Canucks Army Post-Game: Nobody saw this coming
By J.D. Burke
7 years ago
Jannik Hansen returning to the Canucks lineup wasn’t enough to get them back in the wins column. They dropped their third straight game, convincingly, at the hands of the powerhouse Minnesota Wild.
This trend is a month-plus in the making, though. Even when Vancouver was winning and clawing their way back into the playoff picture, the signs that games like these were on the horizon were readily apparent. When this team doesn’t get elite goaltending from Ryan Miller, they’re a have-not in a league of haves.
That was apparent tonight. Oh, how very apparent it was. The Wild came in waves, and for each Canuck return volley, Minnesota’s increased in frequency and intensity. Markus Granlund tallied a hat-trick for the Wild, and Eric Staal, Mike Reilly and Zach Parise contributed a goal a piece. Brandon Sutter led the way for the Canucks with two goals and Bo Horvat chipped in with an even strength marker.
Miller stopped 33 of 39 Wild shots for Vancouver. Devan Dubnyk held the Canucks to three goals on 27 shots.
Stats
Highlights
Quick Hits
- Miller’s had a renaissance season. He’s under siege most nights and went into tonight’s game with a .918 Sv%. The league average is .912. Considering the quality of shots he faces on most nights, too, that’s a remarkable feat. All this at 36-years-old. I have serious concerns about his ability to continue performing like this as the starts mount. This is a player who in each of his first two seasons as a Canuck has broken down at one point or another; one who’s vocalized concerns about his workload in each season. He’s on pace to start fewer games than he did last season, but with a compressed schedule, I’m more concerned about the space between each start as Vancouver rolls down the stretch. Miller’s let in ten goals in his last two starts. This could be an omen.
- Philip Larsen’s had a rough couple of games. There’s no doubting this much. He looked physically outmatched on many occasions tonight and coughed the puck up as a result. This caps off probably the worst two-game stretch in his NHL career.
- If anyone had a worse game than Larsen tonight, I tend to think it’s Nikita Tryamkin. All the problems in his game that keep him from realizing his top four potential were magnified tenfold this evening. Several passes went into his teammates’ or the Wild’s shins. Some of these miscues led to goals. In fact, Tryamkin was on the ice for four. Each of them came with a different partner. Tryamkin also took six penalty minutes. That’s not a good look.
- On the positive side of the ledger, there was Brandon Sutter contributing with a pair of goals. I’ll say this much: he’s contributing his fair share offensively.
- The Canucks honoured Henrik Sedin for his 1,000th point before tonight’s game. That’s about as good as the night got, if we’re being entirely honest.
- Hansen’s back! He was playing on the Canucks second line with Markus Granlund and Sutter. Only Tryamkin had a worse Corsi For than Hansen’s 34%. I’m none too concerned, though. He struggled in this sense when he returned from his last injury, then went on to be one of the Canucks most productive players.
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