Like a true leader, Quinn Hughes responded by scoring in the opening minute to send a message that his club would not go quietly into the night against the high-octane Rangers
It’s not one thing. It’s everything. And the right attitude is the crucial thing.
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Kris Kreider ended the suspense by snapping a 3-3 draw by snapping home a feed from top of the crease as the Rangers improved to 7-1-0 on the road. But the Canucks hung tough.
“I thought we played really hard and I’m proud of the guys,” said Hughes, who had five shots and 10 attempts. “It would have been nice to pull that one out. We competed and battled. There has been a lot and guys are going through a lot, but I liked the way we responded.
“We’ve got a really tight group and that’s going to make us stronger throughout the season. We have a lot of fight, character and will.”
And with the game tied 3-3 in the third period he sprawled to deny Alexis Lafreniere from finishing off a rush that looked like a sure goal.
Sherwood a hit with no quit
The feisty winger leads the NHL in hits with 114 — he had nine on Tuesday — and his constant hustle and never-quit attitude paid off handsomely late in the first period.
He took a feed from Pettersson at speed and picked the short side to make it 2-2 for his fifth of the season. He also took exception to Sam Carrick giving Pettersson a rough shove to the ice and it’s that kind of tenacity that Tocchet is craving. Sherwood also finished with a game-high seven shots.
“I thought we deserved that game,” said Sherwood. “Probably our best effort in a while and there’s a lot of good we can continue to build on. If we stick to the effort and predictability and connection all over the ice, we’re going to win a lot more games.
“It says a lot about the culture when guys can come in and contribute. It was a great play by Petey on my goal with his poise to suck the defence over and find me on the wing. I had another chance that I should have buried.”
And give Pettersson credit for having to go up against Zibanejad in the circle and keep him from dominating off the rush with Krieder as one the league’s most-lethal duos. But Kreider delivered the dagger when it mattered most.
“It’s frustrating and it stings now,” said Pettersson. “The fourth goal, I tried to make a play and Zibanejad lifts my stick. I was trying to get it (puck) over the blueline and was flat-footed. Two good passes and they score. I have to make a better play there.”
But the Canucks did come to play.
“It speaks for itself that we’re going to go down swinging and work hard,” added Pettersson. “It brings us closer together with what everybody is going through. We’re always going to have each others’ backs and be there for each other.”
Silovs was in shooting gallery
It wasn’t the amount of shots, it was the quality as the Canucks either surrendered too many Grade A chances against the league’s sixth-ranked offence, or didn’t establish good defensive position.
Zibanejad was allowed to do just that. He deflected a K’Andre Miller point shot past the glove of Silovs less than two minutes after Hughes opened scoring. The captain shifted right in the high slot and put a backhander past Igor Shesterkin on the shot just 34 seconds into the opening frame.
The Canucks then got caught up ice as Adam Fox was able to complete a long bomb zone-exit pass that caught Cuylle at speed. He went untouched on and found the glove side to put the Rangers up 2-1 in an eventful period for Silovs.
He stopped denied Smith on a redirect and kept Artemi Panarin from netting his 11th goal of the season. It took a sloppy stick check attempt by Cason Soucy at top of crease instead of using his body as Kakko connected down low to put the Rangers up 3-2 in the second period.
