Elias Pettersson’s start to the season is almost unprecedented.
At least in Vancouver Canucks history.
The Swede was responsible for a hat trick last night – and is now second in the entire NHL’s scoring.
Elias Pettersson broke a personal record in the NHL last season, when for the first time he got over three-digit number of points scored. The Swede also managed the feat in a Vancouver Canucks that had enormous problems for large parts of the season, and therefore also missed the playoffs.
The new monster hit
Elias Pettersson entered the new NHL season with even higher expectations on his shoulders. Everyone expected the Canucks to be a better team this season than last, and a completely injury-free Elias Pettersson ranks as one of the best forwards in the entire league. But the start of the season for the Swede has surpassed all expectations.
“EP40” was at the top of the NHL’s scoring even before last night’s game against the Nashville Predators, but last night he took big steps up against it, and especially when it comes to the shooting league. Elias Pettersson equalized to make it 2-2 at the start of the second period, and a quarter of an hour later he scored his second goal of the match, making it 3-2. However, Pettersson was not done there.
Best in over 30 years
With three minutes left in the game, Pettersson scored his, and Vancouver’s fifth, goal of the night to make it 5-2. It was only the second time in his short career that Elias Pettersson managed a hat trick in the NHL’s best league. Elias Pettersson has now been noted for five goals and a total of 16(!) points in nine games played during the season opener. He is thus second in the points league, only behind New Jersey Devils Jack Hughes, who started the season brilliantly with 18 points scored.
Elias Pettersson’s start is not only good against other players in the league, but also historically. Namely, the start is the third best by a Canucks player in history, and the best since 1990(!), based on less than ten games played.
READ MORE: Erik Karlsson was upset about the decision last night – lost after the Swedish star’s decisive miss
Share