Canucks’ 3 Up, 3 Down: Di Giuseppe, Pettersson, McDavid & More

The Vancouver Canucks are only one win away from punching their ticket to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2011 after a dramatic 3-2 victory in Game 5 over the Edmonton Oilers. J.T. Miller was the hero with 32.6 seconds remaining, jumping on a rebound off the post and banging it past Calvin Pickard for the win and a 3-2 series lead. But that’s not all that happened in that game. Let’s jump into the latest Canucks’ 3 Up, 3 Down with all the action from Game 5, and some storylines over the series as a whole as we look toward Game 6.

Plus One: Di Giuseppe Channels New Dad Energy With One of His Best Games as a Canuck

After missing Games 3 and 4 due to personal reasons (we later found out that his wife Maggie was giving birth), Phil Di Giuseppe returned to the lineup in Game 5 with a lot of energy. On a new-look fourth line with Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Aman, he tied the game at two in the second period off a spin-o-rama in front of Pickard after Aman forced a turnover from Evan Bouchard. He finished the game with three shots and five hits in 9:13 of ice time and looked dangerous almost every shift he was on the ice.

The birth of Di Giuseppe’s son Sam gave him a jump in his step as the positive energy reverberated through his game. In fact, it transferred throughout the lineup as the Canucks probably had their best game of the playoffs outshooting the Oilers 35-23 and controlling play most of the night. Hopefully, he still has some of that new dad energy left in the tank for Game 6 tonight as the Canucks try and advance to the Western Conference Final.

Minus One: How Can a Reverse Hit Be Called Charging?

I don’t think there was a soul in the hockey universe that wasn’t confused by the penalty that Elias Pettersson took in Game 5. After a reverse hit that sent Warren Foegele to the ice, he was assessed a charging penalty. By definition, charging is when a player leaves his feet or takes a few strides to deliver a hit. How do you charge someone from a standing position with your back to the player? Pettersson must be a magician because I don’t know how that’s possible. There have been some borderline penalty calls in the playoffs so far, but that was by far the most confusing.

Plus Two: Elias Pettersson Looked More Like Himself in Game 5

Speaking of Pettersson, we finally saw glimpses of the man who dominated the NHL in January when he tallied 14 goals in 13 games. It couldn’t have come at a better time, too, as the Canucks will need him if they are to bust through the Oilers in Game 6 and the Dallas Stars in the next round. He didn’t score, but he had chances and was noticeable offensively. It’s only a matter of time before pucks start going in for him if he continues to play like he did in Game 5.