The Abbotsford Canucks escaped Coachella Valley with a well-earned split after games one and two of the Pacific Division semifinal and hope to move on after a stinging overtime loss in Saturday's (May 4) game two.
Abbotsford was very close to going up 2-0 on the Firebirds in the best-of-five series, but a costly turnover in the extra frame swung that game back to the Coachella Valley side and it ended in a 5-4 loss.
The Canucks fell behind 3-0 early in that game, battled back to go up 4-3 by the third and then were unable to maintain that lead before the overtime flub.
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鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra said he's using that game and the final result as an experience to draw on for his team.
"There are a lot of lessons to be learned," he said, following Canucks practice on Tuesday (May 6). "The biggest one being you have to be ready to start in the playoffs."
Abbotsford allowed the first goal early in games one and two to the Firebirds, a trend that Malhotra hopes ends in Abbotsford.
"Spotting a team any type of lead is not a recipe for success," he said. "Just being sharper early on is a major takeaway for us. But the fact that we were able to persevere those bumps [trailing 3-0 in game two] was big for us. So we take that lesson, learn from it and move on."
Canucks captain Chase Wouters said Saturday was a bitter pill to swallow, but that he believes in the resiliency of the team.
Manny throwing it back to 2010 with some one timers
鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
"You're not going to be able to crawl uphill like that every game," he said of game two. "When you get the chance to and fall short, it's tough. But we're resilient people and we will clean up areas, like the start, where we have to. I believe in our group."
Wouters said that Malhotra's demeanour is a big part of the team's ability to comeback.
"He knows what buttons need to be pushed," he said. "He's been a player forever and he's been on our side of these types of big games and moments so that's a huge factor for our resiliency."
Malhotra said Abbotsford's offensive depth also needs to shine if they want to win this series.
"That's been a big make-up of our group this whole season," he said. "Our ability to do everything by committee. We defend by committee, we support by committee 鈥� so it's no surprise that we're getting contributions from different guys up and down the lineup. I think that's a big part of what's made us successful this year."
Back on home territory! 馃彙
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The line of Juhjar Khaira, Nate Smith and Sammy Blais stepped up in a big way for game two and combined for seven points. Malhotra said he will likely keep that line together for game three.
"They work well with one another and feed off each other," he said. "They know where the other guy is going to be and they play a simple and direct game, which at this time of year is crucial."
Injuries are also seeping into the Canucks during the playoffs, with forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki and defenceman Christian Wolanin yet to play in this series. However, both players were on the ice for practice on Tuesday. Not on the ice was forward Aatu Raty and defenceman Jett Woo. Both Raty and Woo left game two with injuries and Malhotra said that Woo is day-to-day.
Game three is set for tomorrow (Wednesday) inside the Abbotsford Centre and game four goes Friday (May 9). Game five, if necessary, goes Sunday (May 11). All games have a puck drop of 7 p.m.
Continue visiting for more on the team's journey during the Calder Cup playoffs.
