Just call him the double overtime god.
For the second time in the Calder Cup playoffs, Abbotsford Canucks forward Danila Klimovich scored a clutch goal in the fifth period and this time drove a dagger into the hearts of 8,667 inside Charlotte's historic Bojangles Coliseum in game one of the Calder Cup Finals.
Klimovich helped the Canucks transform into a Jason Voorhees-like monster for the Eastern Conference champion Charlotte Checkers 鈥� refusing to die and never giving up on a Friday the 13th that fans inside that building will never forget.
The 2021 second round pick dug the puck out of the corner with Abbotsford on the power play and found a hole in Checkers goalie Kaapo Kahkonen at 10:25 of the second overtime to earn a 4-3 win for the Canucks.
Abbotsford opens the series with a massive win on the road and has suddenly taken the early driver's seat in this series.
The storybook ending was a completely different story from what occurred in the first two periods, as Abbotsford trailed 2-1 after one an 3-2 after two. The Canucks were also out shot 26-15 in the first 40 minutes.
Abbotsford forward Max Sasson scored the first goal of the Calder Cup Finals, when he fired home a Sammy Blais rebound at 4:34. The Checkers answered back with a goal from MacKenzie Entwhistle at 7:59 and then a goal at 19:59 by Oliver Okuliar. The second Charlotte goal was related to a poor change and turnover by Klimovich, but Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra did not lose faith in the Belarusian product.
Surrey's Justin Sourdif briefly gave the Checkers a 3-1 lead at 7:08, but Abbotsford's Nate Smith replied just 22 seconds later to make it a one-goal game again.
As they have for much of these playoffs, Abbotsford then cranked up the offensive intensity in the third period and it finally paid off at 8:14 when Ty Mueller tied the game up. The Canucks controlled the final frame of regulation and out shot Charlotte 8-5.
The Canucks then got into penalty trouble in the first overtime period, but the Checkers struggling power play failed to capitalize. Charlotte had two power plays and out shot Abbotsford 16-3 in the fourth period. Perhaps the biggest key to the Canucks hanging in for the first overtime period was goalie Arturs Silovs, who slammed the door shut after the third goal he allowed.
Abbotsford then converted on the power play when double overtime Danila ended the game.
A completely bizarre play occurred during a face-off in the Abbotsford Canucks defensive zone at 3:20 of the second overtime. The linesman dropped the puck and Silovs wasn't ready and the Canucks centre Ty Mueller won the face-off and the puck went into the Canucks net. Charlotte celebrated as if they had scored and the game was over, but officials did not call a goal on the ice.
The refs briefly met and it was deemed to not be a goal. The fans and Checkers players were understandably irate. Klimovich scored just a few minutes later.
Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear said he thought it was a goal.
"I see it as the centreman being responsible for making sure everyone on his team is ready and it looked like he [Silovs] was ready to me," he said in a post-game press conference. "His job is to make sure everyone is ready before he puts his head over the circle. But they deemed that the goalie wasn't ready. It is what it is though, that's playoff hockey and mistakes will be made."
Kinnear pointed to the Canucks success on the power play compared to the Checkers being unable to convert with the man advantage as the difference in the game. Abbotsford went 2/7, while Charlotte went 0/5. He stated that they were in control when up 3-1, but were unable to maintain that control after Abbotsford made it 3-2.
Kilmovich also scored a double overtime goal in the Canucks game four win over the Texas Stars on June 4. Friday's game was also the longest game in Abbotsford Canucks franchise history.
Abbotsford was out shot 54-30 in the win and Silovs ended with 51 saves. Sasson and Blais both had two point nights for Abbotsford, while Phil Di Giuseppe had a team-high six shots. Abbotsford's Dino Kambeitz and Guillaume Brisebois both ended the game at a -2, while Jett Woo, Arshdeep Bains, Christian Wolanin and Nate Smith were a team-best +1.
Sourdif led all players with eight shots on goal and defenceman Matt Kiersted had two assists for Charlotte.
The Canucks now lead the best-of-seven series 1-0 and the teams meet again in the iconic Bojangles Coliseum on Sunday (June 15) at 1 p.m. The series then moves to Abbotsford for games on Tuesday (June 17) and Thursday (June 19). Both of those games are set for 7 p.m. Game five, if necessary, is also in Abbotsford on Saturday (June 21).
