the lead.

Thatcher Demko made a clutch save off Tyler Toffoli down the final stretch after a nice pass from Macklin Celebrini. Shortly after that, Filip Chytil was called for hooking on Celebrini, giving the Sharks a power play with just under four minutes remaining. Another great save for Demko off Toffoli.

The Sharks pulled their goalie following the power play, and it’s there that they tied this one up. After a bad turnover from Chytil in the defensive end, Canuck killer Toffoli converted to make it 1-1. 

Not to worry, the Canucks have this whole overtime thing down to a science.

Demko made a huge save off of Celebrini, and then Fil Chytil and Drew O’Connor went the other way on a 2-on-1. O’Connor was granted a penalty shot, and made good on it.

They don’t ask how.

Some more takeaways from tonight:

-Thought it was an especially poor night for Derek Forbort. Bobbling pucks, falling down, getting caught out of position, and more.
-Elias Pettersson (DPetey) loves shooting the puck.
-Elias Pettersson (F) used to love shooting the puck.
-The senior Pettersson has one goal and two secondary assists at 5v5 since Christmas.
-(Some) Canucks with more 5v5 points than Elias Pettersson since Christmas: Carson Soucy, Danton Heinen, Phil Di Giuseppe, Tyler Myers, and Nils Höglander.
-Another strong start for Thatcher Demko is certainly a good thing.
-Liked the look of DPetey and Soucy on a pairing together again.
-Quiet night for Brock Boeser. I still would not be looking to extend him right now.
-Good to see the Canucks continuing to stick up for each other when teams take liberties. Honestly was a bit stunned nobody on the Sharks even looked in Dakota Joshua’s direction after Joshua stapled Mario Ferraro into the boards.
-In other news, can confirm it’s an oblique injury ailing Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below! And be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver moments after the final horn LIVE on YouTube!