Canucks Shift Diary: Conor Garland vs. Vegas

Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Let’s see what kind of afternoon the Vancouver Canucks 6th leading scorer will have Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights, and see if he snaps his 16-game goalless drought.

1st Period

:28-:51 Out for neutral zone draw after a Vegas offside. Defensive zone posture off a face-off. Shift ended abruptly and early when Oliver Ekman Larsson was called for hooking.

3:35-4:30 All D-zone as Vegas kept the pressure on. Chased and kept an eye on left point. Changed off a clear.

6:46-8:00 Out of the first TV time-out, face-off in the left wing circle of the D-zone. It took just seven seconds for the Golden Knights to score a goal off the successful face-off win. He stayed out for neutral zone draw and worked with two different sets of linemates. Stayed out into the offensive zone with Elias Pettersson on a rush chance.

10:12-10:50 Jumped off the bench with JT Miller into forecheck mode. Vegas guilty of icing. Stays on for O-zone draw in left wing circle, won by Miller. Limited pressure via possession but no pucks directed to net. Changed off a clear.

End of 1st – After sitting for a bit in general and then not-participating in a double-minor penalty kill for almost the final four minutes, Garland’s first period ended very early. Had one shot attempt blocked. On the ice for Vegas’s first goal. 3:44 Time On Ice.

Golden Knights 2, Vancouver Canucks 0.

2nd Period

:35-1:40 Regrouped twice, finally made it up ice, followed puck on forecheck, picked up a turnover in the left wing circle but fanned on the centering pass and lost possession. Helped back on D, helped clear and on next possession JT Miller just dumped puck to corner. Change followed.

4:00-5:08 Popped on the ice as Quinn Hughes gained offensive zone on a rush. Joined play but couldn’t get a hold of the puck. Next rush off regroup, skidded to the ice awkwardly as he crossed Vegas blueline. Seemed bothered by his equipment the rest of the shift. Stayed out for a D-zone draw following an icing call. Vegas shooting the puck out of play allowed for a change.

7:25-7:56 Left wing circle face-off in the offensive zone. Pressured puck behind the net off the draw. Decent cycle but Golden Knights able to clear up the boards. Puck squirts to Demko and he covers.

11:45-12:40 Jumped on the rush with Miller and headed straight to the front of the net. The puck never made it there. Miller turned the puck over three times on the shift and no semblance of a threat materialized. Garland ended up backpedaling into a defensive posture near the end of the shift and it ended when the puck popped up out of play.

14:07-15:10 Jumped on with 2nd power play unit but failed to gain possession twice. As penalty expired the group actually created some traffic in front and had a scoring chance. Clear and change.

18:05-19:07 To the D-zone off the bench. After gaining possession, Canucks guilty of an offside. Line stayed out for neutral zone draw. Won it, cycled, puck covered by Vegas goalie Robin Lehner. Offensive zone draw lost. Change.

End of 2nd – Nothing too inspirational mainly because there seemed to be absolutely no chemistry between linemates. Miller was herky jerky with decision making. No sustained offensive zone cycle. 6:25 of ice time in period. No stats.

Vegas Golden Knights 2, Vancouver Canucks 0.

3rd Period

1:42-3:02 Out to ride the crowd and the momentum following Miller’s goal that put the Canucks on the board. Good shift. Pressure. Chances. Stole a puck in the left wing corner and found Pettersson for a one-timer. Save Lehner. Puck eventually covered.

4:45-6:14 Out early for shift ahead of linemates and sees a one-timer scoring chance for Vegas. Stayed on for D-zone draw with Pettersson and Tanner Pearson as linemates. Eventually gained the offensive zone and created havoc. Good three-man forecheck in the right wing corner. Came away with it. Scoring chance. Heads to net for screen and to jam at rebound on point shot. Lehner covers. TV Break.

9:25-9:40 Popped on for the very tail-end of a power play chance. As it ended, Vegas took a delay-of-game penalty and the 1st unit came right back out after a time-out used by Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau. 15-second shift. (1st unit then scores).

10:45-11:20 Neutral zone and D-zone play for the most part. Grinder shift.

12:50-13:05 Puck out of play just after he joins the effort in the defensive zone. Replaced by his previous linemates for the draw. Another short shift.

13:30-14:19 Right back out there to create a scoring chance at one end and then deflect a scoring chance wide at the other with an excellent backcheck. Then helped block an ensuing shot and allowed Demko to cover puck.

16:05-17:10 Popped on for a puck battle along the far boards supporting Pettersson. Gained the offensive zone and created a chance. Game flowed end to end during remainder of shift with tight checking.

18:30-19:04 No real possession. Choppy play as Vegas in particular looks to kill clock and get a point.

End of 3rd – Played 6:20 in the 3rd period. One shot on goal, another shot wide. One takeaway and one giveaway.

Vegas Golden Knights 2, Vancouver Canucks 2,

Overtime

1:13-1:45 Played a defensive sequence one-on-one and gained possession. Broke out of the zone, gained the blueline and then circled back twice, gave up puck and headed to bench.

End of Game – Was on bench when Vegas won it. Played :32-seconds of OT. Finished with those same 3rd period numbers. 16:51 in total ice time.

Got better as the game went on and definitely clicked better in this game with Pettersson. Unfortunately his goalless drought reached 17 games.

Vegas Golden Knights 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 – Overtime