By Canadian Press

Canucks lose pre-season series against Kraken with 2-1 loss in Abbotsford

Oct 4, 2023 | 9:54 PM

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — The Seattle Kraken beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 courtesy of an Eeli Tolvanen winner in NHL pre-season action Wednesday night at the Abbotsford Centre.

Seattle’s Cale Fleury took a pass just past the Canucks’ left face-off circle, forcing a pad save from Canucks netminder Casey DeSmith, but Tolvanen was on hand to fire the deflected puck past him at 12:29 of the third.

Vancouver came into the game missing its big names — including J.T. Miller, newly-named captain Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson — and called up six players from its American Hockey League affiliate to fill the roster.

It was a back-and-forth affair, with Seattle dominating the first period before Vancouver came storming back in the second with 12 shots to the Kraken’s two.

Seattle opened the scoring in the first period after Andrew Poturaski received the puck while holding off Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy, allowing the Kraken forward to drive to the top of crease, dip wide and beat DeSmith.

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Vancouver responded at 9:42 of the second period, with Filip Hronek finding an open Soucy who fired a wrist shot through a mass of bodies that found its way past Seattle netminder Joey Daccord.

The Canucks thought they had tied it in the dying seconds of the third but several players were denied by Daccord, who resorted to saving shots while on his back.

The Canucks have now been outscored 19-9 in pre-season, with the majority coming in their first game against the Calgary Flames — a 10-0 loss.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.

Nick Wells, The Canadian Press