Canucks 4, Golden Knights 3: Plateaus aplenty as owning day showed the way – The Province

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On a significant night, the distractions didn’t affect the action.

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For the Vancouver Canucks, who have been caught up in playoff positioning and possible first-round matchups, they got back to trying to own the day Monday at Rogers Arena.

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In a highly paced and playoff-like atmosphere, they dug out of an early two-goal hole and looked like a club that was determined to sharpen its game for the post-season and not go quietly into the night.

A 4-3 victory in regulation time ensured the Canucks will have home-ice advantage in opening round of the playoffs.

Conor Garland not only scored twice to make it 101 career goals in his 400th career game, both of his efforts are the kind of goals scored in the post-season.

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The speedy and pesky winger got to the net against big defencemen to get to a pair of rebounds and the second one late in the second period snapped a 3-3 draw. His teammates wore commemorative t-shirts in his honour — orchestrated by J.T. Miller to acknowledge the feat and lighten the mood — and the crowd even chanted his name.

“I don’t take anything for granted and I hope there are a lot more and it (400 games) is a nice number to get to,” said Garland. “The game gave us a lot of belief and we think we’re a good team and it’s hard to win at this time of year.

“To have a game like that, it’s a playoff game. And it (chanting) is pretty cool for anybody and they did it for Millsy and it’s well deserved. That’s the reward of playing in a Canadian market and a big one like Vancouver. If the environment is anything like this in the playoffs, it’s going to be a pretty cool place to play.”

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And if the journey is indeed the adventure then Garland has had quite a ride.

“My first year in the minors was tough with just four goals and not many people probably thought I could make it here,” he added. “And when you get your foot in the door, you never want to have it slammed shut on you.”

It was also a three-assist night for Miller, who hit the century point plateau for the first time in his career. And it was also Arturs Silovs staying calm as the Golden Knights pressed for the equalizer.

“I downplay everything but it is pretty special,” Miller admitted of the 100-point plateau. “We have a lot of work to do and I’ll have an extra beer tonight and it’s something I can enjoy in the summer. It’s hard to do. I’m playing with really good players on a really good team.”

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As for the team game, rebounding from an early deficit against the Stanley Cup champions meant something. And so did a lock-it-down third period.

“When we gave up two we didn’t crumble,” noted Miller. “We persevered and stayed with it and it’s a good step for the group. We didn’t back off and limited stuff to the outside.”

The night checked a lot of boxes for Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. He was looking for resiliency and consistency once his club got back on even terms.

“There wasn’t any panic on the bench and the power play got us back in the game and it was great,” he said. “This was a good test and these are the moments you look for. When the pressure hits, you’ve got to be calm. There were tense moments but we did a nice job.”

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It certainly eased some concerns. 

“This is the game of today and not two weeks from now,” Tocchet pleaded following the morning skate. “We’re a day-to-day team, but now that the stakes are higher, there’s a lot of who are we going to play? Or, who plays with who? 

“Now, people’s minds are wondering in general. Are we going to win the division or not? There are too many variables. The messaging has to come from me to not let the guys’ minds wander.”

Here’s what we learned as Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser also scored for the Canucks while Jack Eichel had both goals for the Golden Knights:

Boeser bags the big No. 40

For a moment, it looked like Boeser was going to be denied hitting a significant plateau.

The winger, who pledged to score 30 goals last season but slumped to 18 amid constant trade rumours and grieving the loss of his father, found the net in the second period to make it 3-3.

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Boeser’s wrist shot from the slot got by Elias Pettersson, who was parked at the top of the crease, and the goal was reviewed for goalie interference. It was confirmed a goal and Boeser was greeted by waves of applause as fans rose to their feet.

Boeser just wanted to find the joy in his game and worked to improve his fitness, focus and become a more complete player willing to play on the inside and backcheck effectively.

Boeser becomes the 10th player in franchise history to hit the 40-goal plateau. The others are Pavel Bure, Alex Mogilny, Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi, Tony Tanti, Darcy Rota, Ryan Kesler, Ron Sedlbauer and Daniel Sedin.

Boeser was playing hurt and in treatment post game, which only spoke of his desire to make something of this season and hit a most memorable plateau.

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“That sucks,” deadpanned Miller. “I’ve been telling him he can’t score 40 without me and he’s shoving it in my face a little bit now. But he’s a hell of a player and proved he can score a lot of goals in this league and I’m glad to see it coming together for him.

“He’s going to the hard areas to score and has a really good release.”

Added Tocchet: “Forty goals are hard to score in this league. He was a little banged up before the game and he played. That’s what I’m proud about. It inspired the team a little bit. It wasn’t anything bad, but to see him score a big goal, a lot of guys were happy for him.”

Hughes enters select company

When the Canucks captain drew an assist on Garland’s power-play goal in the first period, the defenceman joined a pair of legendary blueliners who have amassed at least 200 helpers in a three-season span.

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The others to accomplish that feat were Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey. That’s quite the podium.

Hughes then drew the Canucks even with a power play point shot that was low, hard and accurate and benefited from a double screen down low by Pettersson and Garland. It moved the Hughes career-high goal meter to 17.

Miller drew assists on the two first-period goals to hit point total 99 (35-64), which equalled the career high the centre set in 2021-22. He then went one better with another helper.

Slow starts not smart strategy

Two shots. Two goals.

That’s how Eichel quickly announced his arrival as the Canucks surrendered the first goal for the fifth time in their last seven outings.

Eichel’s first effort came at 1:52 of the opening period when he ripped a power play wrist shot from the slot between the legs of defenceman Nikita Zadorov. Silovs only got a piece of the effort as the shot deception affected his tracking.

Eichel then struck again after being left open on the back door to take a cross-ice feed and easily deposit the offering. He has four goals in the season series.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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