Chytil’s goal while running on travel fumes and adrenalin got the Canucks to overtime, where they failed once again
There was The Bruce Bump. And now we have The Todd Touch.
Todd McLellan asked the struggling and listless Detroit Red Wings to play harder, faster and smarter when he got back into the coaching game in late December. The Wings were 13-17-4 at the time and then won seven-straight games and are now on another heater.
The Red Wings have won six-straight games are obviously playing for something and so are the Canucks. But they’ve now lost 11 overtime games.
However, Chytil forced overtime when he went into the high slot, patiently moved to the left and outmanoeuvred defenders before picking the short side.
“There were players in front of me, and even behind, and there wasn’t an open lane to shoot right away,” said Chytl. “I was holding the puck as long as I could and happy it went in. It meant a lot to me in that moment. So many emotions in my head. I want to keep working and be even better than today.
“For the first game it went well and there are a lot of things to build. We play like this, most of the nights we’re going to win the game. The third period was the best for us, so much pressure in the offensive zone, but we need to score.”
The issue was settled with 41.2 seconds left in the extra session as Alex DeBrincat scored his second of the night from a sharp angle. The Canucks missed Hughes in overtime to drive the play and also defend.
Boeser raced to the right hand dot and tried to feed a covered player instead of snapping one home from his favourite spot. In the first period, he was denied on a partial breakaway and then fired way wide on a second-period chance.
Lankinen sees it, he stops it
Kevin Lankinen has got to this place in his game by tracking pucks better and reacting better.
Simply put, when the unflappable Finn sees the puck, he usually denies the shooter. And that was the key Sunday. On two occasions, he didn’t see the shot because of what was happening directly in front of him.
First, it was Myers falling in front of Lankinen while throwing a check. The tumbling bodies created a double screen as DeBrincat moved into high slot and found the stick side with a shot Lankinen didn’t see. It drew the Wings even.
And on the go-ahead goal by Chiarot, it was Juulsen getting tied up in tight with a check that screened Lankinen. He reacted late to the shot because it’s hard to track pucks when battles are that close to the net.
Suter exacts some revenge
Suter is a good story. Undrafted and undaunted, he’s prolonged his career as a bargain-aisle, team-first guy.
He then got two years at US$3.20 million from the Canucks because of his reputation be like “Super Glue,” applicable in any situation to fix a lot of problems.
It was his 14th goal in 51 games and one shy of a career high 15 with the Red Wings in a full season in 2021-22. It’s the kind of stuff that could warrant a longer stay here.
“I don’t think too much about it, but obviously you want to keep going and just help the team and not think that the next goal is a career high,” said Suter.
Quinn Hughes sides with caution
It takes a lot to keep Hughes from playing.
This season, he has had a mashed-up mug from a brutal high stick. It left his gums a mess, but he returned after attention and a full face shield. Then a hairline fracture of his left hand from a slash had the captain sporting a plastic protective brace, straps and bandage to allow him to keep playing.
On Friday in Dallas, he threw a heavy offensive-zone check that sent him sprawling awkwardly. And when he went on one of his traditional pivot-and-wheel moves to trigger the transition, he winced and couldn’t complete the manoeuvre at speed, and struggled to finish the game.
Hughes suggested 48 hours between games would give the reigning Norris Trophy winner a better indication of his playing status Sunday. He plans to play when the U.S. faces Finland in its 4-Nations Face-Off opener on Feb. 13 against Finland in Montreal.