Completing his first NHL career hat trick on Monday, December 16th when the Canucks hosted the Avalanche, Kiefer Sherwood secured a 3-1 victory for Vancouver. It was a great comeback for the Canucks after they took a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Valeri Nichushkin scored the lone goal for Colorado with 45 seconds left to play. The Avalanche have lost four in the past nine games, winning the other five games, including their game before this matchup against the Canucks, which had been a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators at home on Saturday. The Canucks head out to Utah on Wednesday to take on the Utah Hockey Club, and the Avalanche will be taking on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday before their last game on this road trip.
Canucks Lineup:
Garland - Miller - Boeser
DeBrusk - Pettersson - Sasson
Heinen - Suter - Sherwood
Joshua - Blueger - Hoglander
Hughes - Myers
Soucy - Juulsen
Brannstrom - Desharnais
Demko
Silovs
Avalanche Lineup:
Lehkonen - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Colton - Mittelstadt - Nichushkin
Kiviranta - Kelly - O'Connor
Felhaber - Ivan - Wagner
Toews - Makar
Girard - Malinski
Middleton - de Haan
Blackwood
Wedgewood
Kiefer Sherwood put Vancouver ahead 1-0 late in the opening frame with 3:46 remaining on the clock when he slipped in a rebound in the crease. Danton Heinen had been sent in alone across the front by Pius Suter after the puck was knocked into the left corner where Sherwood got ahold of the puck, fought for it, and got it out to Suter.
Putting in his second of the night, once again, late in the period - Kiefer Sherwood struck on the Avalanche power-play with a short-handed goal on a breakaway to give the Canucks a 2-0 lead at 3:56 of the second. Sherwood intercepted a zone entry pass by Nathan MacKinnon at the blue line, went on to win a race down the ice, and sent a quick wrister over Mackenzie Blackwood's glove from between the hash marks.
Nathan MacKinnon could've scored for the Avalanche on another power play late in the third frame, however, he hit the post. This finished 0-for-4 with the man-advantage and they're 1-for-18 in their past seven games. Not long after this opportunity for Colorado, Kiefer Sherwood finished his first career hat trick with 2:35 on the clock when he struck the empty Avalanche net, shooting from just inside his own blue line. Valeri Nichushkin quickly put an end to Thatcher Demko's shutout bid with 46 seconds left in regulation when converting Mikko Rantanen's pass in the slot for the 3-1 final.
Kiefer Sherwood on the chants from the fans, what this season has been like for him, and what it means to hit this accomplishment so soon: "That's a pretty special honor, I was trying to take it in. I really appreciate the fan support. Obviously, their passion is something that Vancouver is known for, and it's pretty cool. I'll definitely remember it," - "I'm just grateful for the opportunity that the staff and management have given me. I just try to put my work boots on each and every night, and I think when you do that, sometimes good things happen and I'm just grateful for the opportunity. There are a lot of good players up and down the lineup, so it doesn't really matter who we're playing with, but I think when everyone contributes, it's a fun group to be a part of, and we showed that tonight."
Ross Colton on the game overall and moving forward: "I think we came out a little flat, you know, they took it to us there, but we settled in a little bit. We got to do a better job of maybe creating a little more, and just bearing down. Energy wasn't really there at the start, when that happens you're kind of on your heels the rest of the game and try to recover," - "The first few minutes to the last few minutes are key to each period. Credit to them. They had a good game plan and they played with a lot of energy. It's up to us to take what we can from this game, move on, and look forward to the next two."
Notes:
- Tye Felhaber made his NHL debut, and Dakota Joshua skated in his 200th NHL career game. ...Felhaber, who signed a two-year contract on Sunday, had one hit in 4:34 of ice time in his debut.
- Mikko Rantanen has extended his point streak to six games (three goals, nine assists).
- Thatcher Demko made a total of 30 saves for his first win of the season in three starts for Vancouver.
- Mackenzie Blackwood made a total of 22 saves for Colorado.
- Kiefer Sherwood has an NHL career-high of 11 goals in 30 games this season, and last season, he scored 10 goals in 68 games with the Nashville Predators. ...Sherwood is the 13th Canucks player in history to score a natural hat trick. He is also the first to do so since Brock Boeser on December 12th, 2023.
- The Avalanche lost two of three following a three-game win streak, and the Canucks finished 3-2-1 on a six-game homestand.
- Goaltender Kevin Lankinen missed his second straight game due to illness.
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