Playing in his 600th game, Jake DeBrusk took the first penalty of the game nine minutes into the first. Anaheim’s power play is a ton of fun to watch, and is a big reason the Ducks are where they are. Anaheim didn’t score, but it was increasingly clear it was just a matter of time as the period went on.

The Ducks possessed the puck more, they were outshooting the Canucks by a significant margin, and for most of the first, the home team was chasing the play. And that was a bit sad, given that the Ducks were missing some key contributors.

The Canucks had a good chance to score against the run of the play when they got a late power play. The Canucks went with a PP1 look of:
DeBrusk
EP40-Karlsson-Lekkerimäki
Hronek

DeBrusk had one good chance to score in close, but it was the second unit that said enough was enough and started to actually funnel pucks towards the net at a high volume. Neither unit scored, but they did make it easier to forget how abysmal their start to this game was.

The Canucks got another power play chance with 2:01 left in the first, but once again failed to score. A brutal start to the first, but an okay finish thanks to some power plays. Tied at 0-0 after 20.

Nikita Tolopilo took a bump in the final minutes of the opening frame, and it looked like Kevin Lankinen was getting ready to enter the game had there been a whistle. Lankinen came in to start the second, but Tolopilo came back in just over two minutes into the period.

The second period began with two great Canucks chances. The first came after a beautiful cross-ice backhand feed from Linus Karlsson, but Filip Chytil ripped his shot high and over the net. The second was from Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who also missed the target.

Tyler Myers took a penalty and gave the Ducks power play another chance to work. Thankfully, the Carlsson, McTavish, and Terry-less Ducks power play didn’t pose quite as much of a threat as they normally would with those players in their lineup. Nikita Tolopilo still had to be sharp, however, and made some nice saves to keep this game scoreless.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki had a wonderful sequence where he transitioned the puck out of the Canucks’ end after a solid defensive play, found a streaking Tom Willander in the Anaheim end, and when the puck went wide and Anaheim tried to break back the other way, Lekkerimäki was back covering for Willander on defence and calmly got the puck back for the Canucks.

Evander Kane had two great chances shortly after this, and so did David Kampf. The Canucks’ second period was much better than the first from a process standpoint.

Through two periods, both goaltenders were standing on their heads. Who would blink first?

Through two periods, the Kane-Pettersson-Garland trio was by far the Canucks’ best line, which is why it probably shouldn’t be much of a surprise that it was more time in the offensive zone that led to Pettersson drawing a penalty and sending the Canucks back to the power play with a good chance to open the scoring in this game.

The Ducks were playing Lekkerimäki tight, and were quite clearly trying to take away the one-time option from the youngster. Despite that, the Canucks’ power play once again looked good and got some chances, but once again, they did not score.

With just under 10 minutes remaining, the deadlock was finally broken as Drew O’Connor banged home a one-timer after a feed from Jake DeBrusk:

That’s O’Connor’s 13th goal of the year. But more importantly, it was the first goal of this game.

With just over two minutes remaining, the Ducks pulled their goaltender and sent out the extra attacker. The Canucks defended with a ton of effort, with players diving in front of shots and keeping Anaheim to the outside. However, Conor Garland took an undisciplined slashing penalty with 45 seconds left, making this one more interesting…

Thankfully for him, Teddy Blueger scored an empty net goal

Some takeaways from this game:
-Love to see DPetey throwing his weight around at the end of this one. Been a tough season for him, but the same can really be said for every Canucks defenceman (except Filip Hronek, of course).
-David Kampf has looked good. If I’m an opposing NHL GM, I’m looking to give up at least a third round pick to add that guy to my team. Same with Teddy Blueger.
-Wonder if the Canucks might be able to sell high on Drew O’Connor… 
-Great start for Nikita Tolopilo. He’s shown plenty of promising signs during his starts, but he’s often been hung out to dry and has given up some bad goals as well. This was a good game for him, and it’s a shame it doesn’t go down as his first career shutout.
-Some great looks for Evander Kane tonight. Another guy a playoff team should absolutely want on their team!
-Teddy Blueger has four goals in his last seven games. Artemi Panarin? Three goals in his last TEN. Blueger is also four years younger. You tell me which player is worth giving up a first round pick at the deadline for.

What’s your instant reaction to this game? Let us know in the comments section below!