Pettersson, Miller blanked, Demko outing wasted, and more: 3 reasons why Vancouver Canucks lost 3-2 in OT against Utah Hockey Club

The Vancouver Canucks dropped a close game on Wednesday night against the Utah Hockey Club by a score of 3-2 at the Delta Center. Mikhail Sergachev scored in the dying seconds of overtime to lift the Hockey Club past the Canucks.

Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther scored for Utah, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to send the game into overtime. Danton Heinen and Dakota Joshua got the tallies for the Canucks.

So, here’s a closer look at the three key reasons why the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Utah Hockey Club in overtime on Wednesday night.

3 reasons why Vancouver Canucks lost to Utah Hockey Club

#3 Demko outing wasted

Vancouver Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko had another strong outing. This time, Demko stopped 28 of 31 shots against the Hockey Club. Unfortunately, his teammates could not back up Demko’s performance with enough defense to hold on for the win.

Demko made his fourth start of the season after returning from injury. He’s been consistently improving with each outing. However, the Canucks could not hold the lead in this contest, wasting a strong performance from their starting goaltender.

#2 The Canucks blew a two-goal lead

The Vancouver Canucks entered the third period with a 2-0 lead. However, the Hockey Club pushed, eventually getting the equalizer at 15:30 of the third period on Guenther’s power play goal.

It’s worth pointing out that the power play tally was especially frustrating, as the Tyler Myers cross-checking call that led to the power play opportunity was a needless penalty to take, particularly while holding down a one-goal lead.

Still, the Canucks took the penalty, and the result was the game-tying goal. More importantly, the Canucks blew the lead, costing them a crucial point in the standings.

#1 Pettersson, Miller, Boeser blanked

With the exception of Quinn Hughes’ two assists, the Canucks’ top scorers were silent on the night. Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller combined for six shots, with Kiefer Sherwood, who got a hat trick in his last game, being largely a nonfactor.

While it was encouraging to see the scoring come from depth players, it’s crucial to have the Canucks’ top scorers step up to take over, especially during close, tight-checking games such as this one against the Utah Hockey Club.

The Canucks will have little turnaround time as they face the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, hoping to turn things around.