A win and the Abbotsford Canucks take a commanding 2-0 series lead in a quick best-of-five scenario.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;
So far, things were looking good as it had been a dream run for the Canucks up to this point.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
The Canucks shut out the Colorado Eagles in Game 1, a feat no team had accomplished at any point in the 2024-25 campaign.
With a chip on their shoulder, the away team came out of the gate pressing and got themselves up early with a quick and perhaps soft goal on Arturs Silvos.
From there, they never looked back. The Eagles scored five goals against the home team to even the series at one game apiece.
Although the Canucks made a late push to keep things interesting, they ulteimly spent the majority of the game playing catch-up.
With a 5-3 defeat, the Canucks now head to Colorado for the remainder of the series, which has now dwindled to a best-of-three mini-series.
Let&#8217;s check in on the action.
<blockquote>Starting lineup</blockquote>
Why change what works? The Abbotsford Canucks ran the same lines as Game 1.
Bains – Sasson – Lekkerimäki 
Di Giuseppe – Mueller – Karlsson 
Blais – Khaira – Smith 
Nielsen – Wouters – Kambeitz
Brisebois – Mancini 
Hirose – Woo 
Kudryavtsev – McWard
Silovs
<blockquote>First period: Slow start, ideal finish</blockquote>
It was a dream start for the away team.
After being held scoreless in Game 1 – the first time being shut out all season – the Colorado Eagles got redemption right out of the gate.
Colorado Goal – 1-0 – Jake Wise from Jacob Macdonald and John Ludvig
After a broken play, Jake Wise corralled the puck and threw it toward the net for a relatively innocent shot.
Without eyes on it, Silovs failed to track the shot, allowing it to trickle past him to break his shutout streak at roughly 138 minutes.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/cOoxVnhDn6MZ0ZEHEo/giphy.gif" />
Silovs would settle in with a few saves following the weak goal, pushing forward for a strong finish.
However, the first five minutes were relatively tilted, with Colorado enjoying the majority of in-zone pressure.
The Canucks did grab a few chances, though. None better than a terrific read and interception from Linus Karlsson. Taking the puck from the cross-ice feed, he ripped the shot high and wide, but at least gave his team their best look early on.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/J1wbhQHioYzlKdDGOw/giphy.gif" />
He was also getting in on the heavy stuff, as the Canucks were once again leading the charge in the physical game. Karlsson led the way, driving his body through the Eagles forward for a massive hit in the defensive end.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/EMPYEenyoH7UrmHtrq/giphy.gif" />
He wasn&#8217;t the only one getting in on the hits.
Moments later, on the forecheck, Sammy Blais and Chase Wouters combined for a two-for-one crunch on an Eagles defender.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/TCyrGacLZQGqalvdqA/giphy.gif" />
The offensive looks were few and far between in this one, so physicality was the primary focus.
Eventually, that hard work ground down the opponent and paid off, courtesy of the team&#8217;s sharpshooting rookie.
Abbotsford goal – 1-1 – Jonathan Lekkerimäki from Victor Mancini and Arshdeep Bains
Jonathan Lekkerimäki put a routine shot on net, leading to an offensive zone faceoff.
After Arshdeep Bains won the faceoff clean, Victor Mancini fired a shot on net, which led to a juicy rebound from Trent Miner.
Jumping on that puck was Lekkerimäki, who tossed the monkey off his back for his first career Calder Cup playoffs goal.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/RezJRR4I8iRU5ca1Gy/giphy.gif" />
The Canucks did not have much to offer in the offensive department. However, that goal sparked the club, as they grabbed the games&#8217; following string of shots and the obvious equalizer tally from Lekkerimäki.
The young rookie was right back at it, nearly linked up with Max Sasson on the next shift, thanks to a tremendous breakout from Akito Hirose and Arshdeep Bains.
Collecting the puck at the blueline was Lekkerimäki, who sent a near-perfect threaded pass toward Sasson, who was breaking toward the net.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/etxM5xYTyS37AR23C6/giphy.gif" />
He just missed the connection.
The teams ended the first 20 minutes even at one goal apiece, but the Canucks truly woke up in the second half to set up for a fun-filled second period.
Score: ABB 1, COL 1 | Shots: ABB 8, COL 6
<blockquote>Second period: Down by a pair</blockquote>
After several back-and-forth attempts, Phil Di Giuseppe was delivered a nasty hit from behind by Devante Stephens, sending PDG to the ice.
He would eventually collect himself, as the Canucks head to their first power play of the match.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/dvItUtHUjoUoFe29jS/giphy.gif" />
Nothing would come of the man&#8217;s advantage. In fact, the Canucks would take a penalty of their own just moments after their power play wrapped up.
But their penalty kill has been perfect, and it stayed that way.
24 for 24.
The Canucks didn&#8217;t allow a shot through on that kill, and it had been a solid stretch where Silovs did not see a shot.
When he did, he kept himself sharp, throwing up the blocker on Matthew Phillips off a good rush chance.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/RINOP5Po2yF1dW86hv/giphy.gif" />
With a relatively slow period, this shot represented the best chance for either team.
That includes the next shot, which probably shouldn&#8217;t have found the back of the net.
Colorado Goal – 2-1 – Wyatt Aamodt from Oskar Olausson and Matthew Phillips
Collecting the puck in the corner, Wyatt Aamodt sensed Arturs Silovs cheating ever so slightly. With that, he elected to throw the puck on net, fooling the netminder on the short side while he fell back into his own net.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/mo75NaMBVRwiwkoKPZ/giphy.gif" />
Those are two soft goals that Arturs Silovs certainly wants back.
The Eagles took the air out of the building late in the third, doubling their lead off a redirection.
Colorado Goal – 3-1 – Chris Wagner from T.J. Tynan and Bryan Yoon
With Silovs scrambling, T.J. Tynan slowed the pace before sending the puck toward the crease. With his stick in the right spot, Chris Wagner successfully deflected the puck past Silovs to give them their largest lead of the series, thus far.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/cAJesoqacqwjRGgE8f/giphy.gif" />
While they did head into the dressing room down by two goals, they would be given some life.
With the buzzer sounding, John Ludvig caught Sammy Blais with a cheap shot to the face. Shockingly, both players were handed penalties, sending the start of the third period on a 4-on-4.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/OoKW3ifWdkWSsQpLMJ/giphy.gif" />
That&#8217;s just Sammy Blais being Sammy Blais.
Score: ABB 1, COL 3 | Shots: ABB 12, COL 13
<blockquote>Third period: A late push, but not enough</blockquote>
It wasn&#8217;t the ideal start for the Canucks, with Tristen Nielsen seeing the gate for tripping just moments into the period.
While killing the penalty wasn&#8217;t necessarily the worry, it took up a good chunk of the time that could have been spent catching up.
As expected, they killed the clock successfully, extending their PK to a perfect 25-for-25.
But the Eagles tripled their lead just seconds later.
Colorado goal – 4-1 – Ivan Ivan from Bryan Yoon
Sticking with the pressure from their power play, Ivan Ivan collected the puck on the half wall and delivered a seeing-eye shot past Silovs.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/dn10ImlrzCPt1zMWqC/giphy.gif" />
Suddenly, they the Canucks were down 4-1 front of a sold-out Abbotsford Centre.
The Canucks continued to shoot themselves in the foot, taking another penalty midway through the frame.
Again, it was unfortunate more so because of time constraints. They killed the penalty successfully to make it 26 straight.
And as the Canucks continue to do, they continued their crawl back into the game.
Abbotsford goal – 4-2 – Chase Wouters from Akito Hirose and Sammy Blais
Following the Akito Hirose point shot, Chase Wouters pounced on the rebound to push it past Miner to cut the deficit in half.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/ZnsUuwXwqH0iAp1ctW/giphy.gif" />
Tempers blew up directly after the goal, when Sammy Blais got extremely hot after being thrown to the ice by John Ludvig. That eventually led to him throwing an opponent&#8217;s helmet and grabbing an unsportsmanlike penalty for roughly 20 minutes of penalty minutes, along with the assist — quite the shift for the veteran forward.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/u0UOpw0ipe78SQ6UK2/giphy.gif" />
Blais had been playing on the edge all playoffs, mainly for the better. Eventually, he crossed the line and paid the price.
With the goalie pulled in the final few minutes, the Eagles iced the game.
Colorado goal – 5-2 – Jayson Megna from Chris Wagner and Calle Rosén
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/f8u4FyHqWVRFuqRvDQ/giphy.gif" />
But wait, the Canucks had life.
Just after the empty net goal, the Canucks were handed a power play of their own and made it count.
Abbotsford goal – 5-3 – Linus Karlsson from Kirill Kudryavtsev and Jonathan Lekkerimäki
With time winding down, Kirill Kudryavtsev fed Linus Karlsson with the perfect feed for the one-timer.
<img decoding="async" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/GgE1SaXJKRPszi8f6r/giphy.gif" />
That was Karlsson&#8217;s first goal of the playoffs, and Lekkerimäki&#8217;s second point of the match for what was likely his best game of the playoffs so far.
Despite a late push, that was as close as they&#8217;d come. The Colorado Eagles would come alive to triple up on the home team and even the series at one game apiece.
From here, it&#8217;s a best-of-three heading to Colorado for the remainder of the series.
Final score: ABB 3, COL 5 | Final shots: ABB 30, COL 21
<blockquote>What&#8217;s next?</blockquote>
The series will take a few days off as it switches gears into a best-of-three in Colorado. Game three will be played on Wednesday, May 21. The puck drops at 6:05 p.m. PT at Blue Arena.
Sponsored by bet365
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
&nbsp;

Jonathan Lekkerimäki at the 2024 Young Stars Classic Canucks vs. Oilers

A win and the Abbotsford Canucks take a commanding 2-0 series lead in a quick best-of-five scenario.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

So far, things were looking good as it had been a dream run for the Canucks up to this point.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

The Canucks shut out the Colorado Eagles in Game 1, a feat no team had accomplished at any point in the 2024-25 campaign.

With a chip on their shoulder, the away team came out of the gate pressing and got themselves up early with a quick and perhaps soft goal on Arturs Silvos.

From there, they never looked back. The Eagles scored five goals against the home team to even the series at one game apiece.

Although the Canucks made a late push to keep things interesting, they ulteimly spent the majority of the game playing catch-up.

With a 5-3 defeat, the Canucks now head to Colorado for the remainder of the series, which has now dwindled to a best-of-three mini-series.

Let's check in on the action.
<blockquote>Starting lineup</blockquote>
Why change what works? The Abbotsford Canucks ran the same lines as Game 1.

Bains – Sasson – Lekkerimäki
Di Giuseppe – Mueller – Karlsson
Blais – Khaira – Smith
Nielsen – Wouters – Kambeitz

Brisebois – Mancini
Hirose – Woo
Kudryavtsev – McWard

Silovs
<blockquote>First period: Slow start, ideal finish</blockquote>
It was a dream start for the away team.

After being held scoreless in Game 1 – the first time being shut out all season – the Colorado Eagles got redemption right out of the gate.

Colorado Goal – 1-0 – Jake Wise from Jacob Macdonald and John Ludvig

After a broken play, Jake Wise corralled the puck and threw it toward the net for a relatively innocent shot.

Without eyes on it, Silovs failed to track the shot, allowing it to trickle past him to break his shutout streak at roughly 138 minutes.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/cOoxVnhDn6MZ0ZEHEo/giphy.gif" />

Silovs would settle in with a few saves following the weak goal, pushing forward for a strong finish.

However, the first five minutes were relatively tilted, with Colorado enjoying the majority of in-zone pressure.

The Canucks did grab a few chances, though. None better than a terrific read and interception from Linus Karlsson. Taking the puck from the cross-ice feed, he ripped the shot high and wide, but at least gave his team their best look early on.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/J1wbhQHioYzlKdDGOw/giphy.gif" />

He was also getting in on the heavy stuff, as the Canucks were once again leading the charge in the physical game. Karlsson led the way, driving his body through the Eagles forward for a massive hit in the defensive end.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/EMPYEenyoH7UrmHtrq/giphy.gif" />

He wasn't the only one getting in on the hits.

Moments later, on the forecheck, Sammy Blais and Chase Wouters combined for a two-for-one crunch on an Eagles defender.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/TCyrGacLZQGqalvdqA/giphy.gif" />

The offensive looks were few and far between in this one, so physicality was the primary focus.

Eventually, that hard work ground down the opponent and paid off, courtesy of the team's sharpshooting rookie.

Abbotsford goal – 1-1 – Jonathan Lekkerimäki from Victor Mancini and Arshdeep Bains

Jonathan Lekkerimäki put a routine shot on net, leading to an offensive zone faceoff.

After Arshdeep Bains won the faceoff clean, Victor Mancini fired a shot on net, which led to a juicy rebound from Trent Miner.

Jumping on that puck was Lekkerimäki, who tossed the monkey off his back for his first career Calder Cup playoffs goal.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/RezJRR4I8iRU5ca1Gy/giphy.gif" />

The Canucks did not have much to offer in the offensive department. However, that goal sparked the club, as they grabbed the games' following string of shots and the obvious equalizer tally from Lekkerimäki.

The young rookie was right back at it, nearly linked up with Max Sasson on the next shift, thanks to a tremendous breakout from Akito Hirose and Arshdeep Bains.

Collecting the puck at the blueline was Lekkerimäki, who sent a near-perfect threaded pass toward Sasson, who was breaking toward the net.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/etxM5xYTyS37AR23C6/giphy.gif" />

He just missed the connection.

The teams ended the first 20 minutes even at one goal apiece, but the Canucks truly woke up in the second half to set up for a fun-filled second period.

Score: ABB 1, COL 1 | Shots: ABB 8, COL 6
<blockquote>Second period: Down by a pair</blockquote>
After several back-and-forth attempts, Phil Di Giuseppe was delivered a nasty hit from behind by Devante Stephens, sending PDG to the ice.

He would eventually collect himself, as the Canucks head to their first power play of the match.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/dvItUtHUjoUoFe29jS/giphy.gif" />

Nothing would come of the man's advantage. In fact, the Canucks would take a penalty of their own just moments after their power play wrapped up.

But their penalty kill has been perfect, and it stayed that way.

24 for 24.

The Canucks didn't allow a shot through on that kill, and it had been a solid stretch where Silovs did not see a shot.

When he did, he kept himself sharp, throwing up the blocker on Matthew Phillips off a good rush chance.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/RINOP5Po2yF1dW86hv/giphy.gif" />

With a relatively slow period, this shot represented the best chance for either team.

That includes the next shot, which probably shouldn't have found the back of the net.

Colorado Goal – 2-1 – Wyatt Aamodt from Oskar Olausson and Matthew Phillips

Collecting the puck in the corner, Wyatt Aamodt sensed Arturs Silovs cheating ever so slightly. With that, he elected to throw the puck on net, fooling the netminder on the short side while he fell back into his own net.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/mo75NaMBVRwiwkoKPZ/giphy.gif" />

Those are two soft goals that Arturs Silovs certainly wants back.

The Eagles took the air out of the building late in the third, doubling their lead off a redirection.

Colorado Goal – 3-1 – Chris Wagner from T.J. Tynan and Bryan Yoon

With Silovs scrambling, T.J. Tynan slowed the pace before sending the puck toward the crease. With his stick in the right spot, Chris Wagner successfully deflected the puck past Silovs to give them their largest lead of the series, thus far.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/cAJesoqacqwjRGgE8f/giphy.gif" />

While they did head into the dressing room down by two goals, they would be given some life.

With the buzzer sounding, John Ludvig caught Sammy Blais with a cheap shot to the face. Shockingly, both players were handed penalties, sending the start of the third period on a 4-on-4.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/OoKW3ifWdkWSsQpLMJ/giphy.gif" />

That's just Sammy Blais being Sammy Blais.

Score: ABB 1, COL 3 | Shots: ABB 12, COL 13
<blockquote>Third period: A late push, but not enough</blockquote>
It wasn't the ideal start for the Canucks, with Tristen Nielsen seeing the gate for tripping just moments into the period.

While killing the penalty wasn't necessarily the worry, it took up a good chunk of the time that could have been spent catching up.

As expected, they killed the clock successfully, extending their PK to a perfect 25-for-25.

But the Eagles tripled their lead just seconds later.

Colorado goal – 4-1 – Ivan Ivan from Bryan Yoon

Sticking with the pressure from their power play, Ivan Ivan collected the puck on the half wall and delivered a seeing-eye shot past Silovs.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/dn10ImlrzCPt1zMWqC/giphy.gif" />

Suddenly, they the Canucks were down 4-1 front of a sold-out Abbotsford Centre.

The Canucks continued to shoot themselves in the foot, taking another penalty midway through the frame.

Again, it was unfortunate more so because of time constraints. They killed the penalty successfully to make it 26 straight.

And as the Canucks continue to do, they continued their crawl back into the game.

Abbotsford goal – 4-2 – Chase Wouters from Akito Hirose and Sammy Blais

Following the Akito Hirose point shot, Chase Wouters pounced on the rebound to push it past Miner to cut the deficit in half.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/ZnsUuwXwqH0iAp1ctW/giphy.gif" />

Tempers blew up directly after the goal, when Sammy Blais got extremely hot after being thrown to the ice by John Ludvig. That eventually led to him throwing an opponent's helmet and grabbing an unsportsmanlike penalty for roughly 20 minutes of penalty minutes, along with the assist — quite the shift for the veteran forward.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/u0UOpw0ipe78SQ6UK2/giphy.gif" />

Blais had been playing on the edge all playoffs, mainly for the better. Eventually, he crossed the line and paid the price.

With the goalie pulled in the final few minutes, the Eagles iced the game.

Colorado goal – 5-2 – Jayson Megna from Chris Wagner and Calle Rosén

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/f8u4FyHqWVRFuqRvDQ/giphy.gif" />

But wait, the Canucks had life.

Just after the empty net goal, the Canucks were handed a power play of their own and made it count.

Abbotsford goal – 5-3 – Linus Karlsson from Kirill Kudryavtsev and Jonathan Lekkerimäki

With time winding down, Kirill Kudryavtsev fed Linus Karlsson with the perfect feed for the one-timer.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/GgE1SaXJKRPszi8f6r/giphy.gif" />

That was Karlsson's first goal of the playoffs, and Lekkerimäki's second point of the match for what was likely his best game of the playoffs so far.

Despite a late push, that was as close as they'd come. The Colorado Eagles would come alive to triple up on the home team and even the series at one game apiece.

From here, it's a best-of-three heading to Colorado for the remainder of the series.

Final score: ABB 3, COL 5 | Final shots: ABB 30, COL 21
<blockquote>What's next?</blockquote>
The series will take a few days off as it switches gears into a best-of-three in Colorado. Game three will be played on Wednesday, May 21. The puck drops at 6:05 p.m. PT at Blue Arena.

Sponsored by bet365
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
&nbsp;

The Farmies: Jonathan Lekkerimäki scores first AHL playoff goal in 5-3 Game 2 defeat

Recent articles from Dave Hall

Breaking News