In a physical contest that saw both teams ramp up the intensity, the Vancouver Canucks notched their first win of the preseason on home ice against the Seattle Kraken.
Seattle made a push to tie the game down the stretch, but the Canucks met pressure with pressure, taking the game 3-1.
Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet said he liked the effort from the group, and he would have liked to see them manage the second period.
“I thought it was a good effort. Little sloppy at times, some turnovers, but the power play was good, getting a couple of goals. Thought some of the kids played well, Šilovs obviously played very well,” Tocchet said.
Artūrs Šilovs had a number of sprawling saves and some quick reads at close range to keep the Kraken at bay. He felt the team played well in front of him and it was a team effort to pull out the win.
“It felt great. It was amazing to play our first game at home, especially the crowd, its fantastic energy all around, so I think that helped us a lot to perform better,” said Šilovs.
The 23-year-old goaltender stopped 18 of 19 shots he faced.
Vancouver went two for six on the power play and a perfect two for two on the PK.
How it Went Down
Nils Höglander capitalized on the power play off a tidy tic-tac-toe passing play from Linus Karlsson and Aatu Räty.
