The struggling Vancouver Canucks took on the young and up-and-coming Utah Mammoth on Friday night as both teams looked to turn their seasons around. The Canucks were looking to climb out of the basement of the Pacific Division, and the Mammoth wanted to build on a 7-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks.
Game Recap
In the opening frame, both teams traded chances early on to try and break the ice and grab the first lead of the game. Vancouver had the majority of the chances as they outshot Utah 10-8 at the end of the period. But a late penalty by Max Sasson put the Mammoth on the power play, and the team was able to convert. Mikhail Sergachev sent a puck on net that hit a few bodies in front and beat Kevin Lankinen to put Utah up 1-0. A bad break for Vancouver as they went into first intermission down 1-0.
The second period saw Vancouver have a much better period as they doubled Utah in shots by a total of 14-7. But luckily for the Mammoth, Karel Vejmelka was in the net, and he turned aside all 14 shots the Canucks threw at him and kept them off the board in the second period. Later on in the period, the Mammoth rewarded Vejmelka with a tip-in goal from Nick Schmaltz off a Sergachev shot to put Utah up 2-0 heading into the third period.
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Vancouver finally broke their shutout nearly five minutes into the third period with a goal by Arshdeep Bains. He tipped in a shot from Aatu Raty for his first of the season and the Canucks’ first of the game, getting them back into the contest. Just like the past periods, Vancouver kept getting shots against Vejmelka but could not beat him as he had one of his best games on Friday. With nearly two minutes left in regulation, Utah broke out on a rush, and Kevin Stenlund scored on Lankinen to secure a win for the Mammoth. John Marino added an empty-net goal to make the game 4-1, giving a three-goal victory.
Utah now looks to extend this winning streak to three games by playing the struggling Calgary Flames on Saturday night on the road. Vancouver will be looking to end their current four-game losing streak with a home game against the Minnesota Wild that will also take place on Saturday night.
