Well, who could’ve possibly seen this coming?
The Vancouver Canucks had been on an ugly nine-game losing streak but have snapped that with back-to-back wins on a brief two-game California trip against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks -- you know, playoff teams.
On Friday, they even fell behind the Ducks in the third period when Nate Thompson scored his second goal of the season. But from out of nowhere and with a depleted roster, the Canucks came back.
Dan Hamhuis and Emerson Etem tallied just 2:21 apart and the Canucks held on for a 3-2 victory, much to the dismay of some in the fan base hoping for the highest draft position possible later this month.
It’s not like the Canucks were the dominant team in the third period, either. They were outshot 20-6 but scored quickly to completely change the complexion of the game.
After consecutive wins, the Canucks move all the way to 25th in the NHL’s overall standings with four games remaining on their schedule. They face the L.A. Kings on Monday with a chance for their first three-game winning streak of this season.
Canucks climbed from tie for last to 25th in 24 hrs. Now 4 pts clear of top lottery ticket for draft. Also 4 pts behind 24th.
— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) April 2, 2016
The Canucks did lose two more forwards -- Chris Higgins and Linden Vey -- in addition to Sven Baertschi leaving Thursday’s game due to injury.
INJURY UPDATE: Vey, upper-body, will not return & Higgins, lower-body, will not return. #Canucks
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 2, 2016
Meanwhile, the Ducks missed out on an opportunity to jump back ahead of the Kings for top spot in the Pacific Division.