Canucks Army Postgame #10: Inherent Price

The Canucks embarked on what will be their longest road trip of the year, heading to the Bell Centre to take on a Habs team that was undefeated in regulation. The Canucks played a strong game, mounting shot after shot against the Canadiens, but they simply couldn’t beat Carey Price, who stopped all 42 shots he faced. The effort was there, but after two quick goals in the second period from Phillip Danault and Torrey Mitchell, you couldn’t help but sense that the bounces just weren’t going to go their way. 

– If the Canucks play this game against almost any other goaltender in the NHL, they probably win 10 times out of 10, and handily at that. Not a single Canucks player was below 50% Corsi For, and the team dominated shots and scoring chances through all three frames. Things look bad right now, but the team simply isn’t going to keep shooting at 5% at even strength this season, and the Sedins, Sven Baertschi, and Loui Eriksson are capable of much more offensively than they’ve shown through 10 games. 

-That having been said, offense is still a legitimate concern. Nowhere is this more apparent than on their powerplay, which went 0/5 tonight. They are currently sitting at 26th in the league on the PP, with 10.6%. Considering how anaemic the Canucks are offensively, they really need to get things clicking with the man advantage. 

– Poor Loui Eriksson. He’s been hit-or-miss through his brief stint in Vancouver, but he deserved better luck tonight. He had a team-high 5 shots and had a glorious chance at a one-timer in the third period only to see his stick break. He should probably invest in a rabbit’s foot, or something. 

– Jannik Hansen was back with the Sedin twins tonight, where he should probably remain for the time being. Tonight was the most dangerous the twins have looked over the past few games, and Hansen had an especially strong game, launching three shots on net in the first period.

– Sometimes I think Willie Desjardins is intentionally messing with Canucks Twitter. The starting lineup for tonight’s game featured a line of Bo Horvat, Alex Burrows, and Derek Dorsett. That line did not make another appearance all night. 

– Tonight’s game gave us this .gif of Henrik Sedin dancing on the bench, so I think it can firmly be classified as a “moral victory”.