from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,
The youngest players on the Vancouver Canucks call defenceman Christopher Tanev “dad,” but it only seems like he is old enough to be their father.
The 30-year-old is one of only two Canucks who actually has first-hand memories of the last time the franchise won a National Hockey League playoff round before “dad” drifted an overtime wrist shot past Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock very late Friday to get Vancouver’s kids out of the qualifying round of this extraordinary Stanley Cup tournament.
Tanev’s goal — nine years after he was a depth player on the Canucks team that went to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final — was scored just 11 seconds into overtime as Vancouver won 5-4 and took the series 3-1 in games.
Rebuilt in the five years since they last made the playoffs, these Canucks feel different than most of the teams that have unsuccessfully chased a Stanley Cup since Vancouver entered the NHL in 1970.
Led by dynamic, young stars Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser, supported by a few veterans and some key mid-career players still at their peak, anything seems possible for the Canucks.
Below, watch the OT goal from Tanev.
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