VANCOUVER www.officialcanadiensprostore.com , British Columbia — Elias Pettersson did something Thursday that no other Vancouver Canucks first-year player has done since 1999.Pettersson, a 19-year-old Swede, was named the National Hockey League’s rookie of the month for October. He became the first Canuck to earn the honor since Peter Schaefer pulled off the feat 19 years ago.Not bad considering that Pettersson missed six games with a concussion in his first month as an NHLer.Article continues below ...“There’s a lot of good rookies and I’m honored to win it,” Pettersson told reporters after practice at the University of B.C.“I think I started very well, and when I got back (from the concussion) the guys helped me continue to play my game. … I felt like I didn’t miss anything.”Pettersson leads the injury-riddled Canucks (8-6-0) in goals and points heading into Friday’s home game against the Colorado Avalanche (7-4-2). The youngster has seven goals and three assists in just eight games. He already has a pair of two-goal nights.The latest twin-pack came Monday in Vancouver’s 5-2 home-ice win over Minnesota, a team that had won five straight games beforehand. Pettersson scored the winning goal on a one-timer and netted an insurance marker on breakaway, which resulted after he blocked a shot.He has adjusted well to the NHL after concerns were raised about his ability to play center and handle the more physical game prevalent on North America’s smaller rinks than on Europe’s larger ones. For the most part, he has handled the rough going with relative ease. The concussion occurred when he was hit from behind and slammed to the ice by Washington defenseman Mike Matheson, who received a two-game suspension for his misdeeds.Pettersson has also been a mainstay at center, his natural position, after Green contemplated starting the season with him on the wing to help him acclimatize to the NHL.“We were hopeful that he would be able to play at a decent level and obviously hopeful that he could play center,” said Green.“The fact that he’s picked up the position over here — as quick as he has — has really shown to me that he has good understanding of the game. … That’s the part of the game that’s hard to grasp and to teach, and with him we haven’t had to worry about that.”On Friday Montreal Canadiens T-Shirts Authentic , the Canucks coach and his charges will likely have to worry about Colorado’s top line of Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. All three rank among the NHL’s top scorers. Accordingly, the Avs are contending for first place in the Central Division.The Calgary Flames managed to keep the trio largely in check Thursday night, coming back to beat the Avs 6-5. Although Avs coach Jared Bednar does not have to worry about his top unit most nights, he has concerns about his other lines due to injuries to Tyson Jost, J.T. Compher and Sven Andrighetto, who are relied upon for secondary scoring. As a result, Bednar wants some younger players to shine.“It’s a great opportunity for a lot of those guys,” Bednar told reporters Thursday morning in Calgary.Bednar singled out center Vladislav Kamenev, who moved up to the second line for Thursday’s contest, as one player who needs to provide more offensive production.“I agree with that,” said Kamenev, 22 Montreal Canadiens Hoodies Authentic , who has logged eight games. “I have to play better offensively — be with the puck more maybe and make plays. (With guys injured) I have to use that chance.”He did Thursday night, scoring his first NHL career goal. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The NHL’s worst team isn’t letting a lousy record get them down.Alex Goligoski scored in his third straight game to help the Arizona Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Tuesday night.Goligoski, who was playing in his 700th career game, also extended his streak of games in which he’s at least one point to five. He has seven points over that stretch. The Coyotes have won three of their last four games and have consecutive wins for just the second time since Nov. 18.”We’re starting to turn the page here,” Coyotes defenseman Kevin Connauton said. ”We’re getting a taste for winning and how good it is. We’ve grown as a team. We’re not hanging our hat on moral victories anymore. We’re actually going into games expecting to win.”Arizona upset a Sharks team scrambling to make the playoffs and in desperate need of a win. San Jose lost for the third time in five games.The Sharks, coming off consecutive come-from-behind wins against Edmonton and Anaheim, were looking for a season sweep of Arizona.San Jose had its chances. The Sharks outshot Arizona 41-28 and were 0 for 5 on power plays.”We got a lot of shots, give credit to their goalies,” Sharks forward Mikkel Boedker said. ”They played hard but yeah, unfortunately we couldn’t bang more than one home.”The sting of losing to the lowly Coyotes was exacerbated by an injury to forward Tomas Hertl, who left the game in the first period after crashing into the boards on a short-handed scoring chance.Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said he didn’t know Hertl’s injury status. The injury-depleted Sharks, already without center Joe Thornton indefinitely Montreal Canadiens Hats Authentic , can’t afford to lose Hertl for long.”Those are big holes, but it’s that time of year and you don’t have a choice,” DeBoer said. Somebody’s got to step up and get the job done, so we’ll look for some answers tomorrow.”Goligoski scored his eighth goal on a power play that broke a 1-1 tie at 9:35 of the second period. He fired a slap shot from behind the penalty circle past Sharks goalie Martin Jones, 23 seconds after Logan Couture was called for holding.”I plan on playing a lot longer than 700 so it’s not really a big deal,” Goligoski said of the milestone. ”I’m fortunate to get to that number.”The Coyotes took an early lead at 7:58 of the first on Kevin Connauton fifth goal. With a collision in front of the goal, Connauton drove the puck past Jones.San Jose tied it shortly afterwards as Boeddeker redirected a Justin Braun slapshot from inside the blue line at 9:20 of the first. With his back to the goal, Boeddeker elevated the puck high into the net past Wedgewood’s right shoulder for his eighth goal.NOTESCoyotes: Coyotes goalie Scott Wedgewood left the game early in the third period after a collision with Timo Meier. Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said the inury isn’t serious. Antti Raanta, the regular starter on an off day off after a 37-save game in Monday’s 6-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, finished the game for Arizona. Wedgewood had 29 saves and Raanta had 12.Sharks: Jannik Hansen was promoted from the fourth to third line, swapping roles with Melker Karlsson. . D Tim Heed and F Brandon Mashinter were called up from the AHL San Jose BarracudasUP NEXTCoyotes: Open a seven-game homestand on Thursday against Montreal.Sharks: Play at Vancouver on Thursday.