SportsHockeyCanucks

Canucks head to Christmas break all alone in first place

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Dec 24 2023, 5:45 am
Canucks head to Christmas break all alone in first place
Bob Frid/USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t a picture-perfect victory, but the Vancouver Canucks collected another two points Saturday night, after a 7-4 win against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Arena.

The Canucks extended their lead on top of the NHL standings. They’re now two points up on the next closest teams — the New York Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights. Vancouver is the first Canadian team to hold top spot in the NHL standings at the Christmas break since the Ottawa Senators in 2005.

More importantly, the Canucks are in sole possession of first in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of Vegas, who lost again earlier in the night.

Given San Jose’s position in the standings, you’d expect the Canucks to have an easier time handling them. But doesn’t it say something that we can critique wins in Vancouver again?

Andrei Kuzmenko returned to the lineup after sitting out the last two games, playing on Elias Pettersson’s line, as well as the first power play unit. He scored in both situations in the first period, picking up his seventh and eighth goals of the season, when it looked like the Canucks would run away with it.

Kuzmenko picked up a loose puck in the slot and ripped a shot past Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood 1:34 into the game.

J.T. Miller found Kuzmenko’s stick on the power play for his second goal, less than seven minutes into the first period. Miller, who has 48 points in 35 games, is on pace for a career-best season.

Kuzmenko had a chance to net a hat trick, but to no avail. He finished the game with two goals and three shots in 15:29 of ice time.

The game-winning goal was scored by Dakota Joshua, on another sweet feed by Conor Garland. Nils ƅman, Sam Lafferty, Pius Suter, and Quinn Hughes scored the other goals for Vancouver. Six players had two-point nights for the Canucks: Teddy Blueger, Miller, Garland, Pettersson, Hughes, and Kuzmenko.

 

The Canucks enter the Christmas break red-hot, with a 7-0-2 record in their last nine games. They won’t play for another five days, as the Philadelphia Flyers visit Vancouver on December 28.

ADVERTISEMENT