Vancouver Canucks Rookie Defenseman Elias Pettersson Scores First NHL Goal

The Vancouver Canucks were back in action on Saturday afternoon for a first game of a back-to-back this weekend at Rogers Arena as they took on the Anaheim Ducks.

With a a number of injuries to the team's roster, Rick Tocchet was forced to make some changes, however rookie defenseman Elias Pettersson stayed in his spot on the third pairing alongside Derek Forbort.

As will be the case for the rest of the 2024-25 season, Vancouver is in must-win mode as they sit eight points back of the Minnesota Wild for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Well, for a team that's in must-win now, they definitely showed that during the first period of Saturday's game, scoring five goals to take a 5-1 lead to the dressing room.

With the halfway mark of the first period approaching and the Vancouver Canucks searching for their first goal of the game, rookie defenseman Elias Pettersson stepped up to score the equalizer.

Pettersson, who was wide open at the top of the slot, fired home his first career goal in the NHL on a great pass from Linus Karlsson.

With his goal on Saturday afternoon against the Ducks, Elias Pettersson became the 497th player in Vancouver Canucks franchise history to score.

It's great to see Elias Pettersson finally find the back of the net for his first NHL goal after all the hard work he's put in since making the jump to North America at the tail end of the 2023-24 season.