Vancouver won because DeBrusk scored twice including the overtime winner while the Canucks converted 1-of-4 power plays at the exact moment Los Angeles had seized control.
⚡TURNING POINT
DeBrusk's power-play goal 52 seconds into the second period halted Los Angeles momentum before it could compound — coming just 12 seconds before Kempe answered at even strength, the sequence showed how narrowly Vancouver avoided being buried. The conversion immediately reset the score to a one-goal game, preventing Los Angeles from extending a two-goal cushion that, given Vancouver's 17 giveaways, would likely have been insurmountable.
🏆WHY VAN WON
1
Special Teams: 1/4 (25.0%) on the power play versus LAK's 0/4 (0.0%) — Vancouver's only power-play conversion came at the precise moment a two-goal deficit threatened to close the game.
2
Faceoff Dominance: 62.9% faceoff rate (39 of 62) — controlling possession starts gave Vancouver repeated zone entry opportunities despite being outshot 34–25.
3
Clutch Finishing: DeBrusk 2G on 6 shots, +2 in 17:46 TOI — both goals came at critical junctures, including the overtime winner, making him directly responsible for three of Vancouver's four points-on-board.
📉WHY LAK LOST
1
Power Play Collapse: 0/4 (0.0%) on the man advantage — four opportunities to extend or reclaim the lead produced nothing, surrendering the special-teams battle entirely.
2
Faceoff Failure: 37.1% faceoff rate (23 of 62) — losing the dot this badly meant Los Angeles could not reliably sustain offensive zone time despite outshooting Vancouver by nine.
3
Giveaway Volume: 10 giveaways against Vancouver's 17 — Los Angeles gifted transition chances that neutralized their shot-volume advantage and directly enabled Canucks' odd-man looks.
Three Stars
Zeev Buium1st
VAN, D
1G25:00 TOI
Buium's goal provided the critical equalizer in regulation and his 25 minutes of deployment showed the coaching staff leaned on him precisely when the game required defensive structure.
Jake DeBrusk2nd
VAN, L
2G6 SOG+21 PPG in 17:46 TOI
Both goals came at inflection points — the power-play strike that reversed momentum and the overtime winner that closed the game.
Quinton Byfield3rd
LAK, R
1G1A2P3 SOG+1 in 19:19 TOI
Byfield generated offense at both ends of a two-point night, but his team's failure to convert on the power play meant his individual production went unrewarded.
