Bachman, who hadn’t played a full game since May, was solid in his first action as a Canuck and rookies Brendan Gaunce, Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen continued to impress as Vancouver beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 Friday night at Gila River Arena.
Advertisement
With the Canucks jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, Gaunce recorded his goal just past the midway mark when a shot taken from the point by former Markham Waxers defenceman Chris Tanev went in off him as he was parked in front of the Arizona net.
Rookie Jared McCann scored the first of two quick goals in the opening period, and the Canucks fought back a pair of rallies for a 4-3 win over the Coyotes.
“It was a great goal”, head coach Willie Desjardins said.
With 5 goals in 9 games, McCann actually leads the team in goals despite playing on the 4th line and not receiving power play time.
Burrow scored less than 3 minutes later with a shot from near the left boards that Smith shrugged at instead of sliding over, allowing just enough room for the puck to squeeze in.
In starting the season at Utica, Gaunce had one goal and one assist in five games.
After starting the season with three starting games, Smith has posted a save percentage below.
“He hasn’t played as well as we’d like here this last little bit”, Tippett said.
“That was nice but as a team you always want to win so the loss kind of diminishes that”, Gaudet said.
The Canucks opened the season 3-0-1, but were looking for a spark after losing five of their previous six games, including 4-3 in overtime to Dallas on Thursday night after blowing a 3-1 lead. The Los Angeles Kings are second with 12 points and have played two fewer games.
Last season the Arizona Coyotes won one of four contests against the Vancouver Canucks.
Advertisement
NOTES: Coyotes C Antoine Vermette and D Connor Murphy returned to the lineup. As soon as a junior eligible player players more than nine games, one year of their entry level contract expires. Canucks G Richard Bachman made his first start after Ryan Miller started the first 10 games…. The Canucks must now make a decision on whether he stays in Vancouver or is sent back to junior. Canucks LW Sven Baertschi was a healthy scratch and replaced with Adam Cracknell. Vancouver plays 10 of its 14 November games on the road.
