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With the Stanley Cup Playoffs essentially out of reach for the Vancouver Canucks, the remaining games in their schedule seem largely meangingless.
But that’s not the case. Saturday afternoon’s game against the Anaheim Ducks held a great deal of meaning, both for one particular player and for the franchise as a whole.
For Elias “Junior” Pettersson, Saturday was a very memorable day because he scored his first career NHL goal, finally finding the back of the net in his 22nd NHL game. As an added bonus, his goal came from the first career NHL assist for his good friend, Linus Karlsson, with a couple of other AHL call-ups on the ice with him: Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Max Sasson.
“It means a lot, a first goal,” said Pettersson. “It was fun that Karly made an assist too, so it was amazing…I really like those guys. Karly has been with me since my first day in Abbotsford, and he’s been helping me a lot.”
That goal was a special moment. It also kicked off some history for the Canucks, as it was the first of five goals in the span of four minutes and 30 seconds.
“That was awesome,” said Max Sasson. “They couldn’t even announce a goal before the next goal was scored.”
It was the fastest five goals in Canucks history.
The previous record was five minutes and 15 seconds, set way back in the 1992-93 season on goals from Petr Nedved, Dave Babych, Ryan Walter, Sergio Momesso, and Trevor Linden in a 7-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Just like on Saturday, all five of those goals came in the first period.
It was a swift reversal of fortunes for the Canucks, who gave up the opening goal on the very first shot of the game. After getting shut out by the Seattle Kraken in their last game, giving up the first goal 1:21 on Saturday felt like one final nail in a coffin already thoroughly secured shut. The Canucks could have even been forgiven for giving up at that point.
Instead, they came back and made history.
Well, franchise history. It’s nowhere near the record for the fastest five goals in NHL history. In fact, it ranks 26th in NHL history. The record is two minutes and seven seconds, set by the 1972-73 Pittsburgh Penguins in a 10-4 win over the St. Louis Blues.
Perhaps my favourite statistical aspect of the Canucks’ five goals is that the goals, quick as they may have been, were spaced out enough that they were miles away from the franchise record for the fastest four goals in Canucks history.
The gaps between goals were 1:06, 0:46, 1:53, and 0:45. The four closest goals were 3:24 apart, which ranks 221st in NHL history and 11th in franchise history.
The fastest four goals in Canucks history came back in November, 1980, when Gerry Minor, Curt Fraser, Stan Smyl, and Bobby Schmautz scored within a minute and 23 seconds in a 7-4 win over the Penguins. That’s the fourth-fastest four goals in NHL history, just three seconds behind the record.
That record, incidentally, dates back to World War II: the Boston Bruins scored four goals in a minute and 20 seconds on January 21, 1945 in a lopsided 14-3 win over the New York Rangers. That also happens to be tied for the fourth-most goals by a team in a single game.
Look, I’ll be honest: going down these rabbit holes is a lot more fun than thinking about the Canucks’ season because, despite the win, the playoffs remain a pipe dream. But sports aren’t just about wins and losses and playoffs and trophies; they’re about weird statistics, cool moments, and connecting with history.
The Canucks gave me some weird statistics, cool moments, and some history when I watched this game.
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