Canucks Get Goals And Coals, Lose 5–4 In Overtime To The Kraken In First Game After Christmas

In their first game after the holiday break, the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Seattle Kraken, gifting Seattle a 5–4 overtime victory. Vancouver’s scorers were Brock Boeser (2), Conor Garland, and Jake DeBrusk. For Seattle, Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz (2), and Vince Dunn (2) tucked the puck home. Thatcher Demko manned the crease, making 24 saves on 29 shots. On the other side of the ice, Philipp Grubauer made 17 saves on 21 shots faced.

The day got off to a rough start, as it was announced before the game that Vancouver’s current top points-getters, Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, would not be playing against the Kraken. In their last game, against the San Jose Sharks, Pettersson had two goals and Hughes had two assists. Today, Erik Brännström and Max Sasson slotted in for the two missing superstars.

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The early start time and lack of game action this week was evident in both teams’ play, as shots were 2–0 Vancouver halfway through the first period. Vancouver’s last game was Monday night against the Sharks, while Seattle hadn’t played since December 22 against the Colorado Avalanche. While the on-ice play may have felt a little slow, the first frame went by quickly — only 10 faceoffs were taken in the opening period.

A hooking penalty committed by Shane Wright sent the Canucks on the power play with nearly five minutes left in the first period. This came with four seconds left on a 4-on-4 caused by matching roughing penalties on Derek Forbort and Yanni Gourde. While on the man-advantage, confusion erupted around the crease before the puck bounced past Grubauer. The goal was ultimately credited to Boeser, who scored his fourth in three straight games.

Vancouver started the second period off with an unfortunate collapse, as DeBrusk blocked a shot and broke his stick, allowing Beniers to come in and score. The puck bounced off of Demko’s glove and into the net in an unexpected and unlucky sequence.

After Seattle tied the game 1–1, Vancouver took two consecutive penalties to put themselves down a man twice in the span of five minutes. Brännström took the first penalty after being called for a hook on Wright, while Garland was sent to the box for holding on former Canucks teammate Daniel Sprong. Vancouver successfully killed off both penalties, but what came after truly started Vancouver's offensive tear. Flying out of the box, Garland received a breakout pass from Teddy Blueger. He faked Grubauer out with a look and buried it past him to put Vancouver up 2–1.

Vancouver continued to pile chance after chance on the Kraken after Garland’s goal, with opportunities coming from Sasson and Dakota Joshua only minutes after. A hooking call on Jamie Oleksiak came as a result of the pressure applied by Vancouver, sending the Canucks back onto the power play. Vancouver didn’t need a man-advantage to bring the lead up to 3–1, however, as a smooth pass by Carson Soucy found its way to Boeser, who wired the puck straight into the net.

A quick strike with some fast passing put the Canucks up 4–1 in the third period, as DeBrusk lifted the puck over Grubauer’s blocker. Only seconds later, a scramble in Seattle’s crease saw Joshua slide the puck into the net, making the game 5–1. However, due to the chaos around Grubauer, the goal was quickly taken away and reviewed. It was quickly confirmed that Joshua’s goal was not, in fact, a goal, as it was batted in.

The tide of the game changed towards the end of the third period, in which it seemed like the Canucks took their foot off the gas. Seattle added one more tally from Schwartz 15:15 into the third period, making the game 4–2. The Kraken emptied their net with three minutes left in the third, making one last push to put the game back in their hands. After a series of shots in the direction of the empty net, Noah Juulsen passed the puck up-ice to a waiting Dunn. The Seattle defender cashed it in, narrowing the goal margin by one. A solo effort by Schwartz tied the game 4–4. Within a span of five minutes, Vancouver’s 4–1 lead evaporated.

What was once a 4–1 Vancouver lead eventually turned into a 5–4 victory for the Kraken, as the game was “Dunn” after the Seattle defender scored the game-winner in overtime. Despite the unfortunate result, two players had notably impressive efforts. Soucy tallied two points in Vancouver’s afternoon effort. He played 16:13 and had 25 shifts with an average of 38 seconds each. Boeser led the charge on offence today, scoring his fourth and fifth goal in the past three games. Now, fans will have to wait and see whether Hughes and Pettersson will be back for their next game.

Facts and Stats

- Brock Boeser’s 407th career point ties him with Don Lever for 14th in franchise history

- With his 31st multi-goal game, Brock Boeser passes Elias Pettersson for sixth in Canucks history

- J.T. Miller ties Elias Pettersson in multi-point games in franchise history with 117

- Jake DeBrusk skates in his 500th career NHL game

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

16:03 - VAN: Brock Boeser (12) from Jake DeBrusk and J.T. Miller (PPG)

2nd Period:

1:18 - SEA: Matty Beniers (5) from Jamie Oleksiak

8:36 - VAN: Conor Garland (9) from Teddy Blueger and Carson Soucy

15:14 - VAN: Brock Boeser (13) from Carson Soucy and Danton Heinen

3rd Period:

3:09 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (16) from J.T. Miller and Derek Forbort

15:15 - SEA: Jaden Schwartz (10) from Vince Dunn and Daniel Sprong

18:47 - SEA: Vince Dunn (6)

19:10 - SEA: Jaden Schwartz (11) from Oliver Bjorkstrand

Overtime:

2:15 - SEA: Vince Dunn (7)

Up Next:

Vancouver’s next game will be their last of 2024, as they take on the Calgary Flames on December 31. This will be the third meeting between the Canucks and the Flames this season, with the season series currently split at 1–1. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 pm PT.