The struggling Vancouver Canucks take on the young and up-and-coming Utah Mammoths on Friday night, with both teams looking to turn their seasons around. The Canucks are looking to climb out of their Pacific Division slump, while the Mammoths are looking to build on their 7-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
game review
At the beginning, the two teams exchanged opportunities early in an attempt to break the deadlock and take the lead in the game. Vancouver had most of its chances and ultimately defeated Utah 10-8. But Max Sasson’s late free throws set the Mammoths on a power play, and the team was able to turn the game around. Mikhail Sergachev sent a puck past several men in front, beating Kevin Lankinen to give Utah a 1-0 lead. A bad break from Vancouver and they went into the first intermission trailing 1-0.
Vancouver was much better in the second quarter, doubling Utah’s field goal attempts for a combined score of 14-7. But luckily for the Mammoths, Karel Vejmelka was in net and he blocked all 14 shots the Canucks threw at him in the second period and kept them out of the net. The Mammoths then rewarded Vermelka with a putback goal from Nick Schmaltz on Sergachev’s shot, giving Utah a 2-0 lead heading into the third period.
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Vancouver finally broke the deadlock nearly five minutes into the third period with a goal from Arsdeep Baines. He drained his first shot of the season and the Canucks’ first shot of the game over Aatu Raty’s shot to get them back in the game. Like the past few periods, Vancouver kept getting shots against Vermelka but couldn’t beat him as he had one of his best games on Friday. With nearly two minutes left in regulation, Utah State exploded on offense and Kevin Stenlund scored on Lankinen to give the Mammoths the win. John Marino added a shot into the empty net to make the game 4-1, a three-goal win.
Utah now looks to extend its winning streak to three games on the road Saturday night against the struggling Calgary Flames. Vancouver looks to end its current four-game losing streak with a home game against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.
