Canucks Army Post-Game: Nashstill

Stats

Quick Hits

• I tend not to look too much into peculiarities when it comes to home or road records. When the team you cover has a coach who does almost everything in his power to avoid matchups, maybe it becomes more and more difficult to see the point? Whatever the case, the Canucks road record this season is the elephant in the room that bears addressing. They have five games after this one, and if they don’t address it in time for number two, that could spell the end of their improbable playoff run. I just wish I had even a clue as to why the Canucks are so bad on the road. The only answer that comes to mind is that they’re just not a good team and that’s especially profound when they don’t have last change.

• Sven Baertschi left tonight’s game in the first period after sustaining a concussion on a Cody McLeod cheap shot. The puck was nowhere near Baertschi when McLeod caught the unexpecting winger with a shoulder to the craw. Baertschi struggled to the bench and did return for another shift, before eventually throwing in the towel and calling it a night — a wise decision, though I have serious questions about why he was allowed to return to the ice in the first place. Back to the injury itself, Blake Price was wise to point out how peculiar it really was for the Canucks to come out and announce it was a concussion as soon as they did. At first glance, I wonder if this is because of the impact injury has on the NHL’s desire to suspend the offending party. For some, it was the fact Daniel Sedin returned from the Nazem Kadri head shot was enough to grant the former a pass from supplementary discipline. I don’t think the injury should matter anywhere near as much as it does, but if these are the cards the league has dealt, it’s best to play to them. If we’re being honest though this hit shouldn’t really require injury to warrant a suspension. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

• Loui Eriksson missed enough scoring chances to generate an entire highlight reel of plays to illustrate how low his confidence is. And speaking frankly, based on the hesitation and poor timing of each, even someone so invested in an analytics-based approach as myself has serious questions about how comfortable Eriksson is playing the puck. As Jeff Paterson pointed out, Eriksson had nine attempts, and six of them landed on goal. Some of those were damn good chances, too. The game was on his stick on a number of occasions. The hope — and I mean it when I used that word — is that he’ll start converting on those chances. Then again, his seasons been hanging on that hope from the first game. 

• Three of the Canucks worst five players by 5v5 shot attempts skated on the fourth line. It’s also the Canucks first game since sending Brendan Gaunce down to the Utica Comets. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Regarding two-way impact, Gaunce was having a fairly strong season. And as the sample of games played without him in the lineup grows, we might come to appreciate that. As is, he’s left the Canucks lineup with the single highest CF%Rel. Tm with a positive 7.2% mark.
• With tonight’s loss, the Canucks are in 27th place. I never felt the playoff dream was alive, but if it was, it’s on life support now. The schedule doesn’t get any easier. The split between road and playoff games doesn’t leave them at Rogers Arena anywhere near as much as they’d like. The Canucks have kept in the chase for much of the season, and that’s too their credit, but I think the playoff pipe dream is about to hit a bumpy road.
• Tonight was Ben Hutton’s first game since an injury sustained to his hand in a January 6th game against the Calgary Flames. And he led the Canucks blue in Corsi For percentage tonight with 68% — expressed as a single number, that a plus eight. I thought he was at his best exiting the zone. Looked far more smooth than when he last played for the Canucks. Hopefully, that’s a trend that continues.
• So, I’m not what you’d call the biggest Brandon Sutter fan. I think he’s maybe passable as a third line centre. He has a few valuable skills, though. He draws penalties like nobody’s business, has a great shot, and he wins faceoffs. The latter of those played a key role in the Canucks first goal. Sutter wins the draw, and Markus Granlund comes in to retrieve the puck and launch it over the goalie’s shoulder. If that play seems familiar, it’s because they won a game in overtime against Dallas on the exact same play. Interesting when things like that actually work out with any level of regularity.