There was plenty to sort through in the Canucks’ 4-1 win over the Flames on Saturday: the hits, the scrums, the dirty stuff, the goals, and a calm night in net from Leevi Meriläinen. It wasn’t always pretty, but it ended with the home side getting the result and the building buzzing.
The game had a choppy feel for long stretches, yet it also delivered the kind of finish that can ripple through a crowd and keep the noise rolling. Whether that energy helped spark the comeback is impossible to say. What is clear is that the Canucks found their footing after an ugly opening stretch and never let go.
That opening stretch was rough. Calgary rang the crossbar in the first minute, and Zeev Buium and Filip Hronek struggled to clear the puck out of the Canucks’ zone for nearly the first two minutes. Then Luke Schenn changed the temperature of the game with a big hit on Adam Klapka, which led to a fight and gave Vancouver a jolt.
Schenn was back in the middle of it before the second period was done, mixing things up near the benches while officials sorted out the call on Kevin Bahl for his dirty, in the numbers and blindsided hit on Aatu Raty.
Another Canuck who made noise, though in a very different way, was Elias Pettersson. The “let’s go Petey” chant wasn’t tied to a goal from the No. 1 centre, but he still had a rugged night, throwing more than a couple of big hits.
Then there was the other Pettersson, the one on the blue line, who flipped the script with a beautiful goal. D-Petey is usually associated with physical play, not finishing touches like that.
The biggest reason the Canucks could settle into the game, though, was Meriläinen. Kevin Lankinen is a quality guy and a solid NHL goalie, but Meriläinen has been a top prospect as recently as two years ago, and he looked the part on Saturday. Goalie coach Marko Torenius described him to me on Friday as “Cold blooded,” and the young Finn backed that up with a composed, steady performance.
He was excellent, the kind of cool cucumber the Canucks needed.
That’s why there’s a real sense he’s going to get plenty of starts. It’s also why Ryan Johnson and his staff had their eyes on him for so long.
If there was a lasting flaw in the win, it was the power play. No matter who was on the ice, the unit looked ugly. That’s a far cry from the lethal group the Canucks were rolling out as recently as two years ago, and it remains the one area that could keep them from fully taking advantage in games like this.
Still, if they can clean that part up, they’ve got a way to stay in games and finish them off. Saturday showed that much.
In Other News...
Flames Send An Early Message With Lineup Changes After Ugly Opener
After a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken to open the season, the Calgary Flames wasted little time making a point about accountability. On the road against the Vancouver Canucks, the club went with two lineup changes and handed season debuts to Brennan Othmann and Joel Hanley as part of an early response to a rough start.
Ryan Huska said the adjustment came down to puck management, a clear sign the staff is looking for cleaner decisions after the opener went sideways. The shuffle gives Calgary a chance to reset quickly, and it also sends an early message that the margins for error are going to be thin as the Flames try to get back on track. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Suddenly Have A Goalie Decision They Did Not Expect
Leevi Merilinen has given Vancouver something it did not necessarily expect this early in the season: a goalie who has looked poised in limited action. Claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators, the 23-year-old has stepped into two games and handled the assignment with a 1.32 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage, numbers that suggest the Canucks may have found more than just a stopgap while Thatcher Demko was out.
The bigger question now is what happens when Demko is ready to return. Vancouver will have to sort through its goalie picture at a time when Merilinen has made a strong early case to stay in the mix, and that kind of unexpected depth can quickly turn into a roster puzzle. For a team that had been watching him since the summer, the timing has only made the conversation more complicated. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Face Early Test Of Discipline In Seattle Rematch
After a loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames were on the move again Sunday, landing in Seattle early and turning quickly toward a 6 p.m. MT rematch with the Kraken. Calgary is looking to get back on track in a game that already feels like a useful early-season measuring stick, especially with Dustin Wolf expected to get the start in goal.
Mikael Backlund pointed to the obvious place the Flames need to clean up: discipline. For a team trying to settle into better habits, the message was less about tactics than about avoiding the kind of penalties that can drag a game off course before it ever really takes shape. Against Seattle, that means Calgary will need a sharper, more composed effort if it wants a different result this time around. [Read more 🡒]