With three new faces in the lineup and their captain sidelined, the Vancouver Canucks welcomed the Detroit Red Wings to Rogers Arena on Sunday night. Filip Chytil scored in his debut and Pius Suter notched another one against his former team, but it wasn’t enough to push the Canucks to a win as the Red Wings got two goals from Alex DeBrincat – including the overtime winner – to push their winning streak to six games. Despite being outshot and outplayed after Ben Chiarot gave them the 2-1 lead in the second period, DeBrincat’s 22nd and 23rd of the season were enough to push them to a 3-2 overtime win and a spot in the playoffs.
Game Recap
The Canucks opened the scoring early in the first period with Suter notching his 14th of the season. Defenceman Elias Pettersson threw the puck at the net and Suter deflected it down and past Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon. The play was reviewed for a high stick but was allowed to stand. With the assist, Pettersson earned his first point in the NHL. Shortly after that, 1:50 to be exact, the Red Wings responded with DeBrincat wristing his 22nd over the blocker of Kevin Lankinen to tie the game at one. There was no more scoring in the period and the Red Wings and Canucks went into the intermission with the score tied 1-1 and the Canucks leading on the shot clock 10-6.
In a period largely controlled by the Canucks, it was the Red Wings that left with the lead. Again, the goal was scored early on as Chiarot sifted a wrister through traffic to pot his third of the season. Zone time and chances were in favour of the Canucks the rest of the way, but the Red Wings were able to nurse a 2-1 lead into the second intermission despite being out-chanced 12-1 (6-0 high-danger).
The third period was again dominated by the Canucks and this time they were rewarded with a goal. Chytil scored his first as a Canuck at the 10:46 mark as he intercepted a pass from Chiarot, cut through the slot and wristed it past Lyon. The rest of the third produced no more offence, and the Canucks and Red Wings headed to overtime for the second time this season.
Overtime was back and forth with both teams getting chances until DeBrincat scored his second of the game with under a minute left. Taking a no-look pass from Lucas Raymond on a give-and-go, he put it into the empty net after Lankinen committed to a shot from Raymond. The goal gave the Red Wings their sixth win in a row and propelled them into the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Goalie Matchup
- Alex Lyon was solid again for the Red Wings, making 25 saves for his 10th win of the season.
- Lankinen wasn’t overly busy in this one, stopping 15 of 18 shots, but gave up the goal in overtime for his seventh overtime/shootout loss of the season. He fell to 18-8-6.
What’s Next For the Canucks & Red Wings?
The next game for both teams will be on Tuesday as the Canucks welcome in the Colorado Avalanche to wrap up their quick two-game homestand while the Red Wings head down to Seattle to face the Kraken for the end of their western road trip.
