Canucks 3, Sabres 2: Elias Pettersson finds his pace, packs a big punch

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Flipping the script meant flipping the switch.

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There was already enough angst in Vancouver about how an early first-period goal would make an anxious Canucks fanbase wait for that other skate to drop as the opposition would rally for victory despite playing the second half of back-to-back games. 

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Not on Tuesday at Rogers Arena. 

It took a reunion of Conor Garland and Elias Pettersson to provide the energy and the goals in a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres that was encouraging.

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Garland was the energizer bunny who gave Pettersson a noticeable boost of creativity, confidence and drive that had gone missing.

It wasn’t just Pettersson moving his feet. There were bursts of speed, slick stickhandling, sharp passes and a presence that bodes well if it was a precursor of what to expect down the stretch and into the playoffs.

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A second-period sequence was first rate.

Pettersson sent Ilya Mikheyev in on a foiled shorthanded breakaway, and then on an ensuing power play, he set up Garland with a cross-ice feed before pouncing on a rebound and roofing a rebound to provide a two-goal cushion.

He was then stopped on a power-play chance in the third period.

It was as much comfort as seeing J.T. Miller recover after blocking a Tage Thompson shot late in the first period. He was hunched over on the bench in discomfort before returning in the second period.

Rasmus Dahlin spoiled Casey DeSmith’s shutout bid at 9:23 of the third period to provide some late-game drama before Pettersson scored an empty-netter.  Dahlin then scored again with 20.7 second left.

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“We responded from the last two games where we didn’t play to our standard,” said Pettersson. “The work ethic and details were a lot better today. I’m obviously happy with my performance and definitely our line.

“Garland made a lot of good plays, brings energy and he’s so good at protecting the puck and with cutbacks in creating space for himself. When he’s on an island like that, you try to get open for a one-timer pass.”

The Canucks also showed more composure when the Sabres pulled to within a goal at 2-1 midway through the third period.

“That’s all we’ve talked about lately,” said Miller. “We have to be a team when it doesn’t go our way we man up and respond. It’s not going to go our way all the time down the stretch here and it’s going to take a mentally tough group to win games.”

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The effort resonated with head coach Rick Tocchet.

“We played really well tonight with our attitude and I’m proud of the way they played,” he said. “Petey was really engaged. Hoglander and Garland brought energy and they were excited to play with each other because you could tell by the way they were playing.

“Our forecheck was as good as I’ve seen in a couple of weeks and those guys led the charge.”

Here’s what else we learned as the Canucks moved back atop the Western Conference:

Garland is a mighty mite delight

Garland had talked about what it would mean to be aligned again with Pettersson.

The mighty mite wasn’t sure how he could augment Pettersson’s game because the centre packs a sick skills set and really doesn’t need much help.

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“There’s not much I can help Petey with. He’s a terrific player and does everything at such an exceptional level,” said Garland.

Well, Pettersson would have appreciated Garland’s ferociousness on the forecheck Tuesday, his ability to create space and finish in the first period. He was buzzing with four shots and five attempts in the opening frame and would finish with four shots and eight attempts.

Garland got to the side of the net to jam home a Quinn Hughes rebound between the pad of goalie Devon Levi and the post to open scoring at 4:06 of the first period. The Sabres challenged the play and claimed that Garland pushed the stopper’s pad and kept him from making the save. It was overturned.

Garland then set up behind the net and set up Elias Lindholm with a Grade A chance in the slot.

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Some more power in their play

The power play went 1-for-5 and amassed 10 shots. It could have easily converted many more chances because of the movements and the looks that were created.

It was another encouraging element because the man-advantage unit has the swagger to become a dagger in the postseason.

“We were snapping it around pretty good,” said Miller. “It depends on the personnel and what teams present and we created a lot of momentum and you feel good when you come of the ice after those reps. That was a step in the right direction for us.

“We executed at a higher level. Sometimes, you can say just shoot the puck and you shoot a bunch of nonsense shots. You can get some bounces off that and maybe sometimes they work. But it’s execution and retrievals and the entries were clean.”

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Tocchet tipped his coaching cap to Miller.

“He set up about five guys for empty-netters and he was excellent,” said Tocchet. “We could have had four goals on the power play, so good for them. It’s what we needed and you could tell there was an attack mode.”

Things that really tick off Tocchet

If you don’t want to get under the skin of the bench boss, don’t do the following:

1. Take an early stick penalty.

2. Take another first-period stick infraction.

3. Don’t clear pucks effectively on the penalty kill.

The Canucks have practised stick position to avoid a parade to the penalty box and putting more pressure on a struggling penalty kill, but you wouldn’t know it in the opening period. 

First it was Carson Soucy going off at 58 seconds for a high stick in the defensive zone on Alex Tuch. And the Canucks struggled to clear pucks. Then it was Nils Aman with a needless hooking minor on the backcheck on Peyton Krebs at 7:14.

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It kept the Canucks from getting a bigger jump on the Sabres in the second half of back-to-back games. You knew it was going to take a period for them to find their legs.

Things that go bump in the night

When Tyson Jost twice laid the lumber (actually a composite stick) on Pettersson from behind in the first period, and the second shove sent the centre to the ice, you knew it would not go unanswered.

Tyler Myers stood up at the bench and glared at Jost. And in the second period, Myers got him in the crosshairs with a heavy sideboards check that knocked his lid off.

That was almost as good at what Hughes accomplished in the the first period.

With Viktor Olofsson crossing the Canucks blueline at an angle, the Canucks captain caught him with such a heavy bodycheck, that he couldn’t help but smile after returning to the bench.

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“It was funny,” Hughes said of his smirk. “You don’t see that much from me and it was a good feeling. I’m definitely not a tough guy and I know my role. I don’t even know if I tried to hit him, I just wanted to make sure he didn’t get by me. That’s what I was doing.”

Sharpening up those Sabres

It wasn’t lost on those in the know when the Sabres got aggressive prior to the NHL trade deadline.

They traded their leading scorer in centre Casey Mittlestadt — one of 10 pivots who went in the first three round of the 2017 NHL draft — to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenceman Bowen Byram, a Cranbook native.

The Avalanche filled a gaping second-line centre hole and the Sabres added a potential star to a back end that was already raising eyebrows with standouts Dahlin and Owen Power. 

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Bowen, 22, made a quick impression with five points (3-2) in his first four games and it shouldn’t be surprising. The former Vancouver Giants standout had 71 points (26-45) in the 2018-19 season and was the fourth-overall pick by the Avalanche in 2019.

“They can all skate,” said Hughes. “They’re going to be up in the rush and can head-man pucks and are hard to forecheck. Byram is hard to check and he competes and is a good addition for them.”

Dahlin again showed why he’s an elite defenceman with 52 points (17-35) in 69 games. He ability to jump into the play and finish was on display again to make for a closer finish.

“You saw on his first goal he’s just highly skilled with the shot fakes and toe-drags and he’s got it all and a hard shot, too,? said DeSmith. “That was a world-class play by him and I would have liked to have it. At least we got the ‘W’.”

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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