Elias Pettersson is having an incredible season. The Vancouver Canucks had high expectations of them when entering the new season, and fans had high hopes for a spot in the playoffs.
But it didn’t go to plan. The Canucks have no chance of reaching the playoffs, and during the season, they’ve let head coach Bruce Boudreau go and instead appointed Rick Tocchet as new coach.
And finally, it seems to be paying off. The Canucks have won five straight games, and much has to do with Elias Pettersson’s magic. The Swede has seven points in his last five games, and he’s currently on 83 points and on pace for 104.
Pettersson has been going under the radar all year but is top ten in points in the league. Pettersson had an assist in Tuesday’s 5-2 win against the Dallas Stars but was praised for a completely different reason.
Previously this season, Cale Makar earned praise for convincing ref to decline a penalty he was first handed. And Tuesday, Elias Pettersson tried to do the same.
During the game, Elias Pettersson was tripped up by Stars’ Max Domi, and as he fell to his knees, the referee raised his arm for a penalty.
But when Elias Pettersson, still in control of the puck, stood up, he waived his arm as he felt the call was too soft.
However, the referee didn’t care about what Pettersson thought of the call, as he still sent Domi to the penalty box. But Pettersson still showed he’s a great sport, and the fact that he was willing to give up a man advantage because he felt there wasn’t enough contact speaks volumes. He deserves some mad respect for this.
