Ryan Kesler came to Elias Pettersson’s birthday party. So did 18,780 others at Rogers Arena, and there were party favours for all.
Even Kesler, grumpy old RK17, had a great time — cheerfully playing the beer-chugging game the two times he was shown on the big screen, eliciting chants of “Ryan Kesler!” from fans who loved him as a player — but only when he was with the Vancouver Canucks.
Pettersson couldn’t have asked for a much better 26th birthday. The $92.8-million star moved further out of hibernation with a goal and assist in the Canucks’ 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames. After managing only one goal and three assists in the first 10 games of the National Hockey League season, Pettersson is starting to string together superior performances, playing with far more speed and engagement while contributing five points in the last four games.
“Just trying to find my game again,” Pettersson said. “I know what I’m capable of, (I’m) just finding it.”
Pettersson was the first star, but the guest of honour was elite 20-year-old prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who was bestowed first-unit power-play duties in his NHL debut and nearly scored on a couple of chances.
A little over six years ago, Pettersson was the talented, wispy Swede who scored at Rogers Arena in his first NHL game — also against the Flames.
Lekkerimaki couldn’t match that achievement, but neither did he look out of place after being recalled by the Canucks on Sunday with five goals from seven American Hockey League games on his North American resume.
Lekkerimaki played on a line with J.T. Miller and Pius Suter, filling in for right winger Brock Boeser, who appeared to suffer a concussion when hit in the head by Los Angeles King Tanner Jeannot’s shoulder in Los Angeles on Thursday.
“Yeah, he played really well today,” Miller said of Lekkerimaki. “Makes a lot of little subtle plays. He played fast. He seemed to be in the right spot most of the time. So really good, I’m very impressed. And hopefully he can get more and more comfortable as we go.”
The Canucks are getting more and more comfortable, too.
Tuesday’s win flushes away a 7-3 disintegration by the Canucks against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. That game followed Vancouver’s highly-impressive three-game sweep of California.
They simply over-ran the Flames in the second period, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead that was capped by Erik Brannstrom’s goal — through Kiefer Sherwood’s screen — in the third period.
It was a bounce-back game like the ones the Canucks produced throughout last season, when they didn’t lose more than two games consecutively until February.
The Canucks are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games, and 8-3-3 for the season.
Think about that for a minute. Pettersson was invisible for much of the first 10 games, and Miller, the other alpha forward on the team, has been playing through a medical issue since the start of training camp. Vezina Trophy-runner-up goalie Thatcher Demko has yet to play a game, and the Canucks have been trying to incorporate into their lineup as many as nine players new since the end of last season. And now Boeser, their leading goal-scorer, is out, too.
And the Canucks have still built a .679 point percentage that is tied for sixth in the NHL.
“We’re a good hockey team,” Miller said. “That’s why I think we’re hard on ourselves when it’s not really good because we understand what we could be. We show signs all the time of being a dominant team and hard to play against. That second period today, like, you can’t breathe when you play against us and we’re playing fast like that. We don’t have to defend much.
“I don’t know, we’ve got a lot of good qualities on the team. There’s going to be spurts of the season where guys don’t have the best game. And we’ve got injuries, right? It just so happens to be the start of the season, so I think it’s a little more magnified. But the important thing is. . . the exciting thing is, we haven’t even been at our best for many games and we’re still finding wins. And Kevin’s been unbelievable.”
Substitute starter Kevin Lankinen, signed as a free agent during training camp, rebounded like his team did from the Edmonton game. Starting for the 10th time in 11 games, the career backup stopped 27 of 28 shots against Calgary and rivalled Pettersson as the best Canuck.
“That was a really, really solid effort — I think probably one of the best games this year,” Lankinen said. “All four lines were rolling, the power play was a huge factor for us (tying the game 23 seconds into the second period), and we had a really good defensive game. Obviously, I was really excited to get back in there after Saturday night.
“There’s a lot of good things about this team. Offensively, I think we’re moving the puck. We’re not just throwing it away, (but) making plays. We’re confident. I think all five guys on the ice are connected, and that’s how it looks on the best nights. It’s just fun to sit back there and watch the guys buzz. I’m trying to keep my focus, but at the same time, I’m having fun out there.”
Pettersson looks like he’s having fun again. Heck, even Kesler. In Vancouver.
“This group has dealt with a lot of adversity over the years,” newcomer Jake DeBrusk, another player finding his game after a slow start, told Sportsnet. “Guys that have been here for a while have had lots of lows — and some highs last year. When we lose a game, there’s a reset. I think that’s the biggest thing that we focus on, making sure it doesn’t slide, making sure it doesn’t go a little haywire.
“I think that’s the biggest reason why our record is what it is no matter who’s in or out. We’re missing Demmer, missing Brock, some guys aren’t 100 per cent. But anytime you have adversity throughout a year, it always makes the team better. If you have a perfect year. . . and I think we had a perfect one in Boston, the best ever (in 2022-23). We didn’t have much adversity at all; it just seemed like everything was smooth sailing. But then when you get down to crunch time at playoffs, it’s all adversity. I think there’s little building blocks you try to take.”
The Canucks have accumulated a few blocks already.