Canucks Army Postgame #48: Shawked
7 years ago
Perception is a funny thing. When the Canucks went into the third period of tonight’s game down by two goals, it appeared as though they were about to roll over, that the good luck train had finally pulled into the station, and that the Canucks were about to begin experiencing the regression we’d all been hearing about for weeks.
Then in 48 seconds, the tone immediately shifted. Suddenly, thanks to a pair of quick goals by Troy Stecher and Bo Horvat, the team was tied 2-2, against a Western Conference powerhouse, with just a few minutes to go. A win would have vaulted them into a playoff spot, with a game in hand on the Calgary Flames.
But that hope disappeared as quickly as it came, as Jonathan Toews took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to give the Blackhawks the lead with just 1:18 remaining in the third. Hossa would add an empty-netter, as the Canucks fell 4-2.
STATS
HIGHLIGHTS
GAME NOTES
- On a positive note, the outcome of tonight’s game may have been the best-case scenario in the long-term. On one hand, Troy Stecher and Bo Horvat gave us a glimpse of what the team’s future looks like, and on the other hand, the loss inches them further away from a playoff picture that’s not only one they have no business being in, but also hurts their long-term outlook.
- Speaking of Troy Stecher, he scored what felt like the Canucks’ first power play goal since mid-2012. The Canucks fiddled with their PP formation a bit tonight, moving Brandon Sutter away from the front of the net, so here’s hoping this encourages to coaching staff to continue to experiment with a unit that’s clicking at the league’s second-worst clip.
- It was another relatively strong game for the Brandon Sutter/Markus Granlund/Jayson Megna line tonight, with each player finishing above +4 in even-strength Corsi. While it should be obvious that this line isn’t going to provide the level of secondary scoring you’d expect from your second line, they’ve done a reasonable job of keeping their heads above water defensively. There may be some method to Desjardins’ madness when it comes to his line deployment, especially considering Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi continue to struggle to remain solvent at even-strength.
- The Canucks will finish off their road trip with back-to-back games against the Avalanche and Coyotes, at which point their schedule will get much more difficult. The playoff picture could look significantly different by the end of their next home stand.
