Cody in the Clutch
Photo credit: canucks.nhl.com
When Cody Hodgson scored in Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, it was his 14th goal of the season.
This is significant because not only does it tie him with Ryan Kesler for third among his Canucks teammates in goals (only Daniel Sedin with 22 goals and Alex Burrows with 18 goals have more goals than him) and brings him to within one goal of NHL rookie goal scoring leader, Matt Read (15 goals), but more importantly for the Canucks, it tied the game 2-2, less than 3 minutes after Viktor Stalberg had scored and given Chicago a 2-1 third period lead.
Producing in clutch situations is becoming a theme for Cody this season.
In their second last game before the All-Star break, a game against the Canucks’ Western Conference rivals, the San Jose Sharks, Cody scored twice – one goal to tie the game late in the second period and another goal to win the game late in the third period.
Against the Boston Bruins a couple of weeks before that, Cody recorded an assist to tie the game late in the second period and scored the eventual game-winning goal a minute into the third period.
And a few days before that, again against the Sharks, he had a hand in both goals of a 3-2 shootout loss, including scoring the goal that tied the game midway through the third period and helped the Canucks earn a single point.
Notice the theme?
Consider the following.
Of Cody’s 14 goals this season, 6 either tied the game or gave the Canucks the lead.
Of his 16 assists, half (8) were on goals that tied the game or gave the Canucks the lead.
He’s scored 11 of his 30 points in the third period, including 7 third period goals.
7 of his goals were against the Canucks’ fiercest rivals and potential playoff opponents, the San Jose Sharks (3), Chicago Blackhawks (1), Boston Bruins (1), Detroit Red Wings (1) and Nashville Predators (1).
Coming up big in the most crucial of times is nothing new for Cody. He’s done it his entire career, whether it’s in the OHL, the U-18s or the World Junior Hockey Championships.
He’s proving now that he can do it the NHL level as well.
