SHUFFLE TURNS UP ACES
The Canucks mix up forward lines and are rewarded with their second straight victory, 4-3 in OT over Carolina
They are not yet comeback kids.
It takes time to earn a brand like that. But the Canucks do have jam. At least they do to start this season.
In each of their fist two games, Vancouver was down early and crawled their way back.
In each of their first two games, Brandon Sutter won the game, Saturday in the shootout and Sunday in overtime. Yes, he was missed last season. Sunday was set up to be Eddie Lack’s revenge. He returned to Rogers Arena a better goalie on a better team.
He made improvements to his game during a two-and-half-month summer training stint in Kelowna.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes reconstructed their roster to generate more scoring. It showed in the game’s first half. The Hurricanes scored three goals in the first 26 minutes of game time. They forced the Canucks defence into mistakes, allowing for some really good looks at Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom.
They used those looks to build a three-goal lead. Given how the Canucks finished last year, winning seemed improbable.
Given how few scoring chances they had in the first four periods of their season, the lead actually seemed insurmountable.
But Bo Horvat jolted the team to life, scoring a power play goal with eight minutes left in the second.
Horvat bulled his way in front of Lack, flipping the puck in over the goalie’s shoulder. It was the kind of skilled play that showed why so many people were worked up over Horvat starting the season on the Canucks fourth line.
Horvat would later close out the second period by setting up two scoring chances.That momentum was carried over into the third period, where Vancouver directed nine shots at Lack in the first 10 minutes, scoring one goal.
The goal came from Markus Granlund, the surprising offensive breakout star of the preseason. Then, with just six minutes left, the Canucks tied the game on a Ben Hutton goal.