The Vancouver Canucks came up short against the San Jose Sharks in a 3-2 loss on Thursday, but a few players still managed to leave their mark. Elias Pettersson, Liam Öhgren and Tom Willander each turned in notable performances in different ways, even if only two of them landed on the scoresheet.
Pettersson was once again right in the middle of Vancouver’s offense. After picking up two assists on Tuesday night, he added another helper against San Jose, finishing with an assist, three shots and one block. He also led the Canucks in scoring chances-for with 18, while allowing only four against, which tied for the third lowest on the team.
His biggest moment came on Drew O’Connor’s opening goal. Under pressure from two Sharks and working to keep the puck in at the blueline, Pettersson tipped it between his own skates, then floated it toward the net. O’Connor attacked the rebound and finished the play by driving hard to the crease.
Öhgren kept his recent scoring touch rolling. After scoring against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, he struck again Thursday for his first NHL stretch of back-to-back goals.
That moved him into a tie for second on the team in scoring after three games without finding the net. He logged 13:21 of ice time, took three shots on goal and even got a look on the first power-play unit after Brock Boeser missed some playing time following a blocked shot.
Willander didn’t get a point, but he still put together a solid night. In 19:55 on the ice, he posted three shots on goal, two blocks and one hit. He also had one shift that lasted more than three minutes in the second period.
The rookie defenseman stayed active offensively too, helping push the puck into the attacking zone by carrying it himself and by shooting from the blueline. His five high-danger scoring chances-for were tied for the second-most on the Canucks.
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