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I Watched This Game: Canucks go toe-to-toe with Flames and land knockout blow

Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner
|
Oct 4 2026, 7:19 am
I Watched This Game: Canucks go toe-to-toe with Flames and land knockout blow
Bob Frid/Imagn Images

Saturday night’s tilt between the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames wasn’t necessarily a good hockey game.

But it was a lot of fun.

It’s like how a bad movie can still be wildly entertaining and become a source of quotes and inside jokes for a group of friends for years. Despite some sloppy hockey, this game provided some clips that should make the rounds in group chats all season.

Like eighties psychological thriller Fatal Attraction, it was a physical affair, as the Flames attempted to intimidate the Canucks. It didn’t work, with the Canucks giving as good as they got.

That included a spirited tilt between Luke Schenn and Adam Klapka, and the Canucks out-hitting the Flames 34-to-28. The Flames simply could not cow the Canucks into submission.

Most importantly, the Canucks came up with four goals in the third period to win the game on the scoreboard as well as in the alley.

The Canucks sent their fans home happy when I watched this game.

  • Leevi MerilĂ€inen made his first start as a Canuck and my first impression is that he’s got great technique and athleticism, but he’s a bit too aggressive. Multiple times, he came out to the top of his crease and ended up having to scramble back to his net on a pass or deflected shot. He’s not enormous for an NHL goaltender at six-foot-two, but could still play a lot deeper and get in less trouble.
  • Then again, MerilĂ€inen made 23 saves on 24 shots for his first win as a Canuck, so what do I know?
  • That aggression and athleticism can result in some spectacular saves, such as his robbery of Zayne Parekh on a Flames 3-on-1, as he stopped on a dime and slid back against the grain to get his pad on the puck. MerilĂ€inen’s ability to reverse course is comparable to the most cynical of politicians.

  • “At first, I thought it was a 2-on-1,” said MerilĂ€inen. “When he passed it over, I saw the other guy was coming in to. When I saw he received that puck, I saw that he was not going to shoot it, he was going to pass it again. That’s about it.”
  • MerilĂ€inen also appreciated the feistiness of the game: “I love a physical game; it’s more entertaining for me to watch as well.”
  • It’s a general rule that on the penalty kill, when the opposing power play gets a shot from the wing, the goaltender is responsible for the short side, while the skater needs to get in the shooting lane and take away the far side of the net. Still, it’s hard to blame MerilĂ€inen too much for the Flames’ opening goal: it was a rocket of a shot by Matt Coronato, and he got a piece of it.

  • The physicality of the game took a dirty turn when Kevin Bahl hit Aatu RĂ€ty from behind long after Devin Cooley had made a save on his shot. RĂ€ty had no reason to be expecting a hit in the numbers and it send him headfirst into the boards. Somehow, the referees deemed it only worthy of a two-minute cross-checking minor, when cross-checking is the one thing he definitely didn’t do.

  • The Canucks’ game-tying goal early in the first period was an odd one. Paul Cotter slipped the puck ahead to Liam Öhgren who poked it on net, then shoveled his own rebound past Cooley, only for Cooley to spin around and cover the puck with his glove while it was still on the line. It was called “no goal” on the ice, and it seemed certain it wouldn’t count.
  • Only, it did count. The NHL’s Situation Room determined that the puck could be seen between the white laces on Cooley’s goalie glove and it was fully across the line. In fact, Cooley pushed the puck over the line himself. If he had a black glove with black laces, they might not have been able to see it.

  • This was the third straight game with a goal from Elias Pettersson, only this time it was the defenceman rather than the forward. On a third-period 4-on-4, the Canucks rotated ’round the offensive zone like it was a record, baby, right ’round, ’round, ’round. Pettersson activated off the point, Öhgren feathered a pass through, and Pettersson did the dekes no one knew he could do, beating Cooley with a lovely backhand.

  • I had to laugh when the cameras caught a mildly amused Manny Malhotra clearly calling out a dive by Simon Nemec. It’s not the hand gesture, but the fact that he was smiling.

  • Pettersson led the Canucks in hits — the forward, to be clear, not the defenceman — throwing a whopping 8 hits, doubling his total for the season to a league-leading 16. He was running guys into the boards repeatedly all game, with heavy, full-body hits, causing a roar in Rogers Arena every time.
  • “It’s great for Petey,” said Malhotra. “He’s really taken on that mentality of just being harder to play against. Points aside this year, he’s done a much better job of being heavier on pucks and coming up with puck battles and trying to be physical when he can, and that was a great example of it.”That being said, I think the more pressing issue is the fact that he’s leading the team in hits — we need more from the rest of our group in terms of that level of physicality. We’ve discussed it with our group, they’re aware of who needs to be doing more, when. But when one of your skilled players is willing to get physical and willing to throw those kinds of hits, it’s a great way of leading by example.”
  • Pettersson’s biggest hit was a game-changer. He absolutely crushed Zayne Parekh like John Belushi with a beer can, and was immediately swarmed by Flames trying to defend their rookie defenceman. While that was happening, Drew O’Connor burst up the ice with the puck and beat Cooley for the 3-1 insurance goal, eliminating a chance for a Calgary comeback.

  • “I just tried to get a solid hit,” said Pettersson. “I’m just trying to play a hard game. Trying to play fair and square, hard, and do whatever it takes to win.”
  • The Canucks added one more goal to seal the deal. This time, Pettersson took a hit to make the play, getting the puck out of the defensive zone where Linus Karlsson selflessly passed up a chance at the Flames’ empty net, instead passing to Aatu RĂ€ty for his first goal of the season in his first game of the season.

  • RĂ€ty also had his usual dominant night in the faceoff circle, going 10-for-14. Cotter, meanwhile, shortly after I wrote about his passion for faceoffs, went 2-for-10. But at least Cotter’s assist kept him in the scoring lead for the Canucks, and he’s currently tied for third in the NHL in scoring.
  • The Canucks now have 11 goals in the third period this season. If nothing else, that should keep fans watching until the final horn, because you never know what the Canucks might do.
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