In the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-kiefer-sherwood-elias-pettersson-score-vancouver-canucks-win-minnesota-wild">moment</a>, it was glorious. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanchies-vintage-pettersson-blasts-opening-goal-vancouver-canucks-3-1-win-minnesota-wilc">Elias Pettersson</a> getting everything he had into his long-lost one timer and ripping a laser past Minnesota netminder Filip Gustavsson late in the first period on Friday night. It opened the scoring, but much more than that, it opened up so many options for the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks&#8217;</a> power play.
<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;
People will remember the goal, but they may have overlooked how the Canucks attacked the Wild in various ways the next time they got the man advantage. And that, more than anything, may be the lasting impact of Pettersson finding his old form. 
When Wild forward Yakov Trenin was called for slashing late in the second period, the Canucks went back to work on the power play. And with Pettersson’s goal clearly fresh in the minds of the Wild penalty killers, the Canucks found a variety of ways to attack the Minnesota net.
First, Pettersson at the right point moved the puck quickly to Jake DeBrusk down low and, without hesitation, DeBrusk quickly zipped the puck across the crease to Conor Garland who was waiting at the back post. Garland’s initial shot was stopped, but he was able to corral the rebound and tried to stuff it past Gustavsson. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Jake DeBrusk makes a nice pass to Conor Garland open at the side of the net but he can&#39;t beat the Minnesota goaltender. 
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mnwild?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mnwild</a> <a href="https://t.co/XKyVgPKgBA">pic.twitter.com/XKyVgPKgBA</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1898231501357302264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Moments later, the Canucks worked the puck to Pettersson who this time cleverly spotted Boeser in the slot. His quick shot from the bumper caught a piece of the post. 
While the Canucks didn’t score on either of those chances, they moved the puck confidently and authoritatively and created legitimate looks that on a lot of nights will find the back of the net.
If Pettersson can become a shooting threat again, it will open the door to so many other avenues of attack. And keep in mind that the Canucks were once again without captain Quinn Hughes their leading scorer and chief offensive driver on Friday. You have to know that if Pettersson can regain his confidence, a healthy Hughes will draw defenders to him and then find ways to get the puck into Pettersson’s wheelhouse. 
More than anything, the second period against the Wild demonstrated that if teams want to shade to Pettersson’s side to take the one-time bomb away, it will present options elsewhere with the man-advantage. Then it’s on Pettersson to become the playmaker he’s shown he can be through the years.  
His goal on Friday was a thing of beauty and far too long in the making. But the goal is only a part of the story from the win over the Wild.
With all the tight games the Canucks are in – and will likely continue to be in down the stretch – there will surely be a premium placed on the power play. A few more goals with the man advantage over the final 20 games could be the difference between this team sneaking into the playoffs or ultimately falling short.
The return of one wrinkle – one potentially lethal wrinkle – could make all the difference to the Canucks power play. Simply put, Elias Pettersson has to continue to shoot like he did on Friday night. Some might go in. But more than that, teams will need to respect the one-timer and as the Canucks saw against Minnesota that’s when the real opportunities will present themselves.
Sponsored by bet365
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
&nbsp;

In the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-kiefer-sherwood-elias-pettersson-score-vancouver-canucks-win-minnesota-wild">moment</a>, it was glorious. <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanchies-vintage-pettersson-blasts-opening-goal-vancouver-canucks-3-1-win-minnesota-wilc">Elias Pettersson</a> getting everything he had into his long-lost one timer and ripping a laser past Minnesota netminder Filip Gustavsson late in the first period on Friday night. It opened the scoring, but much more than that, it opened up so many options for the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks'</a> power play.
<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;

People will remember the goal, but they may have overlooked how the Canucks attacked the Wild in various ways the next time they got the man advantage. And that, more than anything, may be the lasting impact of Pettersson finding his old form. 

When Wild forward Yakov Trenin was called for slashing late in the second period, the Canucks went back to work on the power play. And with Pettersson’s goal clearly fresh in the minds of the Wild penalty killers, the Canucks found a variety of ways to attack the Minnesota net.

First, Pettersson at the right point moved the puck quickly to Jake DeBrusk down low and, without hesitation, DeBrusk quickly zipped the puck across the crease to Conor Garland who was waiting at the back post. Garland’s initial shot was stopped, but he was able to corral the rebound and tried to stuff it past Gustavsson. 

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1898231501357302264

Moments later, the Canucks worked the puck to Pettersson who this time cleverly spotted Boeser in the slot. His quick shot from the bumper caught a piece of the post. 

While the Canucks didn’t score on either of those chances, they moved the puck confidently and authoritatively and created legitimate looks that on a lot of nights will find the back of the net.

If Pettersson can become a shooting threat again, it will open the door to so many other avenues of attack. And keep in mind that the Canucks were once again without captain Quinn Hughes their leading scorer and chief offensive driver on Friday. You have to know that if Pettersson can regain his confidence, a healthy Hughes will draw defenders to him and then find ways to get the puck into Pettersson’s wheelhouse. 

More than anything, the second period against the Wild demonstrated that if teams want to shade to Pettersson’s side to take the one-time bomb away, it will present options elsewhere with the man-advantage. Then it’s on Pettersson to become the playmaker he’s shown he can be through the years.  

His goal on Friday was a thing of beauty and far too long in the making. But the goal is only a part of the story from the win over the Wild.

With all the tight games the Canucks are in – and will likely continue to be in down the stretch – there will surely be a premium placed on the power play. A few more goals with the man advantage over the final 20 games could be the difference between this team sneaking into the playoffs or ultimately falling short.

The return of one wrinkle – one potentially lethal wrinkle – could make all the difference to the Canucks power play. Simply put, Elias Pettersson has to continue to shoot like he did on Friday night. Some might go in. But more than that, teams will need to respect the one-timer and as the Canucks saw against Minnesota that’s when the real opportunities will present themselves.

Sponsored by bet365
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
&nbsp;

Recent articles from Jeff Paterson

Breaking News