Lindholm trade pays off right away in Canucks win in Carolina
The Vancouver Canucks are getting some encouraging early returns on their recent blockbuster trade.
New acquisition Elias Lindholm scored twice to help the Canucks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Tuesday night. J.T. Miller added the game-winning goal to seal the victory.
The Canucks were aggressive and completed a trade with the Calgary Flames for Lindholm just before the All-Star break. They sent a big package headlined by winger Andrei Kuzmenko — who also scored in his debut with his new team — to acquire the top-six forward.
The trade is paying early dividends. The right-handed forward was named first star after he scored once in the first period and once in the second period to help the Canucks beat his former team.
Lindholm showed his power play prowess as both markers came with the man advantage.
“There’s a lot of good players on this team and we played well today,” said Lindholm about his second power-play goal. “Nice shot by Huggy there and it was nice to see it go in.”
He fit like a glove in the net-front spot and showed off some impressive hand-eye coordination, especially on the first goal where he tipped a shot that was going well wide into the back of the net.
Shot was heading way wide.
Great tip by Lindholm #Canucks pic.twitter.com/ACdMehgPKo
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) February 7, 2024
“Goals aside we talked about watching the net front with Calgary, how good he was. Just at the end, that blocked shot, knowing when to be aggressive when not to be. You can tell, when you go through the tape tomorrow you’ll see hockey IQ plays,” said head coach Rick Tocchet about his newest player. “He was great tonight for us.”
He would add a similar goal in the next frame to restore the Canucks lead.
LINDHOLM DOUBLES DOWN ‼️ pic.twitter.com/BMkpGdfQrp
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 7, 2024
The right-handed forward also displayed his signature versatility as he took several clutch draws, including some on the penalty kill.
The two points earned tonight helped the Canucks retain their first-place spot in the NHL. They are now on a 12-game point streak, their longest in 12 years.
Thatcher Demko made 22 saves in the victory and is now tied for the league lead in wins among goalies.
The Canucks play their next game on Thursday against the Boston Bruins, another team that was rumoured to be interested in Lindholm at points this season. They are the only two NHL teams that have at least 70 points and currently occupy first and second place in the standings.