According to Environment Canada, Abbotsford typically gets about 13 days of lightning in a calendar year.
So when the dark clouds arrived, the thunder rumbled and the lightning struck in Abbotsford just before face-off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (May 7) it was a rare occurrence.
What made it even more rare was when the line of Sammy Blais, Jujhar Khaira and Nate Smith brought the thunder, lightning, wind, sleet and any other type of destructive force you cn imagine inside the Abbotsford Centre for Wednesday's game three.
WE LIKE IT LIKE THAT! THANKS NATE馃幎
鈥� X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
The line has turned into a phenomenon against the Coachella Valley Firebirds and the Canucks are now just one win away from advancing to the Pacific Division final after a clinical 3-1 win in game three.
The Canucks are now up 2-1 on the Firebirds and can deal the final blow in game four on Friday (May 9).
The Blais-Khaira-Smith line struck first on Wednesday, as Smith accepted a pass from Akito Hirose and beat Firebirds goalie Nikke Kokko at 15:05 of the first. Smith has five points in four game since being inserted into the lineup for game three of the first round and has developed tremendous chemistry with Blais and Khaira.
KIRILL-IN IT 馃敟
鈥� X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
About four and a half minutes later, the returning from injury Jonathan Lekkerim盲ki found Kirill Kudryavtsev at the point and he floated another past Kokko. Those two goals stood until the third period when Firebirds forward Ryan Winterton beat Arturs Silovs at 3:24 of the third. The Canucks held the fort for the rest of the third 鈥� thanks in part to strong play from Silovs 鈥� and Phil Di Giuseppe added an empty net goal at 19:00 to reach the 3-1 final.
Silovs also reversed a trend from the first two games of the series and shut the door in the first period. Abbotsford didn't manage to record a shot until Smith's goal and were out shot 12-5 in the period and 26-23 in the game. It was a good bounce-back game for Silovs after being pulled in the team's game two loss.
Game on for game three between and in the Pacific Division semifinal.
鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
Tons of traffic coming in, feels like a solid crowd tonight
Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra pointed out that the team had a number of players step up in the win.
"We had contributions up and down the lineup," he said. "Through the momentum swings in the game we had different people able to control play for us. Systematically, we did a much better job of limiting their transition and our overall ability to capitalize when the opportunities were there and stay with it was a big factor."
Malhotra also praised his team's defensive efforts in blocking shots and eliminating the Firebirds' ability to get pucks to the net from the top. He reiterated that the Blais-Khaira-Smith line has been a big difference maker in this series.
EMPTY NET 馃毃 FOR PHILLIP DI GIUSEPPE |
鈥� FloHockey (@FloHockey)
"They play a very heavy playoff style," he said. "They've done a really good job of creating off the forecheck and making things work down low. And the biggest part is just getting to the net and getting inside 鈥� that's a big part of scoring in the playoffs."
Malhotra did make some lineup changes coming off of the 5-4 overtime loss on Saturday (May 3). Lekkerim盲ki and Dino Kambeitz were in at forward, while Joe Artnsen was in on defence. Jett Woo and Aatu Raty both left game two with injuries and Christian Wolanin remains on the shelf. Forward Danila Klimovich was the other scratch from game two.
He added that he saw good things from Lekkerim盲ki, who made his first playoff appearance since game two against Tucson and recorded one assist.
"We're seeing more of the Lekk that we saw earlier in the year and did a good job stepping in and playing," he said, noting his practices this week have been sharp.
鈥淲e had contributions up and down the lineup, throughout different momentum swings in the game. We had different people able to control play for us.鈥�
鈥� X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
Head Coach Manny Malhotra addressed the media following tonight鈥檚 3-1 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
FULL MEDIA |鈥�
Kudryavtsev scored his first career AHL playoff goal and he said being scratched after game two against Tucson helped him get a bigger picture of the game when he was tapped to return to the lineup for this series.
"We talked with Smitty [assistant coach Jordan Smith] and watched my shifts and pointed out some of my mistakes," he explained. "He told me just to watch from above and when Wolly [defenceman Christian Wolanin] got hurt, I got my chance to step back in and earn the trust back from the coaches."
Kudryavtsev led all defenceman with three shots on Wednesday and finished a +2.
Sammy Blais, who has been one of Abbotsford's playoff warriors, said the Canucks are handling themselves physically in the series.
"We're not going to back down," he said of the physical play in this series and against Tucson. "Everyone on our team can throw the body and play hard and it's been a big part of our game in the playoffs. Anytime there's a hit to be made, we're not shying away from it. It gives us some energy when we get on the forecheck, play the body and then get the puck back."
Smith led all players with four shots on goal and Hirose was a team-best +3.
Reported attendance for Wednesday was 5,322, which is believed to be the largest crowd ever for a Wednesday game.
BEAT THE BIRDS 鈥嶐煍�
鈥� X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
The four playoff wins this season is the most in one playoff run in franchise history. The Canucks previously lost 3-1 to Calgary in the semifinal in 2023 and then were swept 3-0 in the semifinal by the Ontario Reign in 2024.
The other Pacific Divisions semifinal is over, as the Colorado Eagles swept the San Jose Barracuda 3-0. Colorado plays the winner of Abbotsford and Coachella Valley, with the Eagles having home ice advantage after finishing as the top seed in the division.
The Canucks can close out the series in game four on Friday (May 9). Face-off is set for 7 p.m.
Continue visiting for ongoing coverage of the Canucks' journey during the Calder Cup playoffs.
