THE SKINNY
What could have been a great bounce-back game after blowing the lead a week ago turned into a snoozefest at Rogers Arena on Sunday night. This game was about as pretty as a mud painting when my kids were four, it wasn&#8217;t something I will remember. Columbus quarantined the Canucks for the most part away from the back of the net and they were able to limit Vancouver to a single goal.
The Blue Jackets put up two goals in the second, one of them late in the period, the Canucks responded with a slick Elias Pettersson breakaway out of the penalty box in the third, but the Canucks just couldn&#8217;t get the equalizer.
Blue Jackets beat Vancouver 2 NHL goals to 1 NHL goal.
BRINGING THE HEAT courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-72211" src="https://canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-5v5.png" alt="" width="803" height="422" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-5v5.png 803w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-5v5-300x158.png 300w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-5v5-768x404.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px" />
Canucks gave CBJ a lot of amoeba upfront but they were kept to the outside. Columbus worked their way from the half wall towards the net and prevailed.
CORSIFICATION
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-72210" src="https://canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-cfdiff-5v5.png" alt="" width="751" height="350" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-cfdiff-5v5.png 751w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-cfdiff-5v5-300x140.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 751px) 100vw, 751px" />
Pretty boring game flow and then the Canucks just let it get away. No big deal, though, it&#8217;s not like the playoffs start tomorrow.
THE BREAKDOWN
First Period
Chances were traded back and forth but nobody wanted to score. Jake Virtanen had three Grade-A chances but just couldn&#8217;t bury them. Vancouver had possession most of the first period but again, couldn&#8217;t score. The first was like the winner of Kids Baking Championship, tons of icing.
Thatcher Demko only faced three shots in the opening frame and like my last five credit card purchases, they were all denied.
Second Period
I forgot the Jackets got a power play to end the first period so it carried over, they didn&#8217;t score so no big deal. Jake Virtanen continued to impress but the frustration had to be mounting because nothing was going in. The game became slightly more exciting when a goal was scored. Sadly, it was for Columbus.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Top shelf 🧀 from <a href="https://twitter.com/bemstrom_emil?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bemstrom_emil</a> to give <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBJ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CBJ</a> the lead! <a href="https://t.co/xhWddyz2rs">pic.twitter.com/xhWddyz2rs</a>
&mdash; Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJacketsNHL/status/1236853306967961601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Canucks eventually get a power play but as you&#8217;ve heard me rant all season and even last year, it was way too predictable. No dice there. The game continued to be boring.
At the end of the second frame, Columbus wasn&#8217;t satisfied (no one was with this game) and put away their second.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
A nice setup from Savard leads to Robinson’s seventh goal of the season! <a href="https://t.co/mo72K2QJPy">pic.twitter.com/mo72K2QJPy</a>
&mdash; Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJacketsNHL/status/1236860174100574210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Third Period
Demko continued to keep the Canucks in it. The game was still boring in case you forgot form the previous period. Elias Pettersson takes a penalty for a high elbow but when he finishes serving time for his crime this time, this happened:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
To recap: Elias Pettersson comes out of the box, turns on the jets, blows by Murray and beats Merzlikins as he&#39;s falling down.
Woah. <a href="https://t.co/I3knwygckj">pic.twitter.com/I3knwygckj</a>
&mdash; Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1236868181093990401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Vancouver couldn&#8217;t beat the Jackets though, and the boringness ended for all of our sakes.
NOTENT NOTABLES
<ul>
<li>Jake Virtanen was all hands on deck tonight but he just couldn&#8217;t finish it up. He finished second in individual CF on the Canucks with 6. He had a great game, he deserved better. #ShotgunJake will have to wait another game.</li>
<li>Five Canucks were above 60% in CF%: Chris Tanev, Tyler Toffoli, Troy Stecher, Tanner Pearson, and Elias Pettersson. Vancouver controlled gameplay, or at least it felt like it, but one goal isn&#8217;t enough to beat any team in this league let alone in the final stretch of the season.</li>
<li>Power plays went no-fer on both teams: Canucks 0/3, Blue Jackets 0/2. No real urgency on Vancouver&#8217;s side and it&#8217;s still ridiculously predictable. CHANGE IT UP!!</li>
<li>Thatcher Demko deserved better tonight. He made a handful of saves that kept the Canucks in it but that still wasn&#8217;t enough. Will there be more than a goal on Tuesday or is this thing done for the season?</li>
<li>Tyler Myers was on the ice way too much tonight. He had 24 shifts, good for third-most on the team. He didn&#8217;t look as fast as he did when he came into the league and that should concern literally anyone. His tallness is starting to work against him (not his fault).</li>
<li>Time to reunite &#8220;That 70&#8217;s Line&#8221; plus Bo. The line of Tanner Pearson, Bo Horvat, and Tyler Toffoli had the highest CF%  at 87.50 for the Canucks this evening. (Minimum 3 events) I wonder if Travis Green alters his lines for Tuesday against the Islanders?</li>
</ul>
THE FINAL 94
I haven&#8217;t written one of these in a while and I&#8217;m mad that I ended up being in charge of a stinker. You know when you&#8217;re put in charge of bringing cups to a party? Or when you&#8217;re the one telling people to stay away from the fish tank? Ya, it was that kind of game. Thankfully, my dog slept through most of it so I was able to focus all my energy on watching slugs drive a getaway car.
The Canucks are letting their playoff chances slip away and even though Travis Green said his team will play its ass off until the end of the season, I&#8217;m skeptical it will be even remotely detached by game 82.
If you suffered this long, I&#8217;ll reward you. Here&#8217;s a picture of my pup &#8220;Rocket&#8221;. He&#8217;ll be one year old on Tuesday. (This was from last July)
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-72212" src="https://canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/IMG_4831-768x1024.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="1024" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/IMG_4831-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/IMG_4831-225x300.jpg 225w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/IMG_4831-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/IMG_4831-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/IMG_4831-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />

THE SKINNY

What could have been a great bounce-back game after blowing the lead a week ago turned into a snoozefest at Rogers Arena on Sunday night. This game was about as pretty as a mud painting when my kids were four, it wasn't something I will remember. Columbus quarantined the Canucks for the most part away from the back of the net and they were able to limit Vancouver to a single goal.

The Blue Jackets put up two goals in the second, one of them late in the period, the Canucks responded with a slick Elias Pettersson breakaway out of the penalty box in the third, but the Canucks just couldn't get the equalizer.

Blue Jackets beat Vancouver 2 NHL goals to 1 NHL goal.

BRINGING THE HEAT courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-72211" src="https://canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-5v5.png" alt="" width="803" height="422" />

Canucks gave CBJ a lot of amoeba upfront but they were kept to the outside. Columbus worked their way from the half wall towards the net and prevailed.

CORSIFICATION

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-72210" src="https://canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/20192020-21064-cfdiff-5v5.png" alt="" width="751" height="350" />

Pretty boring game flow and then the Canucks just let it get away. No big deal, though, it's not like the playoffs start tomorrow.

THE BREAKDOWN

First Period

Chances were traded back and forth but nobody wanted to score. Jake Virtanen had three Grade-A chances but just couldn't bury them. Vancouver had possession most of the first period but again, couldn't score. The first was like the winner of Kids Baking Championship, tons of icing.

Thatcher Demko only faced three shots in the opening frame and like my last five credit card purchases, they were all denied.

Second Period

I forgot the Jackets got a power play to end the first period so it carried over, they didn't score so no big deal. Jake Virtanen continued to impress but the frustration had to be mounting because nothing was going in. The game became slightly more exciting when a goal was scored. Sadly, it was for Columbus.

https://twitter.com/BlueJacketsNHL/status/1236853306967961601?s=20

Canucks eventually get a power play but as you've heard me rant all season and even last year, it was way too predictable. No dice there. The game continued to be boring.

At the end of the second frame, Columbus wasn't satisfied (no one was with this game) and put away their second.

https://twitter.com/BlueJacketsNHL/status/1236860174100574210?s=20

Third Period

Demko continued to keep the Canucks in it. The game was still boring in case you forgot form the previous period. Elias Pettersson takes a penalty for a high elbow but when he finishes serving time for his crime this time, this happened:

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1236868181093990401?s=20

Vancouver couldn't beat the Jackets though, and the boringness ended for all of our sakes.

NOTENT NOTABLES
<ul>
 	<li>Jake Virtanen was all hands on deck tonight but he just couldn't finish it up. He finished second in individual CF on the Canucks with 6. He had a great game, he deserved better. #ShotgunJake will have to wait another game.</li>
 	<li>Five Canucks were above 60% in CF%: Chris Tanev, Tyler Toffoli, Troy Stecher, Tanner Pearson, and Elias Pettersson. Vancouver controlled gameplay, or at least it felt like it, but one goal isn't enough to beat any team in this league let alone in the final stretch of the season.</li>
 	<li>Power plays went no-fer on both teams: Canucks 0/3, Blue Jackets 0/2. No real urgency on Vancouver's side and it's still ridiculously predictable. CHANGE IT UP!!</li>
 	<li>Thatcher Demko deserved better tonight. He made a handful of saves that kept the Canucks in it but that still wasn't enough. Will there be more than a goal on Tuesday or is this thing done for the season?</li>
 	<li>Tyler Myers was on the ice way too much tonight. He had 24 shifts, good for third-most on the team. He didn't look as fast as he did when he came into the league and that should concern literally anyone. His tallness is starting to work against him (not his fault).</li>
 	<li>Time to reunite "That 70's Line" plus Bo. The line of Tanner Pearson, Bo Horvat, and Tyler Toffoli had the highest CF%  at 87.50 for the Canucks this evening. (Minimum 3 events) I wonder if Travis Green alters his lines for Tuesday against the Islanders?</li>
</ul>
THE FINAL 94

I haven't written one of these in a while and I'm mad that I ended up being in charge of a stinker. You know when you're put in charge of bringing cups to a party? Or when you're the one telling people to stay away from the fish tank? Ya, it was that kind of game. Thankfully, my dog slept through most of it so I was able to focus all my energy on watching slugs drive a getaway car.

The Canucks are letting their playoff chances slip away and even though Travis Green said his team will play its ass off until the end of the season, I'm skeptical it will be even remotely detached by game 82.

If you suffered this long, I'll reward you. Here's a picture of my pup "Rocket". He'll be one year old on Tuesday. (This was from last July)

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-72212" src="https://canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/IMG_4831-768x1024.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="1024" />

Canucks Army POST GAME – Canucks Feeling Blue; Lose To Jackets 2-1

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