The Rundown
Puck Drop
that effort tho pic.twitter.com/3oHzY2q9bS
— Jason Botchford (@botchford) February 11, 2018
The key for Jake from Abbotsford is to get him breakaways all the time pic.twitter.com/lyaPGo379X
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) February 11, 2018
Tommy Gun clappers on breakaways has to increase his trade value X10000 pic.twitter.com/cFwxIKCHYT
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) February 11, 2018
The smart move is trading Vanek. But there are few Canucks players that make me laugh like he has. The clappers, ridiculous passes, stick hacks when he gets beat in open ice.
— Israel Fehr (@israelfehr) February 11, 2018
Checks canucks score: pic.twitter.com/IeD2WN6Kvf
— Stuart Lucky (@StuartLucky) February 11, 2018
Second Period
Bowie Horvat snaps it past Bishop after the sweet drop pass from Boeser#Canucks pic.twitter.com/adDBzCPQKP
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) February 11, 2018
Boucher asking Lehtonen if he knows who he is ? pic.twitter.com/gPv45lSsbE
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) February 11, 2018
Me listening to everyone finally giving Boucher some love. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/pbh99FDSGf
— Tyler Shipley (@le_shipster) February 11, 2018
Third Period
If a playoff team adds Vanek and Gudbranson they're pretty much winning the Stanley Cup. Call now to inquire about them pic.twitter.com/t53zsIobTa
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) February 11, 2018
#Canucks Zone Exits @ #GoStars pic.twitter.com/3SOOSXm4dK
— Darryl Keeping (@dkeeping) February 11, 2018
#Canucks 5v5 Primary Shot Contributions @ #GoStars
Boucher ??? pic.twitter.com/Vap3f7YMYh
— Darryl Keeping (@dkeeping) February 12, 2018
- Another player who raised their value today was the defender, Ben Hutton. Hutton played 16:23 paired with Derrick Pouliot and had the top Corsi rating among blue-liners with a rate of 58.33%. In his limited playing time he also produced seven primary shot contributions (four shots, three assists) and had a 55% controlled exit rate, both were good for the team lead among Vancouver defenders. As the season progresses, Hutton’s playing time continued to decline, and he was even benched during the third period of last game. I feel as if this organization is on the fence with Hutton come the trade deadline, I don’t feel they’re actively shopping him, but if a team makes an offer that makes sense to them, they’ll pull the trigger. At this point, a change of scenery may be the best thing for his career, he’s apparently behind Michael Del Zotto on Green’s depth chart, and that a hard thing to do for left-handed defenders in the NHL. Should he stay or should he go now, what do you guys think?
- Sven Baertschi had a quiet game in his 19:38 of ice-time, he didn’t have a shot attempt and had only two primary shot assists while playing with the best forwards this organization has to offer. It’s going to be interesting seeing how everything plays out with Baertschi regarding his next contract. His counting stats are solid with 24 points in 46 games, but when you look under the hood, his underlying numbers tell a different story. His 8.64 shots/60 are hardly more than Alex Burmistrov was producing before he headed back to Russia, and his 9.35 shot assists are just over one more per hour than career fourth-liner, Nic Dowd is producing. This is slightly concerning at the very least, defining what exactly Sven Baertschi is and figuring out a number that works for both parties is going to be tricky business, I’d love to hear the discussion between agent and GM when the time comes.
- The Virtanen, Dowd, Boucher line clicked, what a game. The trio produced three goals, and all had a 57% share of shots or better while on the ice. Looking forward to seeing what these three can do when united again!
- Huge shout out to goaltender Jacob Markstrom, a brutal captain like honesty followed by a 30 save shutout against a strong Dallas team.
- The consistent Troy Stecher had a strong game this afternoon which is crucial as he was pretty down on himself earlier this week. His willingness to openly hold himself accountable is admirable, that said, I thought he was far too critical in his self-evaluation. So you had a bad game, every player in the league does on occasion, it’s okay! Watching Stecher develop this year has been one of the lone bright spots this season. Keep your head up Stech; you’re having a heck of a year!
- One final note, how the heck is Julius Honka not a regular for the Dallas Stars? The 22-year-old was one of few Dallas Stars I actually noticed today. #FreeHonka, or trade him to the Canucks, he’d look great beside fellow Finn, Olli Juolevi.