The Checkers are not about to change their approach now.
It’s one that took them to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division and then whisked them through three rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs. They keep their excitement in check following a victory. The same goes after a loss, where they take those in stride as well.
“Same mentality whether it’s a win or a loss,” defenseman Trevor Carrick said. “You just rinse it down the drain and then move on, let it sting for a little bit, and don’t forget how much losing [hurts]. Use it for next game as positivity and just move on.”
Head coach Geordie Kinnear did like how his team managed the getting-to-know-you process of seeing a new opponent inside the high-stakes environment of Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals. He did not expect a feeling-out process for two physical, hard-nosed clubs, and he proved to be correct.
“They’re not going to let a shift go by where they’re going to kind of feel it out,” Kinnear said. “They’re going to get after it.”
Defenseman Dennis Cesana dressed in place of rookie Marek Alscher. The Checkers were then down to five blueliners when Tobias Bjornfot left with an apparent injury.
“Losing Toby [hurts],” Kinnear said, “But we’ll regroup and again finish the day right, and be better tomorrow.”
Video and pre-scouting work is one thing, but there is no replacement from seeing an opponent face-to-face. Carrick felt the Canucks resemble the Providence Bruins, Charlotte’s opponent back in the division semifinals.
“They some veteran guys who play a well-structured game, and they don’t really give up much. There’s some experience up front, so it’s hard to get to them, but I would say they’re very similar to Providence in the sense they play a heavy game and get their forecheck going.”
Didn’t like the start, liked the finish, loved the resilience.
That sums up Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra’s assessment of his team after their Game 1 win on Friday night. After falling behind 3-1 by the 7:08 mark of the second period, Nate Smith answered for the Canucks 22 seconds later. Ty Mueller followed in the third period to send the game into overtime, where Danila Klimovich ended it after an extra 30:25 of play.
“I wasn’t thrilled with the start,” Malhotra said. “Give [the Checkers] a lot of credit. That’s their style of hockey. They apply pressure on pressure on pressure. Up and down their lineup, they skate really well. It wasn’t a surprise that they were coming at us. We just had too many guys that weren’t ready to start the game. As the game went on, we got our legs going and got more into it.”
Said Klimovich, “I think we just as a team we stay with the process.”
Given the early hole, an opponent that had an eight-game winning streak, and the Checkers having gone 5-0 this postseason when leading after two periods, the Canucks will happily take the result. They will leave Charlotte with no worse than a road split and the next three games back at Abbotsford Centre.
A major feat was slowing down a potent counterstriking Charlotte penalty kill that had already produced six shorthanded goals this postseason. The Abbotsford power play continued to excel, delivering twice on seven chances, including Max Sasson’s tally just 4:34 into the game.
“They came as advertised,” Malhotra said of Charlotte’s penalty kill. “They’re extremely aggressive on their penalty kill. Got a number of quality looks the other way. I think the fact that we’re able to stall it out on the forecheck and recover a puck was huge for us.
With goaltender Artūrs Šilovs having to face 54 shots, including 31 in regulation, the Canucks will need to cut down on Charlotte’s shot volume. And relying on an ability to rally and generate comeback victories can be a trap, and Malhotra is on top of that point already.
“We’ve said it a number of games where we’re obviously happy to be able to come back from a deficit and claw our way back into a game and get the win, but it gets tougher and tougher to try to score your way out of a game.”
― with files from Patrick Williams
