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Abbotsford Canucks drop pair of games to Henderson Silver Knights

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The postseason hopes of the Abbotsford Canucks took another hit over the weekend, as the club dropped a pair of games to the Henderson Silver Knights and are now riding a three-game losing streak.

Things were looking good early for the Canucks in Nevada on Friday (Feb. 20), as forward Arshdeep Bains scored the team’s first shorthanded goal this season at 10:25 of the first. Henderson’s Trevor Connelly tied the game up about four minutes later, but Danila Klimovich took the lead back for the Canucks with a goal at the 15-minute mark.

The game completely fell apart for the Canucks in the second, as Henderson scored three goals to run away with the conest. Connelly scored at 6:08 and 13:17 to record his first career AHL hat trick and Tanner Lacyznski added a goal at 8:06. The Silver Knights dominated the middle frame and out shot Abbotsford 15-7.

Henderson added two more goals at 1:39 and 17:06 of the third, with Bains addding a late goal to reach the 6-3 final. Abbotsford was out shot 27-21 and goalie Nikita Tolopilo allowed six goals for the second time this season. Bains led all players with six shots on goal, while Canucks defenceman Jimmy Schuldt was a -3. A strange twist on the stat sheet saw Canucks defenceman Cole Clayton finish at a game best +3.

Friday also featured the return of Olympians Lukas Reichel (Germany) and Anri Ravinskis (Latvia) to the lineup.

The two teams met again on Saturday (Feb. 21), with Abbotsford falling 4-3.

Connelly continued to eat up the Canucks and opened the scoring at 9:13 of the first, with Abbotsford’s Ty Mueller knotting the game up at 18:04 to end the first at a 1-1 tie. Abbotsford held a 14-10 shots advantage after one.

Canucks defender Victor Mancini scored the lone goal of the second, as he connected on the power play at 7:56. Abbotsford starting goalie Ty Young was excellent in the second and stopped all 15 shots he faced.

Everything unravelled in the third period, as Henderson got a pair of power play goals from Matyas Sapovaliv at 2:41 and 6:29. In between those markers was a goal from Canucks defender Jett Woo, but Abbotsford somehow allowed a goal by Jackson Hallum with just seven seconds left to lose in regulation.

Henderson held a 38-35 shots edge, but three Canucks (Klimovich, Mueller and Schuldt) all posted five shots.

The Canucks organization also got some bad news earlier on Saturday, as it was reported that forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki has been shut down for the season due to shoulder surgery. Lekkerimaki did play in Wednesday’s (Feb. 18) 4-2 loss to the Ontario Reign, but did not play on Friday or Saturday.

The 2022 first round pick recorded 20 points in 21 games in Abbotsford this season and added three points in 13 games for Vancouver. The Canucks announced on Monday (Feb. 23) that Tolopilo has been recalled to Vancouver. It’s likely he will finish the remainder of the season in Vancouver.

Abbotsford’s record now sits at 18-29-3-3 and the remain 10 points out of the seventh and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The team next travels to Calgary to take on the Wranglers on Friday (Feb. 27) at noon Abbotsford time. The two teams then meet again in the Alberta city on Sunday (March 1) at noon.

The Canucks return home to the Rogers Forum to host the Colorado Eagles on March 6.