Elias Pettersson was great, but the Canucks lost to Vegas even though they had a two-goal lead.

Welcome to Instant Reaction, a new series on CanucksArmy where we give you our quick thoughts right after a game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below. The Stanches and Statsies will be posted later and will be our more detailed recaps of the game.
Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks blew another lead of two or more goals.
But it felt different this time.

Where to even start with this? The Vegas Golden Knights and the Canucks were tied for first place. They went into the third period down by one goal and started off strong.
Early in the third period, Bo Horvat, Luke Schenn, and Elias Pettersson scored three quick goals for the Canucks, giving them a 4-2 lead. But, like they have done so many times before—seven times, to be exact—the Canucks blew a two- or more-goal lead in the third period.

How can that even be explained? It seems like each one has been different, but also the same.

Tonight was an interesting game because the Canucks’ best players, like Thatcher Demko and the camera lens that stopped Vegas from scoring what would have been their first go-ahead goal, played like the best players they are. Demko was great for the first two periods, and he made some key saves early on to keep the Canucks in the game. But in the third period, it seemed like Demko couldn’t buy a save, mostly because the chances the Canucks were getting were good and there wasn’t enough coverage in front of him. It was clear that the Canucks were going to lose.

Pettersson was electric all over the ice, and even though he only scored one goal, he really did everything tonight. As usual, he was very reliable in his own end, created offense, and kept the Canucks’ hopes alive late in the game with a sliding pad save when their net was empty.

Tonight’s game was full of ups and downs. There were amazing highs and the same rock-bottom lows that Canucks fans have been through so many times already this season.

Did you enjoy it? Sure! Did it still show that this team has a lot of problems? You bet. In the end, that was what made it so hard to watch.
Some important things to note: Brock Boeser has had a point in each of the seven games he’s played since coming back. In the second period, he set up Andrei Kuzmenko for the game’s first goal by making a nice pass.

Elias Pettersson scored his tenth goal of the season, giving him goals in back-to-back games. Bo Horvat scored his 15th goal of the year, doing everything he can to live up to his nickname “Bogilny” and make as much money as possible when he becomes a free agent this summer.

The Vegas Golden Knights won this game with a final score of 5-4.
Tomorrow morning, the Stanchies and Statsies will both be posted, but for now, we want to know what you think right now! Share your thoughts in the section below!