Canucks Army Postgame: Into the Shark Tank
By J.D. Burke
8 years ago
The Vancouver Canucks, battered, beaten and humiliated more often than not of late, hosted the San Jose Sharks for a Tuesday tilt at Rogers Arena. There wasn’t much at stock for either team. Not in the traditional sense. Another loss though and the Canucks are that much closer to securing a draft pick in the top four.
The Canucks delivered their beleaguered fan base just that, dropping tonight’s game 3-1 to the visiting Sharks. At times the Canucks were dominant. They controlled play for most of the first, tilting the ice heavily towards James Reimer and the Sharks end. Their reward? A Joe Pavelski goal 20 seconds into the second frame and a 1-0 deficit.
Bloodied but not unbowed, Chris Higgins leveled the score on a shorthanded rush no more than six minutes later. Higgins was afforded the opportunity killing a five-minute major taken by Jake Virtanen for a late, high and just plain dirty hit.
That’s as close as the Canucks came, though. Mental lapses and a parade to the penalty box tainted the third and final frame, costing the Canucks any chance at knotting the game and sending it to overtime. Logan Couture put the final nail in the coffin, hitting the long drive to tye the knot on his first career hat-trick.
Stats
Quick Hits
- Markus Granlund made his return to the Canucks lineup, after sitting out two weeks with an upper-body injury. Never mind easing him into the lineup. Willie Desjardins and the Canucks saw fit to place Granlund in the two-hole, anchoring the second line going into tonight’s contest. I can’t say with any certainty that Granlund is a full-time, bona fide NHL player. I can say with a tonne of certainty that, injuries and all, he isn’t the Canucks second-best option down the middle. Probably won’t be next year or five years from now. Or ever. Not sure how far the Canucks are willing to hitch their wagon to Granlund, but playing him beyond his depth doesn’t make the Hunter Shinkaruk deal any more palatable.
- The Canucks may not have won the shot battle, but they won the even-strength shot battle handily. Even-strength stats are what really matters. The shot location data at www.hockeystats.ca indicates they out-chanced the Sharks at even-strength, too.
- The Virtanen hit was some kind of ugly. Even his own teammate and captain, Henrik Sedin, was willing to admit as much post-game. I’ve posted a video below. You be the judge:
- I couldn’t have been happier when I saw Higgins score. He’s just been through so much this season, with so little rhyme or reason. Has Higgins lost a step? He absolutely has. Could Higgins outperform Derek Dorsett and help this team’s playoff chances down the stretch? He absolutely could have. Still can’t wrap my head around Higgins being sent to Utica. Might not be half the NHL’er he once was, but he’s still an NHL’er.
Recent articles from J.D. Burke
