Thanks to a late power play goal by Dylan Guenther in the third period, the Utah Hockey Club bounced back from their 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings and beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 at Delta Center on Sunday night. The Canucks, meanwhile, couldn’t muster any offense again after falling 3-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights, getting their only goal from Jake DeBrusk, who has now scored the team’s last two since their return from the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
With the win, Utah pulled within four points of the Canucks for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Canucks, who had a three-point lead on the Calgary Flames entering the night, now only have a one-point cushion after the latter won against the San Jose Sharks, 3-2.
Game Recap
Similar to last night against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Canucks had trouble staying out of the box in the first period. Utah controlled play thanks to three power plays and ended up outshooting the Canucks 11-4 and out-chancing them 11-5. However, none of those shots found their way by Arturs Silovs who was starting for the first time since Nov. 27. Thanks to his strong return to the crease, the Canucks escaped the first still deadlocked at zero.
The second was similar to the first in shots, but a couple of goals were scored as well. The Canucks opened the scoring at 1:43 with DeBrusk’s 21st of the season – and second in as many nights – as he took a centering pass from Elias Pettersson on the power play and squeaked it by Karel Vejmelka. It didn’t take long for Utah to tie it up, however, as Logan Cooley notched his 16th a little over two minutes later, tipping a John Marino shot past Silovs at 3:51. Just like the first period, Utah had the majority of the shots and chances, outshooting the Canucks 11-4 and out-chancing them 7-3, but were still locked in a tie, this time 1-1.
Late in the third period, Guenther was able to score on the power play, deftly tipping home a shot-pass from Nick Schmaltz for his 21st of the season. The Canucks couldn’t match it the rest of the way and fell for the second game in a row, 2-1, getting outshot 32-15 in the process.
Goalie Matchup
Silovs took the defeat despite a strong performance with 30 saves on 32 shots. Vejmelka, meanwhile, barely broke a sweat, facing only 15 shots and stopping 14.
What’s Next for the Canucks & Utah HC?
Both teams will get two days off as the Canucks head to Los Angeles to face the Kings while the Hockey Club stay home and host the Chicago Blackhawks.
