That was not a Picasso by any means,” he said. Vancouver head coach Travis Green said Markstrom was great in net, but played better when they were up 1-0 in the first than 4-1 in the third. Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan responded for the Flames.Ĭanucks goalie Jacob Markstrom turned away 20 of 23 shots, while Smith stopped 30 of 35. Goldobin added an assist and veteran centreman Loui Eriksson had a pair of helpers. I got a piece of it with the glove, but yeah I have heard quite a bit about this young kid and he let her go and hit the perfect spot there,” Smith said.Īll of Vancouver’s goals Wednesday night came from players under the age of 25.īrendan Leipsic, Jake Virtanen, Nikolay Goldobin and Tyler Motte - on an empty-netter - all scored in the season opener. “He made a great shot, he put right in the top corner. He plays the game incredibly well.”Įven Calgary’s netminder Mike Smith had kind words for Pettersson. “If he turns the puck over, he’s right back on it and he takes it away from you. “One of the most impressive things about him is how responsible he is and how competitive he is,” Gudbranson said. His teammate Erik Gudbranson said the former star of the Swedish Hockey League was an “absolute stud” in his NHL debut. So that was amazing,” said Pettersson, whose parents were among those in attendance at Rogers Arena. And then I didn’t expect a standing ovation from the crowd. “Everyone on the team congratulated me, including the coaches. That brought the fans to their feet and prompted chants of “Petter-sson,” a reaction that wowed the young Swede. Pettersson opted not to pass, instead rocketing a wrist shot into the top of the net. He got on the scoresheet midway through the first period, collecting the puck in the neutral zone and then sprinting into Calgary’s end with teammate Derrick Pouliot for a two-on-one. Not only did Pettersson stay on his feet, he scored his first NHL goal on his first shot and tallied two points in the Canucks’ 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames. “Maybe I thought they would forget it because it was lonely, not that fun,” he said after the game. The 19-year-old Vancouver Canucks centre said he knew about the league’s tradition of initiating rookies with a solo skate during warm up, but hoped his teammates might make an exception. VANCOUVER-Elias Pettersson had one thought when he hit the ice before his first NHL game Wednesday - stay upright.
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