In a back-and-forth battle between Canadian rivals, the Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime. It was a determined effort that reflected the team's steady growth and belief in their structure through the first part of the season.
Ten games into the season, Head Coach Adam Foote has seen his team grow, battling through the ups and downs of a game. He liked the way the group forechecked throughout the game and didn’t back down in their matchups.
“When they tied it up, we kept going. We kept being relentless and believing in the system, and it was all four lines, all our D, and Demmer, and that's what I love about the game – we were playing against a good hockey team. “They were going, and we didn't give them a lot five-on-five,” said Foote.
Kiefer Sherwood had two goals on the night, including the overtime winner, which was his second career overtime-winning goal. Sherwood said it’s easy to get up for the all-Canadian matchups.
“Seems to always have a little extra juice in them. There's definitely top tier talent on their side, and like I said, we have to stick to what we know best and kind of rely on the group, and that starts with our D and our goaltending. So, it was nice that we buckled down and just got the job done.”
With Quinn Hughes out of the lineup for the game, Sherwood said it’s impossible to replace Hughes, but they had to focus on playing a team game, trusting the process and the plan the coaching staff laid out to get the win.
“We took on some water there, and their top guys are going to get some looks, but we just stuck together. Demmer played a hell of a game again, and it was nice to get two points,” Sherwood said.
Thatcher Demko got the win in net, turning aside 26 of 29 shots he faced.
Goals
In the first period, Evander Kane sent the puck to Brock Boeser on the rush, and with a clear lane to the net, Boeser flipped the puck past Calvin Pickard with a backhand, boosting the Canucks to a 1-0 lead going into the first break.
