After a chaotic day that included traveling on the morning of the game and dealing with a series of false positive COVID-19 tests, the Vancouver Canucks emerged victorious over their Pacific Northwest rivals once again.
Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Hollander scored in the first period. At the same time, Tyler Motte and Conor Garland added goals in the third period to lead the Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
The Canucks faced uncertainty earlier in the day when several players returned positive COVID-19 tests. However, after retesting, the results were confirmed as false positives, and the team was cleared to play.
“The whole day was crazy. I usually put my lineup together in the morning, but when faced with so many potential changes, it gets a little wild,” said Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau.
Tanner Pearson sealed the victory with 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 played in Seattle this season. A scheduled game in Vancouver earlier in the week was postponed.
Pearson had a busy night, contributing a fight in the first period, as well as a goal and an assist in the third, capping off 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.”
The Kraken suffered their fifth consecutive loss and have dropped eight of their last nine games. Seattle has not won a home game since defeating Edmonton on December 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 opened the scoring at 8:53 of the first period, giving the Canucks an early lead, followed by Hoglander’s power-play goal later in the period to make it 2-0.
Motte extended Vancouver’s lead to 3-1 at 4:46 of the third period with his third goal of the season. Garland quickly responded after Will Borgen’s goal brought Seattle within one, making it 4-2.
Thatcher Demko, who had a standout performance on October 23 when the Canucks beat the Kraken in their first home game in franchise history, made 30 saves this time. Vancouver’s defense limited Seattle’s dangerous scoring opportunities.
“It was the best first period I think we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Boudreau said. “It makes life a lot easier when you get a lead on a team that hasn’t returned too often.”
Calle Jarnkrok scored for Seattle midway through the second period, and Borgen notched his first NHL goal in the third to pull the Kraken within one. However, Jordan Eberle hit the crossbar on a late power play, missing a chance to equalize.
Seattle’s defensive errors proved costly, with Podkolzin and Motte capitalizing on turnovers in the Kraken’s defensive zone. Garland’s goal followed after Borgen’s, as Mark Giordano lost his stick in a collision with teammate Jamie Oleksiak behind the Seattle goal.
Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves for Seattle.
COVID CHANGES
Seattle welcomed back forward Ryan Donato from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols, but defenseman Jeremy Lauzon was added to the protocols. Defenseman Vince Dunn also exited protocols but was not activated to play. Seattle has two players currently in protocol.
Vancouver initially thought they were in the clear, announcing after the morning skate that there were no additions to their COVID-19 protocols. However, before the game, the Canucks revealed that forward Jason Dickinson had been added to the protocol list. Vancouver now has four players in protocols.
NOTES
Vancouver’s J.T. Miller extended his point streak to nine games with an assist on Pearson’s late goal. … Seattle forward Jaden Schwartz was scratched for the second straight game due to an upper-body injury. … Garland had a goal and an assist in the first matchup against Seattle in October. … Jarnkrok has points in three consecutive games, tallying five points in that span.
UP NEXT
- Canucks: A week off before hosting Ottawa next Saturday.
- Kraken: They are off until Thursday when they host Ottawa.
