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NHL Final: Calgary Flames 1, Vancouver Canucks 0 – Overtime

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Vancouver Canucks, Thatcher Demko
The puck in the back of the net behind goalie Thatcher Demko as the Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks in OT, 1-0.

Calgary Flames 1, Vancouver Canucks 0, in Overtime

Notes Heading In:

A slight sense of normalcy returns for the masked men of the Vancouver Canucks as Thatcher Demko gets the start and Jaroslav Halak backs him up for the first time since January 13th in Tampa against the Lightning. The combo was displaced when Halak tested positive for Covid the morning of the Carolina Hurricanes game on the 15th and then Demko hit protocols upon returning home to Vancouver.

Canucks captain Bo Horvat returns to the line-up.

“I felt completely fine the whole time,” Horvat said of his protocol experience.

 

— Vancouver Canucks Trade Talk Leads to Assumptions —

Goal Scorer

Overtime 1-0 Calgary – Johnny Gaudreau (17) – Elias Lindholm (:29) OT – 3 on 3

Poor Finish

JT Miller was upset on an early rush opportunity in overtime about getting hooked on the hands. He lost his stick, appeared to chirp the ref’ and then slowly skated towards the Vancouver Canucks bench. Meanwhile, the Flames headed up ice on a 3-on-2 that resulted in a wide open Gaudreau scoring the winning goal. Not what one would consider an NHL backcheck.

“No, not in overtime, of course it’s not acceptable,” Head Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I mean we’ll discuss that between me and him, tomorrow. It’s a terrible play, but it is what it is right now.”

Indredi-PK

The Canucks were shorthanded for seven minutes in the 1st period including a five-minute perpetual power play for the Flames when Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers went off for a hit-to-the-head match penalty at 13:02. The Canucks held Calgary to just two shots-on-goal on the elongated opportunity with one hit-post.

Overall the Canucks blocked ten shots in the first period.

Vancouver had killed off eight of the last nine opposing power play opportunities heading into this game with the last man-advantage goal against coming from the St. Louis Blues at 3:26 of the second period last Sunday.

In the second, Canucks captain Horvat went off for hooking just :10 seconds into the period. Nothing doing for the Flames power play.

In the third, about seven-minutes in, Nils Höglander went off for elbowing and the Canucks killed off another.

Goalie Goalie

Scoreless through regulation. If it goes to a shoot-out tied 0-0, both goaltenders get credited with a shut-out. But just :29-seconds into the overtime it was determined Jacob Markstrom would earn his 7th of the season while Thatcher Demko would fall short of his 2nd.

More on the head-to-head Demko – Markstrom goalie battle here.

Simmer’s Vancouver Canucks 3 Stars:

3) Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Blocked four shots and was a physical presence in 25:06 of ice time.

2) Tyler Motte – Was the best Vancouver Canucks player early when no one was generating. 2 shots, 2 blocks, great PK in 14:46.

1) Thatcher Demko – The degree of difficulty increased as the game went on. Stopped a penalty shot, forced OT, only to lose on a wide open 3-on-2 early in the extra session.

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