Canucks Army Postgame #50: 50/50 Hindsight
7 years ago
If the Canucks embark on a long cold streak, remember tonight’s game. When the Canucks lost their first game of the season against Anaheim, I wrote that we might look back and say in hindsight that that was when the wheels finally came off the wagon. In a sense, I was correct, as the Canucks were on the verge of losing nine in a row.
Of course, they also came back and went on a tear in December and January, and now find themselves hanging in there with the playoff-bound teams in the western conference. Tonight, however, much like that other game in California, could be a harbinger of bad things to come. The Canucks schedule is going to be hell for the better part of the next two months, and the Canucks can’t expect to win many games if they’re consistently out-gunned in the manner they were tonight.
STATS
HIGHLIGHTS
GAME NOTES
- The effort was there, but the Canucks were simply outclassed tonight. After a soft-as-cashmere schedule to begin the year, it will be very interesting to see how they fare against stronger teams. If tonight’s game was any indication, my money is on “not well”.
- One of the things I’ve found so consistently irritating about the Benning-Linden regime is the way they consistently set sky-high expectations for many of their players. Nikita Tryamkin? Could be better than Chara. Markus Granlund? “Reminds me a bit of Patrice Bergeron.” Olli Juolevi? Plays like Niklas Lidstrom. Dmitry Zhukenov? Reminiscent of Pavel Datsyuk. You can add Philip Larsen to that list as well. Larsen’s been the subject of a lot of unfair criticism in this market this season, mainly for not coming as advertised. That’s not his fault. Larsen was never going to be a good trigger-man in a 1-3-1 power play formation, nor was he going to fix a 5-on-4 unit that’s been struggling for the better part of half a decade now. In actuality, Larsen’s been a perfectly fine third pairing defenseman this season, and tonight was no different. That’s why it was karmic retribution to see him put the Canucks within two early in the third period. Hopefully that’s enough to silence the peanut gallery, at least for one night.
- On a related note, I quite like Tryamkin-Larsen as a third pairing. Tryamkin can make up for Larsen’s lack of physicality, and Larsen provides a better puck-moving presence than Tryamkin has been afforded an opportunity to play with. They may be a bit high-event for Willie Desjardins’ liking, but they finished +8 and +6 in even-strength corsi, so there’s evidence to suggest it could work long-term.
- The Sedins continue to show signs of aging. They’re getting knocked off the puck much easier than we’ve seen in many years, but they’re still generating chances. They look better than they have in some time with Loui Eriksson on their wing, who put 4 shots on goal, and finished +7 in even-strength Corsi. Eriksson’s had awful luck this season, but you have to believe that will turn around. He’s consistently their best two-way player, night in and night out, but is shooting 4.5 percentage points less than his career average. You have to believe his luck will turn around eventually.
- I hope the coaching staff isn’t wasn’t discouraged from playing Eriksson with the twins due to their lack of production tonight. The line finished with 8 shots on net and the Sedins looked as dangerous as they have this season
- Patrick Marleau came into tonight’s game with 499 goals, so you just knew he was going to score tonight. Couldn’t fault anyone on the goal, though. It was a beautiful pass from Joe Pavelski and an even better shot by Marleau. Ryan Miller had no chance.
- The Canucks’ third line has been absolutely on fire since Alex Burrows was placed on Horvat’s left wing. They’ve been succeeding mainly due to the quality of the chances they generate, but have struggled at times to win the shot battle. That wasn’t the case tonight, as each player finished well above 50% in shot shares. Jim Benning has stated he has no desire to move players with NTCs, but you have to wonder if Alex Burrows will make him reconsider. His strong play this year could help the Canucks land a hefty return at the trade deadline.
- David Schlemko had the primary assist on Chris Tierney’s first of the night. I highly doubt that’s important to anyone, but J.D. Burke put a clause in my employment contract that states I’m required to mention any time he does anything noteworthy.
