Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
Amid Elias Pettersson trade rumours, it was the debut of Elias Pettersson! Let’s dive into this game.
The Canucks were immediately on their heels to start this game, as the Capitals got four shots on Kevin Lankinen in rapid succession.
On the first shift of his NHL career, Pettersson found himself on the ice with Quinn Hughes. Hughes made a D-to-D pass to Pettersson while under pressure, and the 20-year-old made a solid stretch pass from his own end to jumpstart play the other way. I’ve seen enough. Never take him out of this lineup.
Picking up right where he left off on Thursday night, Vinny Desharnais took the game’s first penalty, giving the Capitals the game’s first power play. The Canucks’ PKers did well to kill this one off, and we were back to even strength.
It was there that Quinn Hughes made an early mark on this game.
1-0 Canucks after a filthy backhand from the captain.
The Canucks got a power play opportunity of their own almost immediately after the Hughes goal, but struggled to get set up.
They got another chance later in the period, and this time, chose to have JT Miller and Elias Pettersson switch sides.
That one carried over to the second period, and off the hop, the Canucks nearly executed a perfect set play to catch the Caps napping and push the lead to two. Unfortunately, JT Miller couldn’t quite negotiate the puck around the sprawled Charlie Lindgren.
Fear not though! Quinn Hughes was ready to make another mark on this game.
Man, he is just so damn good. What else can you say? 2-0 Canucks. 
The second period had some decent pace to it, as both teams traded chances. The most promising thing for the Canucks was that they didn’t sit back and continued to press, even if they didn’t score a goal from it. Flowers need to be given to Kevin Lankinen as well, of course. He was stellar in this game and was a big reason the Canucks were even able to have a lead in the first place.
The Capitals started to really press as the third period went on, and eventually, Pierre-Luc Dubois got them on the board to make it 2-1. 
Washington continued to press. Huge shot block from Miller after the Caps pulled out the extra attacker.
2-1 final. Thank you Quinn. Incredible game from number 43.
Some more takeaways from tonight:
-Talk about an individual effort for Quinn Hughes. Not even sure what to say about the rest of his teammates, though.
-Kevin Lankinen was great in this game. Unfortunately, there are some serious questions in the Vancouver goal crease right now.
-I know he drew a penalty, but man I did not like what I saw from Danton Heinen tonight.
-Similarly, I’ve seen enough of Linus Karlsson. We know what he is. Let’s not keep doing this thing where we think he’s somehow a suitable linemate for Elias Pettersson. There was an instance where the Canucks hit the line with speed on a 3-on-2, but Karlsson decided to flip the puck into the corner instead.
-Another quiet night for Pettersson with his name out there in trade rumours.
-Really liked Elias Pettersson (the defenceman’s) NHL debut. Thought he made some great plays under pressure and showed about as well as you could have hoped for in game number one. I really hope this wasn’t a one and done for him with Tyler Myers coming back next game. Let the kid play until it’s clear he needs more time in the A.
-Kevin Bieksa’s comments about protecting Quinn Hughes were very interesting. Read that story by clicking here. Need more players like Bieksa in this organization. Speaking of which…
-On Friday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, I said I wanted to see more players who showed they wanted to be Canucks, instead of just saying it. Quinn Hughes certainly showed that tonight.
-This team is a Stanley Cup favourite if the NHL only played games on Saturday.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
Also, be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver moments after the final horn! Jeff Paterson and Irfaan Gaffar have you covered with all your post game needs!
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