Despite a day filled with challenges, including morning travel and a series of false positive COVID-19 tests, the Vancouver Canucks relished another victory over their new Pacific Northwest rivals.
Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Hollander scored in the first period, while Tyler Motte and Conor Garland added goals in the third, propelling the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
The Canucks faced a chaotic day, traveling to Seattle on Saturday morning and initially having several players test positive for COVID-19. After retesting, the positive results were determined to be false, allowing the Canucks to proceed with the game.
“The whole day was crazy. I used to always put my lineup together in the morning, and when you have so many potential changes to make, it gets a little wild,” Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Tanner Pearson added an empty-net goal in the final minutes, and Vancouver improved to 8-0-1 since Boudreau took over as coach last month.
The Canucks have now won both games in Seattle against their new Pacific Northwest rival this season. The Kraken were scheduled to play in Vancouver earlier this week, but that game was postponed.
Pearson had a fight in the first period and contributed a goal and an assist in the third to cap a long and stressful day.
“It’s definitely a mental grind …” Pearson said. “They want to get games in, but personally, you don’t know if you’re going to test positive or not.”
The Kraken suffered their fifth straight loss and eighth in the past nine games. Seattle has not won at home since beating Edmonton on Dec. 3.
“You’ve gotta keep battling,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “That’s the bottom line. We were our worst enemy in a couple of areas tonight.”
Podkolzin scored at 8:53 to give the Canucks an early lead, followed by Hoglander’s power-play goal later in the period for a 2-0 advantage.
Motte made it 3-1 at 4:46 of the third period with his third goal of the season, and Garland provided a quick answer after Will Borgen pulled Seattle to 3-2 midway through the period.
Thatcher Demko was stellar on Oct. 23 when the Canucks beat the Kraken in their first home game in franchise history. He made 30 saves this time, and Vancouver’s defense limited Seattle’s dangerous chances.
“It was the best first period I think we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Boudreau said. “So it makes life a lot easier when you get a lead on a team that hasn’t come back too often.”
Calle Jarnkrok scored midway through the second period for Seattle, and Borgen scored his first NHL goal midway through the third to pull Seattle within one. Jordan Eberle beat Demko but hit the crossbar on a late power play for Seattle.
Seattle’s defensive mistakes were costly, with Vancouver capitalizing on turnovers. The goals by Podkolzin and Motte came off turnovers by Borgen in Seattle’s defensive zone. Garland’s goal came less than a minute after Borgen scored, partly because Mark Giordano lost his stick after colliding with teammate Jamie Oleksiak behind the Seattle goal.
Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves for Seattle.
COVID CHANGES
Seattle welcomed forward Ryan Donato back from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols on Saturday, but defenseman Jeremy Lauzon was added to the protocols. Defenseman Vince Dunn also came out of the protocols but was not activated to play. Seattle has two players in protocol.
Vancouver initially thought it was clear, announcing after the morning skate that there weren’t any additions to its COVID-19 protocols. However, before the game, the Canucks said forward Jason Dickinson had been added to the protocol list. Vancouver now has four players in protocols.
NOTES
Vancouver’s J.T. Miller has a point in nine straight games after getting an assist on Pearson’s late goal. Seattle forward Jaden Schwartz was scratched for a second straight game due to an upper-body injury. Garland had one goal and an assist in the first matchup against Seattle in October. Jarnkrok has a point in three straight games and has five points over that span.
UP NEXT
- Canucks: Off for a week and will host Ottawa next Saturday.
- Kraken: They are off until Thursday, when they host Ottawa.
