Henderson Silver Knights Fall 2-1 in Overtime Against Abbotsford Canucks
Carl Lindbom sat on the bench as the Henderson Silver Knights pressed with an extra attacker, their net empty and the crowd at Lee’s Family Forum on its feet. The tension was high as Henderson was still searching for the equalizer as Abbotsford clung to a 1-0 lead.
Each second seemed like an eternity as time was ticking. That was until Tanner Laczynski scored on a wide-open net after the puck was loose in front of the net, giving the Silver Knights the tie.
“He’s a big, heavy, strong guy in this league, [a] guy that can drive offense,” head coach Ryan Craig said following the 2-1 loss in overtime. “We expect him to be heavy on pucks, heavy in the faceoff circle and continue to get to the hard areas to score like that.”
The Silver Knights fell in their opener on Friday night but will have another opportunity tomorrow. Here is the game recap.
Silver Knights Fall in Overtime Against Canucks
The Silver Knights were backed by 2021 seventh-round netminder Lindbom, who registered a 2.01 goals-against average and stopped 28 of 30 shots.
“Carl picked up where he left off last year, where he started off his camp,” Craig said. “I thought he was solid for his first regular season start of the year, and we’ve come to expect that out of him.”
Lindbom won 18 games in 36 appearances last season and continues to shepherd the Silver Knights on the backend.
Along with Lindbom, the Silver Knights also have a fair share of veterans on the team to start the 2025-26 season. On the defense, it’s led by alternate captain
“That was a big point,” Megna said. “Those matter towards the end of the season. You may not remember them, but it’s always big to get up for you.”
The Canucks won the 2025 Calder Cup last season, and as the reigning champions of the American Hockey League, Megna enjoys the challenge of playing last year’s champions.
“They play the same style they played last year,” Megna said. “That’s a winning formula. So it’s good to go up against teams that are organized and kind of have a game plan, and you kind of see where you’re at.”
The Silver Knights are now 3-2-1 all-time in season openers, but with 11 new faces on the roster, growing pains are inevitable this season.
“It’s just a matter of learning the league, learning what counts,” Craig said. “I think we can do a better job of putting pucks in behind them, establishing a forecheck, hanging on to pucks in the offensive zone, those kind of things.”
Nearly halfway through the second period, Ben Berard scored to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. The Silver Knights had a chance on the five-on-three power play, but failed to convert, going 0/2 on the night.
“We haven’t had a lot of game reps with those groups,” Craig said. “I think it’s a matter of guys playing in positions and finding ways. I like that we attacked.”
After Laczynski’s goal late in the third period, the Canucks maintained the puck in overtime, and Max Sasson scored, and Abbotsford walked away with a season-opening win.
“Really couldn’t, couldn’t grab an early lead,” Craig said. “But I thought we stuck with it. We were in the third period to get a point.”
The Silver Knights play against Abbotsford again tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. PDT and will attempt to get in the win column to start the 2025-26 season.
“We were excited to play, and you could see it, and I think they kind of settled into their game and gave their push,” Megna said. “I thought throughout the course of the night, we didn’t execute as well as we could have, but the effort was there for sure.”
Guess Who’s the Fastest Skater in the NHL?
According to NHL EDGE tracking, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid leads all NHL skaters this season with a top speed of 24.61 miles per hour.
McDavid reached his highest top speed (since EDGE tracking was introduced in 2021-22) during Edmonton’s home opener against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 8. Though he recorded two assists in the contest, the Oilers lost 4-3 in a shootout.
The 28-year-old center recently signed a team-friendly, two-year contract extension worth $25 million. He is the only player to record four 22 mile per hour bursts this season.
McDavid is the only player to win the fastest skater competition at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition four times. His 2024 time of 13.408 seconds beat out Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders, who finished runner-up at 13.519 seconds.
Columbus Blue Jackets wing Miles Wood holds the all-time speed record since EDGE tracking began in 2021 at 24.82 miles per hour, set last season while he was a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point Rank Among NHL’s Speedsters
Last season, McDavid’s teammate broke the 24 miles per hour barrier. Mattias Janmark clocked in at 24.36 miles per hour on Nov. 30, 2024 against the Avalanche.
Colorado’s alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon was recorded at 24.05 miles per hour on Dec. 23, 2023. Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning reached 24.15 miles per hour on Dec. 27, 2023.
Who’s the All-Time Fastest Skater?
Since EDGE tracking has only been recorded for five seasons, it’s hard to say who definitively is the NHL’s all-time fastest skater.
Pavel Bure, Peter Bondra and Sergei Fedorov were among hockey’s blazing skaters during the 1990s.
Bobby Hull was nicknamed “The Golden Jet” for a reason. The Hall of Famer was believed to have skated at 29.7 miles per hour, according to a Popular Mechanics story published in 1968. Similarly, Yvan Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens was called “The Roadrunner” for his blistering speed.
Thankfully, modern technology can accurately track today’s skaters.
