Canucks Army Postgame #4: Four for Four

The Buffalo Sabres could be said to have been the Canucks’ toughest competition to date, and today’s game was definitely close and low-scoring. It was not necessarily the most intense game, but it was very steady. The Sabres had multiple power play opportunities to get on top, but they failed.

The Canucks have done the improbable – they are currently in 1st place in the NHL standings. After a 2-1 win over Buffalo, Vancouver is the only team to have not lost a game this season.

Brandon Sutter: 2A

Daniel Sedin, Jannik Hansen: 1G

Loui Eriksson, Luca Sbisa: 1A

Alex Edler: Team-leading 24:42 TOI

Jacob Markstrom: 26/27 saves, 0.963 SV%

It was a steady first period – no big mistakes and only one high-end scoring chance. The Canucks took two penalties and exercised their PK units, and Luca Sbisa trampled someone. The best opportunity for either side came near the end of the period on a rare 3-on-1 shorthanded rush. Each team had 6 shots on goal at the end of 20 minutes.

In the second period, Jannik Hansen put the Canucks up 1-0 and gave them their first lead of the regular season. That also happened to be his 100th career goal in his 541st game – not too shabby for a guy drafted in the 9th-round, 287th overall. 

Markus Granlund was penalized because Marcus Foligno tripped on a broken stick… wait, what? This prompted a frustrated Trevor Linden.

Jacob Markstrom was very solid and made 14 saves in the period. He was also mowed over by Larsson (Johan, not Philip Larsen), but he would be okay. 

The 3rd period started off fairly uneventful. However, a Dmitry Kulikov interference penalty led to the Canucks scoring their first power play goal of the season.

Buffalo made it 2-1 shortly after, but it was immediately waved off. No goal. To the luck of Canucks fans, Toronto came calling and the referee’s call was reserved. Good goal. However, the tide turned once again when Vancouver challenged for goalie interference. No goal? Most would have though so, but it was denied on the grounds that the contact did not impede on Markstrom’s ability to make the save. Good goal.

Willie Desjardins was mad.

Daniel Sedin’s goal was the eventual game winner, and now the Canucks are undefeated in the 2016-17 season.

– One again, the line of Granlund-Sutter-Hansen was excellent tonight. Arguably the most consistent line through four games, they’ve apparently turned into the Canucks’ first line judging by their time on ice. Sutter (19:44), Hansen (16:09), and Granlund (16:15) each had more ice-time than the Sedins. Then again, total ice-time has been spread out pretty evenly amongst the forwards, but it certainly says something when Brandon Sutter leads the entire forward group.

– Willie Desjardins decided to juggle his lines in the second period. It started with Sven Baertschi and Alex Burrows switching spots on the 3rd and 4th line, but then they switched back 8 minutes in. Baertschi was then promoted to the 1st line, which meant Daniel Sedin dropped down to play with Horvat and Skille. The lines returned back to normal in the 3rd period.

– The line of Sedin-Sedin-Eriksson put a total of 4 shots on goal tonight. Loui Eriksson has two assists in 4 games but has yet to score a goal. Something to keep in mind is that he has looked good on the power play, even though it hasn’t been very successful. He is willing to go to the front of the net, which other players are hesitant to do. It’s only a matter of time before Eriksson scores, but let’s hope it is sooner rather than later.

– Alex Edler, Alex Burrows, and Philip Larsen are the only Canucks regulars who have yet to put up a point through four games.

The Canucks are at the top of the NHL standings – who would’ve thought? Every media outlet had the Canucks literally at the bottom of the standings, but they have surprised everyone. Their wins may not be the pretties; their goals-for (10) is 23rd in the league, but their overall goal differential (+4) is 3rd. The games will be close and probably low-scoring, but these are the kind of wins that the Canucks will find most common. Everyone is still waiting for some players to emerge, but their time will come eventually. The Canucks are currently 1st place in the league – pretty good for the team ranked 30th in all of the power rankings.

With 2 assists tonight, Brandon Sutter is my Player of the Game. He had two pretty good scoring chances in the first and second period, both because of a Sam Reinhart turnover. He has arguably been the Canucks’ MVP after four games, and he currently leads the team in points with 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games. However, give credits to his linemates because the trio has been great. I think people are starting to realize why the team missed him so much last year. Don’t expect him to be a point-per-game player when the season ends, but his impact on the team is significant.