Canucks fans bring out the best in Nikita Zadorov in the "loudest building I've ever been to."

Nikita Zadorov, a defenceman with the Vancouver Canucks, is growing in popularity among fans every day. Zadorov helped seal the victory on a night when they were behind 4-1 against the Edmonton Oilers.

Nikita Zadorov is a global man.

The large defenseman linked Wednesday's 5-4 victory in Game 1 of the Vancouver Canucks' Series to the UEFA match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich earlier in the day.
He laughed and stated, "(Madrid) came back to score two goals that they had to, to make the Champions League final." "That was our inspiration — or at least it was mine."

Zadorov, a native of Moscow, has spent more than ten years playing hockey in the United States. Before being moved to Vancouver in November, he also spent three years in Calgary, so he's excited about an all-Canadian series between the Oilers and Canucks.

With 6:13 left in the third period, the big blueliner nearly brought down the roof of Rogers Arena after a strong first round against Nashville. He erased the Oilers' 4-1 lead with a slapshot that deflected past Stuart Skinner, completing his team's comeback and setting the stage for Conor Garland's game-winning goal just 39 seconds later.

Zadorov described the response from the crowd to his score as "unreal." "It was really noisy. And it was even louder when we immediately scored the fifth one."

Less than six minutes after Leon Draisaitl and Zadorov were given counter-punishments for slapping sticks at one another, Zadorov scored the game-tying goal. Midway through the third, that created a 4-on-4 situation, and J.T. Miller pulled the Canucks back within a goal.

The next TV timeout came, and instead of turning on all the bells and whistles, the game presentation crew let the fans take over. They stood up, waving their towels and yelling "Jay Tee Miller" as if their lives depended on it.

It's possible that the Canucks lack much postseason experience. However, Zadorov has experienced some intense rivalries in the Western Conference, such as Colorado's six-game loss to Nashville in 2018 and the Flames' two-round series in 2022, which featured a seven-game thriller against the Dallas Stars before the Flames were eliminated in five games by the Oilers in the Battle of Alberta.

Thus, it's possible that Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, his former Flames teammate, are getting a little additional motivation from their recollections of their two-year-ago playoff hockey experience.

Wednesday's performance by both felt as though they had something to prove. In addition to his offensive prowess, Zadorov was also as agitated as always, particularly when facing teammate No. 91 Evander Kane.

And Lindholm demonstrated why the Canucks had to pay a premium to acquire him at the all-star break. He was a dominant 14-for-18 in the faceoff circle, going 4-for-4 against McDavid, 4-for-5 against Draisaitl, and 6-for-7 against Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He also had five hits and an assist.

In seven games, Lindholm has already equaled Zadorov's playoff total of three goals and two assists.

Lindholm said the crowd was so loud that the Edmonton bench was unable to notify the players on the ice of the remaining time, even as the Oilers were pushing to force OT in the closing seconds.

"The crowd was perfect for us," he stated.

Zadorov agreed.

"I think this is the loudest building I've ever been to," stated the man. It's fantastic. The start of the Canadian anthem always makes me think of 2011, with the towels and everything. It's wonderful to observe. Without a doubt, the fans here are incredible."

Everybody around the Canucks is always thinking about Vancouver's previous Stanley Cup run, especially with Daniel and Henrik Sedin skating every day. The team also relies on its faces and customs from that run for this year's games.

When the pre-game intro began, Ryan Kesler was in the house for Game 2 versus Nashville. His son Ryker was the towel kid who started it off, by himself, in a spotlight at center ice, to the well-known sounds of U2's Where the Streets Have No Name.

After his son Max did the same honors, Mason Raymond sounded the opening siren for Game 1 against Edmonton.

Following a few early mistakes on the ice on Wednesday, the Canucks demonstrated their ability to stop McDavid and co. They gave up only five high-danger chances all night and gave up just eight shots in the last two periods of the contest.

They demonstrated once more why "resilience" is their playoff theme word.

"This group has a great deal of belief," Zadorov remarked. "We've defeated Nashville before. Even with a 4-1 deficit, I don't think anyone was giving up. We were enjoying our 5-on-5 game and trying to keep upbeat. They received a few bounces.