Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson wasn’t happy with some of his own decisions in last night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The Swedish forward had two points but focused on a defensive miscue when talking about his own play postgame.
“We liked our effort, I think we did enough to win, but a few mistakes by our line and me in the D-zone, we gave up the lead,” explained Pettersson.
“We have a 2-1 lead [on] their goal, I missed a block and when I missed my block I screened Lankinen to even see the puck. Just small details.”
The play he’s referencing came in the third period when Pettersson failed to clear the puck, eventually leading to Jacob Middleton tying the game at two for the Wild.
Jacob Middleton 🤌 pic.twitter.com/lY8uH3zkQG
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 4, 2024
This contest between two of the NHL’s best teams by points percentage ended up going into overtime. Kirill Kaprizov ended things to help the Wild win, but not before a controversial call had Canucks fans up in arms online.
After a slow start to the season, Pettersson has found his game again. The $11.6 million man now has 23 points in 24 games, including eight in his last four contests. He’s seemingly found some good chemistry with winger Jake DeBrusk and has elevated his play to help the Canucks while J.T. Miller is out on personal leave.
He’s not only scoring points, but he is also continuing to be one of the best even-strength play drivers in the league. The Canucks routinely outshoot and outchance their opponents when he’s on the ice at five-on-five.
The 26-year-old now has the fifth-largest cap hit in the league and while his first month this year was below average, he’s now showing why the team invested so much.