For one day, fans of the Calgary Flames got to experience what it’s been like to support the 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks.
The Flames came into the night three points back of the Wild but with a game in hand. If the Canucks could beat the Wild in regulation, the Flames would have their fate in their own hands, as the Wild could only get to a maximum of 95 points, while the Flames could reach 96 points by winning their final three games.
So, the Canucks’ old rivals were forced to cheer for a Canucks win.
And the Canucks gave them the quintessential 2024-25 Canucks fan experience.
The game started out with a little bit of false hope, as they scored a couple of timely goals and got some great goaltending to take a 2-0 lead into the third period. They led the Flames and their fans to believe that they had this. Everything was under control. The Canucks were going to deliver a win.
Every single Canucks fan knew what was coming. The Canucks parked the bus to defend the two-goal lead and, of course, coughed it up. Along the way, they managed just 14 shots on goal, tying their season-low shot total from .
To top it off, the Canucks lost in overtime, because of course they did. That was their league-leading 12th loss in overtime — 14th after regulation, including the shootout.
“It’s kind of the story of our year,” said Jake DeBrusk. “We get it to overtime and just don’t find that extra one.”
There you go, Flames fans, a little taste of what it’s like to cheer for the Canucks. They get your hopes up and then disappoint you, every time.
To be fair, the Canucks are tied for the most losses in overtime with none other than the Flames. So, maybe Flames fans already had a little inkling of what it’s like to be a Canucks fan.
The Canucks shared the pain when I watched this game.
- Before getting into the actual hockey that was played on Saturday night, we have to start with the worst non-hockey thing that took place on the ice. It was one of those moments where pretty much everyone, whether you like fighting in hockey or not, can agree that a player crossed the line.
- A few minutes into the third period, Derek Forbort dropped the gloves with Yakov Trenin, ostensibly for Trenin throwing a late hit on Quinn Hughes, though Trenin himself was the one who initiated the fight. The two exchanged blows before going to the ice. That’s when Trenin stepped over the line like he was wearing , punching Forbort while he was lying defenceless on his back.
- Whatever you think of fighting — I used to be — there’s no denying that Trenin broke The Code. You don’t punch a guy when he can’t defend himself, especially with the linesman already involved. The fight was over. There was a distinct pause in between the two going to the ice and the final line-crossing punch. It showed a complete lack of respect and should be classified as intent to injure.
- Yes, “intent to injure” is a strange standard to try to apply to hockey fights. There’s plenty of grey area involved here, but sometimes a player takes a flying leap over the grey.
- “I think it was one of the dirtiest things I’ve seen,” said Marcus Pettersson. “We’ll see what the league does. I hope Forby is okay, I haven’t seen him after. That was a scary punch, and I didn’t like it at all.”
- Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said he agreed with Pettersson’s assessment of Trenin’s punch and had no update on Forbort’s condition. My initial concern was an orbital fracture, given that Forbort was immediately clutching his face and the Canucks’ trainer held a towel to Forbort’s left eye. Forbort was definitely bleeding.
- “I hate that it happens when he’s trying to stick up for me too,” said Hughes. “It doesn’t feel too good. Forbs is a great teammate.”
- To top it all off, Trenin had a major crash out as he was kicked out of the game. He had to be held back by the linesman as he yelled at the referee, then tried to swerve out of the linesman’s grip and attack the Canucks who had some unkind words to say to him. The cheap shot, combined with his disrespect toward the officials, ought to earn him a suspension; we’ll see what the Department of Player Safety has to say.
- “I don’t know what he was doing — the circus act after getting kicked out — but obviously there’s got to be a level of respect,” said Hughes.
- The officials on the ice handled it poorly, to be honest. They said they were reviewing a major penalty but then gave Trenin a game misconduct without a major penalty, instead giving him a two-minute minor for instigating the fight, a penalty that was offset by Teddy Blueger getting a minor penalty for jabbing at Trenin from the bench after his cheap shot. After Trenin’s cheap shot that forced Forbort from the game, the two teams ended up playing at 5-on-5.
- That’s a situation where Trenin deserved an extra five-minute major for intent to injure and the officials completely dropped the ball. Kicking him out of the game was the right call, certainly, but continuing on at 5-on-5 was baffling.
- Anyway, let’s talk some actual hockey.
- Marcus Pettersson scored his first as a Canuck to give his team the early lead. Linus Karlsson gained the blue line and held onto the puck as the Wild gave him room. He then spotted Pettersson streaking up the left wing, fed him the puck, and Pettersson made like the Canucks’ original Pettersson and fired a wristshot top corner. It was a gorgeous shot. , Pettersson was the postman, going off the post and in.
- “It’s always fun to score,” said Pettersson. “I’m maybe not known to score and maybe not why I was brought over, but it’s always fun. Too bad we couldn’t get the result, you know?”
- That wasn’t Pettersson’s only impact on the game. He threw a massive hit on Declan Chisholm in the second period that unfortunately injured the Wild defenceman. It was a clean hit, as Pettersson went right through Chisholm’s chest, but Chisholm seemed dazed and left the game.
- Shockingly, Chisholm returned for the third period despite what appeared to be an obvious concussion. I can only hope that he only had the wind knocked out of him and couldn’t catch his breath, accounting for his dazed state, and that he successfully passed all of the off-ice concussion tests.
- Conor Garland evidently did not get the memo that the Canucks have nothing left to play for, as he went HAM on a first period penalty kill like it was a slice of rye bread. Garland dove out to poke the puck out of the defensive zone, then knocked down a saucer pass in the neutral zone with one hand on his stick and dove out again to clear the puck down the ice.
- The Canucks made it 2-0 on a second period power play. Hughes handed the puck off to Nils Höglander, who skated downhill on the left side and leaned into a snap shot. Filip Gustavsson seemed to have a bead on the shot until Jake DeBrusk , and by faith, I mean the puck. He got just the toe of the stick on the shot, deflecting it under Gustavsson’s blocker.
- The one thing you can say about the Canucks is that they made the Wild earn it. The motivation of the two teams was as disparate as possible, with the Wild playing for their playoff lives and the Canucks playing for pride, so it’s no surprise that the Wild threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Canucks to come back in the third period. To the Canucks credit, they didn’t make it easy.
- The Wild kicked off the comeback just 22 seconds into the third period. Garland made a great defensive play to block a backdoor pass, but the puck kicked out to Brock Faber between the hashmarks. Faber ripped a wristshot that went through Garland’s legs as he charged out for an attempted block and then past Lankinen’s blocker, which also attempted a block, seeing as blocking is in its nature.
- Faber thought he had another goal less than a minute later, as he tucked in a loose puck out of a scramble in front, but the whistle had clearly gone. It was a bit of good fortune for the Canucks, as Lankinen never securely covered the puck. The shot long after the whistle caused a commotion, as Linus Karlsson took exception. Everyone grabbed a dance partner but didn’t do anything more than dance, as the gloves stayed on.
- Aatu Räty nearly restored the two-goal lead on a breakaway sprung by Brock Boeser, but Gustavsson got his shoulder on the shot. Shortly after, the Wild tied the game. Marcus Pettersson’s clearing attempt was knocked down, Ryan Hartman threw a puck to the crease, and Marcus Foligno, like a third-base coach, sent it home.
- “Kind of had some giveaways — I had one myself when I tried to go off the glass and hit a stick and they keep it alive,” said Pettersson. “They’re a desperate team, they need these points. I think we kind of handed it to them by giving them the puck too much.”
- It’s not just that the Canucks were outshot 33-to-14 and were particularly outshot in the third period as the Wild pushed hard for the comeback. The Canucks had just 33 shot attempts the entire game, which means the Wild had as many shots on goal as teh Canucks had attempts. That’s sad. I’m sad now.
- The Wild finished off the comeback in overtime because Höglander isn’t used to playing 3-on-3. Höglander lapsed into the zone defence habits that have been drilled into him all season, but 3-on-3 overtime is man-on-man defence. His man, Mats Zuccarello, slipped in behind him, Kirill Kaprizov made the pass to Zuccarello, and the Zucarellian one deked out Lankinen for the goal.
- “Höggy missed his man, poor guy,” said Tocchet. “Usually, he’s not out on those things, and he missed his man. That’s it. It’s not a microcosm [of the season]. Overtime is an individual mistake. That’s what happens. He’s played good hockey, and he missed his man — we move on.”
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