Canucks Army Postgame: Penalties Not Killed
By Vanessa Jang
7 years agoGoing into tonight’s game, the Canucks were 1-2 in the pre-season. With the Canucks roster being trimmed further today, tonight’s line combinations seemed more realistic and probable for the regular season. The newly-formed like of Baertschi-Horvat-Rodin looked excellent tonight, but penalties were the biggest factor in tonight’s game.
Having lost to San Jose in overtime last week, the Canucks wanted revenge. However, tonight’s game ended in similar fashion as they lost 3-2 in OT, once again.
The Statistics
Tuomo Ruutu, Anton Rodin: 1G
Joe LaBate, Bo Horvat, Olli Juolevi: 1A
Andrey Pedan: 17 PIM
Miller: 17/20 saves, 0.85 SV%
Shots: VAN 28 – SJS 20
Face-offs: VAN 40% – SJS 60%
Hits: VAN 28 – SJS 16
Game Summary
The game was off to a physical start as Sharks defenseman Dan Kelly threw a hard hit on Chris Tanev. Andrey Pedan took exception and dropped the gloves two minutes into the first period.
PTO invite Tuomo Ruutu (the younger brother of former Canuck Jarko Ruutu) opened the scoring a few minutes later. 23 year-old Joe LaBate was given an assist.
The Sharks’ Matt Nieto tied the game at 1, but the tie was broken after Anton Rodin finished off some good plays by Olli Juolevi and Bo Horvat. The line of Baertschi-Horvat-Rodin looked very good tonight, so there is definitely potential that the combo could carry on the the regular season.
Another look at the slick moves from Juolevi, Horvat and Rodin. pic.twitter.com/iR1XPBmqP2— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 3, 2016
Kevin Leblanc scored the only goal in the second period to tie the game at 2. Derek Dorsett got cut up in a fight with Alex Gallant, but then came back in the third and had this oh-so-close backhander that hit the post.
A scoreless third period mean’t 2-on-2 overtime. Similar to their game last week, San Jose’s OT goal was a result of a poor line change.
Game Notes
– Derek Dorsett, Alex Edler, and Chris Tanev wore the ‘A’ tonight
– Olli Juolevi had a much steadier game than last. He assisted on Rodin’s goal and had a diving play to prevent a potential goal. Not surprisingly, he looked more comfortable on the ice after getting his first-game jitters off his back. Yes, he fumbled slightly on his assist, but it was a high-risk, high-reward situation that would’ve looked stellar if it weren’t for the SJS player’s skate.
– Joe LaBate was very noticeable tonight. He is a very physical player who has played his heart out this pre-season. He will most likely be sent back to the AHL, but he certainly made his case to be one of the first forwards for a potential call-up.
– Troy Stecher looked good once again tonight. He had a very ‘Denis Savard’ spin-o-rama moment in the second period, and he finished the game with 24:44 TOI.
– The Canucks’ best line by far was that of Baertschi-Horvat-Rodin. They had several excellent shifts, and it definitely looks like there is some good potential there. Possible 2nd or 3rd line for the regular season???
– Penalties were the biggest problem in tonight’s game – the Canucks were 4/6 on the penalty kill and 0/5 on the power play.
Player of the Game
Horvat had a great game, highlighted by his no-look, behind the back pass to set up Rodin’s goal. He had sparks of nifty puck-handling and strong puck protection. He is a much stronger and faster player now than in his first NHL season, and that was apparent tonight. As centres usually are, he was the focal point of the very impressive Baertschi-Horvat-Rodin line. He had 1 assist, 3 shots on goal, won 53% of his face-offs, and led the forwards with 22:27 TOI tonight.
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