By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 at Rogers Arena on Saturday.
Brock Boeser scored the game-winning goal for the Canucks in the third period with 8:56 left to go.
Canucks and Maple Leafs blocked several shots, played good teams, but according to Matthew Knies, it came down to Special Teams.
“I think there was a lot of opportunities for us to capitalize,” Knies said. “We lost a special team battle in this game, and I think that was the difference maker for us.”
As good as the goaltending was for both teams, the Canucks got worried immediately after Thatcher Demko left the game in the first period.
We can only hope that Demko’s injury is not that serious.
Demko was replaced by Kevin Lankinen, who was magnificent for the Canucks. He made the night’s most significant play late in the third period when Auston Matthews tried to tie the game on a power play possession. Lankinen finished the game with 21 saves.
Morgan Reilly scored the only goal of the game for the Maple Leafs. When you look at his goal, it seems like a very tough shot to put inside the net, but it works out. The goal came in the second period.
Reilly acknowledges that the Canucks are a good team, and they’re tough to break down.
“They’re a good team,” Reilly said. “They do a good job tracking. They’re hard on the four-check. I thought they broke the puck out pretty well. I didn’t think we had a ton of ozone time.”
Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll made 23 saves for the Maple Leafs (33-20-2), who had won three in a row and six of nine (6-3-0).
Canucks did a good job closing out the game. Their defense stepped up and maintained their composure to come out with a victory. Canucks have a head coach in Rick Tocchet, who’s not afraid to challenge his players to be better.
The Canucks are a talented team. They must stay healthy and continue building momentum after beating the Maple Leafs.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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