Elias Pettersson rocked Zayne Parekh with a heavy hit Saturday night, and Drew O'Connor turned it into the Canucks' third goal in a decisive win over Calgary.
The sequence went fast. The Canucks center finished the check, the puck came loose, and O'Connor went the other way to score.
That's not the part of his game most people talk about. The last couple of seasons were hard on him, with injuries piling up and the frustration showing.
This season looks different. He's playing heavier and more involved, and the production has followed with two power-play goals and four points in his first two games.
Parekh, the Flames' 20-year-old defenceman, found out the hard way. Nobody expected that kind of hit from Vancouver's most skilled forward.
In the clip, Pettersson steps into Parekh with a heavy check, the puck squirts free, and O'Connor races the other way to bury it.
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The rebuilding Canucks need this version of Elias Pettersson
Pettersson carries an $11,600,000 cap hit, and the Canucks need him leading the way through a rebuild.
Vancouver's front office said it wants a team fans can see enjoys playing together. A star throwing his body around to set up a teammate fits that picture.
This is the Pettersson the Canucks have been waiting for. If he keeps playing this way, the rebuild gets a real leader instead of a contract everyone argues about.
It's like watching the quiet kid in class finally stand up and argue back. Everybody in the room notices.
O'Connor, 28, carries a $2,500,000 cap hit and got a well-earned reward for his work in the bottom six.
The Canucks host Vegas on Sunday, on the back end of a back-to-back. Manny Malhotra gets to see whether his star brings the same edge on short rest.
One hit doesn't erase two hard seasons. But if this becomes a habit, Vancouver's rebuild might move faster than anyone in the front office planned.
Is this the comeback season for Elias Pettersson in Vancouver?
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