If you were looking for a statement win from the Vancouver Canucks to prove they&#8217;d shaken off their early season rust, you got exactly what you ordered on Saturday night.
Nils Höglander, Brock Boeser and Kiefer Sherwood provided all the offence needed, and Kevin Lankinen earned his first shutout with a 26 save performance as the Canucks spoiled the Flyers&#8217; home opener with a 3-0 victory. The Canucks have suddenly turned a shaky 0-1-2 start into a much more confident 2-1-2 record, and they&#8217;ve done it with improved play and intensity at both ends of the ice (as well as a few timely saves).
The Canucks received a scare right off the opening faceoff when J.T. Miller came up wincing off the draw and went right back down the tunnel nine seconds into the game. Miller did end up returning to the game, but it&#8217;s probably not a coincidence that Brock Boeser took the majority of their line&#8217;s faceoffs for the rest of the evening.
Much to the Canucks&#8217; benefit, the Flyers came out completely flat footed to open the game and Vancouver was able to dictate the pace of the play for the majority of the opening 20 minutes. With a 15-7 shot advantage, that only served to give Conor Garland, Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander the time and space to create a gorgeous passing play that wound up in the back of the Flyers net.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Ohhhh baby let Högs-Petey-Garland cook, what a passing play<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://t.co/iNIXvYKNud">pic.twitter.com/iNIXvYKNud</a>
&mdash; Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) <a href="https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847787278850281758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
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But if the first period was where the Canucks set the tempo, it was the second where they left the Flyers in the dust. Nearing the midway point of the middle frame, Jake DeBrusk put a centering pass right on the stick of Tyler Myers crashing the net. Myers, with all the wisdom of a player that&#8217;s made it through 1000 NHL games, put a backhand pass to a wide open Brock Boeser who tucked it behind Sam Ersson for the 2-0 lead.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Tyler Myers proving once again 1000 games in that he should be a forward with that back pass to Boeser for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> 2-0 lead. <a href="https://t.co/wdyg7zvzeN">pic.twitter.com/wdyg7zvzeN</a>
&mdash; Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) <a href="https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847799049019412517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Then a minute after the Boeser tally, Teddy Blueger won a clean faceoff to Kiefer Sherwood, who caught Ersson napping with a quick shot under the goalie&#8217;s blocker.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Kiefer Sherwood completely caught Sam Ersson asleep at the wheel, and the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> are suddenly up 3-0 <a href="https://t.co/efaNEZaCD8">pic.twitter.com/efaNEZaCD8</a>
&mdash; Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) <a href="https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847799712373755968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Canucks&#8217; first 40 minutes was among some of the best hockey the team has played in this short season, pouncing on Philly mistakes and not making too many of their own. But on the offchance that they did experience a defensive breakdown, Kevin Lankinen was there to bail them out with some exceptional positioning and well timed saves. The Flyers attempted to take advantage of Lankinen&#8217;s aggressive play, throwing long shots off the boards looking for a bounce out front. But it wasn&#8217;t enough to help them today, and neither were the numerous posts Lankinen forced Flyers shooters to hit.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
You can tell how well Kevin Lankinen is squaring up to the puck in this game by how many times the Flyers have hit the post. It doesn&#39;t count as a shot on goal for a reason! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://t.co/QMUlAXgAsL">pic.twitter.com/QMUlAXgAsL</a>
&mdash; Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) <a href="https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847804480416600409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
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In the third period the Canucks lost a little bit of their urgency, allowing the Flyers to claw back some momentum in the first ten minutes. But unlike evening&#8217;s past when that might&#8217;ve turned into a bigger issue, the Canucks locked back in and regained control in the late stages. The final few minutes of the game merely gave the Flyers&#8217; faithful a chance to boo as the Canucks preserved their two points and Lankinen&#8217;s shutout.
The Canucks will have a chance to close out their road trip with a third straight win on Tuesday in Chicago, when they face Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks. Stay tuned for The Stanchies from Wyatt tonight and the Statsies from Michael tomorrow morning!

If you were looking for a statement win from the Vancouver Canucks to prove they'd shaken off their early season rust, you got exactly what you ordered on Saturday night.

Nils Höglander, Brock Boeser and Kiefer Sherwood provided all the offence needed, and Kevin Lankinen earned his first shutout with a 26 save performance as the Canucks spoiled the Flyers' home opener with a 3-0 victory. The Canucks have suddenly turned a shaky 0-1-2 start into a much more confident 2-1-2 record, and they've done it with improved play and intensity at both ends of the ice (as well as a few timely saves).

The Canucks received a scare right off the opening faceoff when J.T. Miller came up wincing off the draw and went right back down the tunnel nine seconds into the game. Miller did end up returning to the game, but it's probably not a coincidence that Brock Boeser took the majority of their line's faceoffs for the rest of the evening.

Much to the Canucks' benefit, the Flyers came out completely flat footed to open the game and Vancouver was able to dictate the pace of the play for the majority of the opening 20 minutes. With a 15-7 shot advantage, that only served to give Conor Garland, Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander the time and space to create a gorgeous passing play that wound up in the back of the Flyers net.

https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847787278850281758

But if the first period was where the Canucks set the tempo, it was the second where they left the Flyers in the dust. Nearing the midway point of the middle frame, Jake DeBrusk put a centering pass right on the stick of Tyler Myers crashing the net. Myers, with all the wisdom of a player that's made it through 1000 NHL games, put a backhand pass to a wide open Brock Boeser who tucked it behind Sam Ersson for the 2-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847799049019412517

Then a minute after the Boeser tally, Teddy Blueger won a clean faceoff to Kiefer Sherwood, who caught Ersson napping with a quick shot under the goalie's blocker.

https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847799712373755968

The Canucks' first 40 minutes was among some of the best hockey the team has played in this short season, pouncing on Philly mistakes and not making too many of their own. But on the offchance that they did experience a defensive breakdown, Kevin Lankinen was there to bail them out with some exceptional positioning and well timed saves. The Flyers attempted to take advantage of Lankinen's aggressive play, throwing long shots off the boards looking for a bounce out front. But it wasn't enough to help them today, and neither were the numerous posts Lankinen forced Flyers shooters to hit.

https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1847804480416600409

In the third period the Canucks lost a little bit of their urgency, allowing the Flyers to claw back some momentum in the first ten minutes. But unlike evening's past when that might've turned into a bigger issue, the Canucks locked back in and regained control in the late stages. The final few minutes of the game merely gave the Flyers' faithful a chance to boo as the Canucks preserved their two points and Lankinen's shutout.

The Canucks will have a chance to close out their road trip with a third straight win on Tuesday in Chicago, when they face Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks. Stay tuned for The Stanchies from Wyatt tonight and the Statsies from Michael tomorrow morning!

Instant Reaction: Kevin Lankinen shuts out the Flyers in Canucks’ dominant 3-0 win

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