Highlights

STATS

QUICK HITS

• After the first period of tonight’s game, I was complaining that I would once again be left covering a low-event game. I was mistaken. Instead of being left with with nothing to write about, I feel like I could write a dozen articles and still not cover everything that happened tonight. There were about 4 or 5 things that happened tonight that would usually be a week’s worth of media fodder that are instead relegated to game notes. It was just that kind of night.
• The biggest story heading into tonight’s game was the season debut of Nikolay Goldobin. It may have been the biggest story coming out of tonight’s game, too, if not for everything else that happened. In a pre-game interview, Jim Benning said he wanted to get a real look at what Goldobin could do, and Travis Green delivered. Goldobin took shifts on the team’s de facto first line with Boeser and Horvat, and I’d say he delivered. He finished the night with a team-high +11 in shot-differential, and had a beautiful assist on Boeser’s game-winner. He’s earned another look.
• Speaking of Boeser, he had two goals tonight. It was his third two-goal game of this road trip and honestly, this is just getting hilarious. Last season a two-goal game by any player would probably be the biggest story of the night. Now, we’ve gotten so used to it, it barely even registers. Boeser’s stat line is truly impressive. He’s a top-10 goal scorer, tied with players like Filip Forsberg and Logan Couture, and he sits 19th in points per game, just ahead of Taylor Hall.
• Boeser wasn’t the only player to have a two-goal game. Loui Eriksson also had two tonight, including one of the fanciest empty-netters in NHL history. Eriksson’s been quietly heating up, with five goals on this road trip. The Eriksson-Sedin combo didn’t really bear fruit last season, but I think it’s best to play the percentages and keep them together for awhile. All three may be past their prime, but they’re just too good not to produce together.
• Nilsson’s .906 save percentage on the night does not do his performance justice. He kept them in it tonight, making a pair of highlight-reel saves in the latter half of the game. The Canucks played well enough to get the win tonight, but it probably doesn’t happen without Nilsson
• Most of you likely know by now that Derek Dorsett has been forced to retire due to injury concerns. Henrik Sedin promised the team would play hard for Derek tonight, and they delivered. I hope that can take at least a bit of the sting off of what’s happened. A lot of extremely goofy stuff was said today about Dorsett as a player, but it’s all irrelevant at this point. What’s not up for debate is who Derek was as a person, based on the comments of his teammates. His affability will likely go a long way when he inevitably ends up with a job in an NHL organization. I think I speak for all Canucks fans when I say I hope it’s this one.
• Finally, Daniel Sedin made history tonight. Henrik and Daniel are the NHL’s brothers to each reach 1000 points. A lot is going to be written about them, by better writers than me, so I’ll just finish by doing what CanucksArmy does best, and contextualize what’s happened tonight by using some numbers. The Sedins lead all Canucks in Corsi For %, and are each on pace for 47 points, all while getting less minutes than we’ve seen in over a decade. In the role they’ve been asked to play, they aren’t just succeeding; they’re absolutely crushing it. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.