Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin – USA TODAY Sports
Riding the high of a three-game win streak, the Canucks played host to the sinking Colorado Avalanche in a slugfest for the ages. Not the kind that involves two heavyweights trading shots, so much as a pair of slugs dragging their way to the finish line.
That’s just the way Canucks Head Coach Willie Desjardins wants it, too. When the team rails on about structure, this is what they have in mind.
It’s hard to argue with the results — tonight’s, at the very least. Vancouver was far and away the better team at even strength, especially when one considers they had the lead for much of the game. Sven Baertschi led the way offensively for the Canucks, contributing a pair of goals.
When the final horn sounded, the Canucks left tonight’s game winners of four in a row with a 3-2 victory. Ryan Miller stopped 24 of the Avs 26 shots. Calvin Pickard stopped 21 of 24 Canucks shots.

Stats

Quick Hits

  • Well, Baertschi’s having himself a season. And to think, at one point he was a healthy scratch. With tonight’s two-goal affair, Baertschi has ten on the season in just 36 games. Over the course of a full season, that’s a 23 goal clip. If you look at Baertschi’s overall point totals, he’s on pace for nearly 46 points. That’s a near first line clip, based purely on raw production. It’s even better if you look at his rate production — check Ryan Biech’s Twitter feed for the rundown. It’s not just Baertschi’s production that’s catching fire, though. He’s steadily improving his two-way play, too. He used to be the single-worst Canucks player. He’s not in the black yet. Not by a long shot. He’s slowly working his way into that becoming a distinct possibility, though. 
  • On a less serious note, I noticed Baertschi’s goal song changed to a Young Jeezy number. I observed in-game that’s the same artist that serenades Rogers Arena after every Bo Horvat goal — different songs, though. I don’t have any hard-hitting, numbers-based analysis on that. Whether that’s always been the case or not, I think it’s kind of cool.
  • Speaking of Horvat, he had himself a pretty alright night himself. He scored the opening goal on a two-on-one rush with Ben Hutton, and was buzzing around the net most of the night. He finished with a pair of shots. Here’s his goal!
  • After tonight’s win, the Canucks are tenth place in the Western Conference, just a mere point behind the Los Angeles Kings — though it should be noted the Kings have two games at hand. The Western Conference is a joke this season. The Canucks are getting healthy. They have a relatively easy schedule ahead of them. Are the playoffs a possibility? All of a sudden, it’s not such an absurd notion. The Canucks are getting the bounces right now. There’s no denying that. Considering the ill luck they suffered immediately after their season-starting win streak, it’s fair to say they’ve earned a little good, though.
  • I’m going to go on the record as a fan of the Ben Hutton and Nikita Tryamkin pairing. I’ve wanted to see the Canucks try Tryamkin on the right side, and everything Tryamkin brings to the table defensively is a nice match with Hutton’s skill set. It’s basically what the Canucks imagined they were getting when they dealt for Erik Gudbranson, at a fraction of the cost. Tonight, the Canucks controlled about 70% of on-ice shot attempts with them on the ice. They might have found lightning in a bottle.
  • It’d be cool if we could get an extended look at Anton Rodin. He played about seven minutes in his season debut last Friday, and was pulled from the lineup for a few games after. Alex Burrows’ injury paved the way for his return, but by the night’s end he was taken off Horvat’s line for Michael Chaput. I get that he has to earn the coach’s trust, but it’s hard to do in limited ice-time, returning from a serious injury. The Canucks need scoring from everywhere they can get it. Put another way, they need it to come from some unlikely contributors. Rodin is far more likely to be that guy than Chaput. Maybe give him a chance?
  • Sorry there wasn’t a post-game for Saturday night’s contest with the Oilers. Life got in the way. It won’t happen again, I promise. Hope everybody had a happy, safe New Year’s Eve!