VANCOUVER – Every season there are a few pressure points when a team’s grit and willingness are truly tested. Play where there needs to be a legitimate reaction and resistance.

After being embarrassed 5-1 by the Boston Bruins on Saturday night – one of several lackluster performances at Rogers Arena this season – the Vancouver Canucks needed a strong performance against the Colorado Avalanche. They needed it for their home fans. They needed it for Thatcher Demko, who was completely sidelined in his first two starts since returning from injury.

The Canucks delivered exactly the type of performance that should quiet the noise in this market. Vancouver ran away with flying colors in the first half to take the lead, the team put in a tough defensive performance, Demko was sharp and Kiefer Sherwood established himself as a cult hero in this market with a hat trick.

Here are three takeaways from the club’s impressive 3-1 win over the Avalanche:

A flying start

Maybe the Canucks need more 7:30 p.m. starts because they finally started a home game on time. Rick Tocchet’s players appeared focused and connected and were determined from the first moment.

JT Miller got ahead of Nathan MacKinnon and confidently shot the ball into the net on the first shift, giving the Canucks the lead almost immediately. Elias Pettersson’s line followed with an intensive early control shift with a high work tempo. They were immediately in front and circulating the puck, and Pettersson had a good tipping chance from the high slot. On his next appearance, Pettersson shot the ball past the post.

It took the Canucks almost two full periods of play to achieve a sequence of substitutions like Saturday’s against Boston.

The Canucks’ penalty kill was rock solid as Erik Brännström’s game-delaying penalty set up Colorado’s deadly power play. They disrupted a MacKinnon attack at the blue line, Conor Garland burned time using his elusive edge work to keep the ball away, and when Colorado finally got under way, they had excellent stick positioning to stop pass attempts down the seam to ward off.

It was one of the Canucks’ best defensive periods on home ice. Vancouver controlled 90 percent of the expected goals in five-on-five play and allowed virtually no good chances. The Avs had no time or space to fly through the neutral zone. They couldn’t wreak enough havoc on the forecheck and didn’t have enough sustained pressure to wear Vancouver down on the cycle.

It was a bright, workmanlike start that the coaching staff would be proud of.

Sherwood’s Revenge Game

A right-handed hitter who darts forward at breakneck speed and uses a rocket-like shot to score multiple goals in an Avs/Canucks duel? You can’t stop Nathan MacKinnon Sherwood; They can only hope to keep him in check.

With his opening goal, Sherwood put the exclamation mark on Vancouver’s courageous performance in the first third. He began the entire sequence by protecting the puck in the corner of the attacking zone and drawing two defenders towards him. Sherwood’s tireless work protecting the puck led to Danton Heinen’s first close-range scoring opportunity, and he pounced on the rebound.

🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨

Kiefer Sherwood scores his 9th goal of the season! It’s 1-0 Vancouver!

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Canucks #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/9G8DHWzFdB

– CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 17, 2024

Sherwood’s second goal was pure electricity. MacKinnon weaved his way through the neutral zone on the power play, where he so often looks like an automatic zone-entry machine. Sherwood intercepted MacKinnon’s pass cleanly, turned the Jets to turn it into a clear breakaway and placed a perfect shot into the top corner. The Rogers Arena faithful serenaded him with chants of “Kiefer Sherwood.”

Sherwood then iced the game with a brilliant defensive play while securing a late 2-0 lead. He took the ball along the wall from Mikko Rantanen – one of the league’s best forwards at protecting the puck – and fired the puck from long range to complete the hat trick.

Who would have thought that after 30 games, Sherwood and Pius Suter would be tied for the Canucks’ five-on-five lead with nine goals each? That’s not a narrow lead either, as the second-highest scoring Canucks, Quinn Hughes and Jake DeBrusk, each scored six goals at five-on-five.

Overall, the Canucks’ forward depth hasn’t quite hit its stride this season. But on paper it has the potential to turn out to be a weapon.

Sherwood is a solid bottom-six spark plug and Suter is a versatile Swiss Army knife. Dakota Joshua, Nils Höglander and to a lesser extent Heinen also have the chance to make a difference in the bottom six if they can recapture the form of last season. It was particularly notable against the Avalanche, whose bottom six, in addition to Logan O’Connor, was a mix of replacements: Joel Kiviranta, Parker Kelly, Tye Felhaber, Ivan Ivan and Chris Wagner.

Demko’s solid performance – MacKinnon denies it

With a stable defensive environment in front of him, Demko was sharp and in control all night long. His best performance came in the first few minutes of the second period.

The Avs started the power play at midfield, where Demko made a good stop on Valeri Nichushkin. A few shifts later, he denied MacKinnon a prime chance at the slot after a rare Hughes giveaway. Colorado managed to make a few strong plays again, with Demko making some great close-range saves. The 29-year-old’s positioning and ability to hit shots straight away were on point. He was able to navigate the shots well through traffic.

Vancouver’s penalty kill played well in front of Demko, nullifying the Avs’ star-studded top unit.

Noah Juulsen was an unsung defensive hero. He played five-on-five against MacKinnon for nearly eight minutes, with Vancouver holding a 3-2 advantage in dangerous chances. Rantanen had a rush early in the third period, breaking through the Canucks’ neutral zone structure and firing behind the goal. Demko overplayed it and lost his goal, but Juulsen dropped deep to interrupt Rantanen’s play and save a possible goal.

It’s nearly impossible to completely stop MacKinnon – he still had four shots on goal and hit one against the crossbar on a third-period power play – but makes a superstar who had nine points in his last three games pointless heading into Monday’s game is one hell of a way to respond to Saturday’s humiliating loss to the Bruins.

(Photo of Kiefer Sherwood scoring a goal against Colorado in the second period: Derek Cain / Getty Images)