Burroughs scores first goal as Canucks snap skid

*Photo from the Surrey Now-Leader*

   The struggles of the Vancouver Canucks this season have been pretty well documented. They were not on Friday night. Kyle Burroughs scored his first NHL goal, Conor Garland scored, and the Canucks defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Friday night.

   By beating the Jets, the Canucks improve their record to 6-10-2 this season, just 7th place in the Pacific Division. They snapped a 6 game losing streak with the win, and also snapped a 9 game home losing streak to the Jets, dating back to the 2016-2017 season. Burroughs scored his first NHL goal at his home arena, as he is a Vancouver native.

   Burroughs said of his first goal that "As soon as it left my stick, God knows what happened. I think I was the last one to celebrate. It was a big accomplishment, especially for me. I don't score a lot of goals in any league. To get it here is nice and a little bit of weight off the back. It's even better to get the win tonight."

   First on the scoreboard was the Canucks, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson scoring on the power play 13:51 into the game, his second of the season giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead. Burroughs gave the Canucks a 2-0 lead when he scored 3:12 into the second period, on assists from Tyler Myers and Jason Dickinson. 

   Nikolaj Ehlers got the Jets on the board one minute after Burroughs did, making it a 2-1 game on his 6th goal of the season. When given a power play again, Garland put the Canucks back ahead by two goals, scoring his 5th goal of the season to make it 3-1 Canucks 6:54 into the period. With 2:28 left in the 3rd period, Pierre-Luc Dubois got the Jets back within one to make it 3-2, but they couldn't score again.

   A big reason the Canucks snapped their losing streak was the strong outing by Thatcher Demko, rebounding in a big way. Demko stopped 37 of the 39 shots he saw from the Jets, posting a .949 save percentage to bring his season total up to .902. Demko's record went up to 6-7-1 in 14 starts this season, in the net for every Canucks win this season.

   Demko said of getting back in the win column that "We have some ground to make up here. Hopefully tonight is the start of stringing a few together and building some confidence in the room. We are all on the same page as far as what we want to accomplish. Guys aren't turning on each other and getting negative. It's a huge sign. It's something we have to keep building with."

   Backup goalie Eric Comrie made the start for the Jets, who couldn't stay on top of their game after consecutive wins against the Edmonton Oilers earlier in the week. Comrie saved 26 of 29 shots on the second half of a back to back, posting a .897 save percentage. With the loss, Comrie's record drops to 3-2-0 in 5 starts this season.

   Jets forward Adam Lowry said "It's a couple of inches, a little bit of confidence, too. You get a little stagnant at times and you allow the power play to kind of work around you and it's a perfect storm. Give some good players a lot of time and they're going to find the weaknesses. Maybe the sharpness wasn't there, maybe the execution. You go from two real hard-fought games against Edmonton, and I think the tendency is maybe a letdown."

   The Canucks are back in action on Sunday night against the hot Chicago Blackhawks, with Demko back in goal to get the start. The Jets face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, with Connor Hellebuyck starting in goal.