Canucks Douse Flames 3-1 at Abbotsford Centre

The Vancouver Canucks upped the tempo on Wednesday night and took another step forward, knocking off the Calgary Flames 3-1 at the Abbotsford Centre.

“We were playing fast hockey,” Foote said. “Tonight, we were doing things we were asked to do, guys applying things from practice.”

Thatcher Demko got the start between the pipes and played the first two periods before Nikita Tolopilo took over for the third. Demko made multiple saves on tight shots in the second to keep the Canucks in the lead.

"He was so solid with decisions with the puck, but he also looked like he was getting around so that it wasn't spinning on him. So, it was even better," Foote said.

"He didn't have much action for a while, but then he had a barrage, a little bit of a breakdown. You don't want that as a coach, but love to see how square he was with the puck. So, he came out of two grades A's and just knew what he was doing."

Demko talked about using the preseason games to focus on technique and get back into game action to be ready for the pace and traffic in front of the net.

Tolopilo made seven saves on the evening, including a sprawling save to stop the puck from crossing the crease.

Goals

Vancouver scored their first goal on the power play, Tom Willander hitting the post from the point, but Nils Höglander held his position net front and batted the rebound past Flames goaltender Ivan Prosvetov.

Victor Mancini’s goal was déjá vù from the Calder Cup playoff run: a forward line with Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, and Linus Karlsson and a defence pairing with Kirill Kudryavtsev and Mancini.

Bains passed the puck down the left wall to Karlsson who made a cross-ice pass to Mancini in the slot for a wrist shot.

"Yeah, it was really cool. I think I'll remember that for a while. It's pretty fun, good to be back in the building," Mancini said.

The Canucks took a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

Filip Chytil scored on the power play from the left circle, ripping a wrist shot past Prosvetov at 12:56 in the second period.

“I felt much better [today] than on Sunday. And it's why we play preseason [games]. It's a must go in the good direction,” Chytil said.

The Flames answered with a power play goal of their own in the second from forward Connor Zary, but Vancouver took a 3-1 lead going into the final break and ultimately, that was the final score after Tolopilo locked it down in the final frame.

Up Next

The Canucks match up against the Seattle Kraken at home on Friday, September 26th at 7:00 p.m.