Canucks Army Postgame: Shot Down

Highlights

Quick Hits

• With about 7:30 to go in the 3rd period, we tweeted this:

• With about 7:28 to go in the 3rd period, this happened:

• No lead is safe from Ondrej Pavelec.
• Kenins’ game-tying goal was his second in two games, meaning that he’s already 40% of the way to tying his goal output for his entire AHL career (granted, his career is only 36 games). You probably all know this already, but expecting Kenins to chip in a goal on a semi-regular basis is likely too much to ask, especially when guys like Chris Higgins (4th on the team in shots, 3rd in ES shots/60) can’t seem to buy one.
• Zack Kassian is never going to get back in the lineup now, is he.
• That being said, the fourth line of Kenins-Horvat-Dorsett had a very strong night after getting shelled against the Minnesota Wild. Bo Horvat was a game-high +7 Corsi at ES (good for a team-leading 70.6%), Ronalds Kenins fired 4 pucks on goal and added 3 hits, and Derek Dorsett punched a face. If Willie Desjardins didn’t feel it necessary to return Zack Kassian to the lineup after Sunday’s outing, it seems extremely unlikely he’ll get his next shot on Thursday against San Jose.
• A ton of this game was played at special teams, as the Jets lived up to their reputation as the most penalized team in the NHL. They were whistled for nine infractions, giving Vancouver six powerplay opportunities, but Vancouver was unsurprisingly unable to score. Fortunately, as inept as Vancouver’s powerplay has felt this season, their penalty kill has held opposing teams to a lower conversion rate. If they get as many powerplays as penalty kill opportunities, they’ll see a pretty good goal differential based on special teams in the long run.
• With the Wild turning a corner and both the Stars and Avalanche picking up points, it was fairly critical that Vancouver won tonight. What’s even better news is that the L.A. Kings lost once again, as they continue to struggle to gain traction in the Pacific Wild Card race. We know the Kings are good though (they’ve won two of the past three Stanley Cups!) and they’ll figure it out eventually, so the Canucks have to keep distancing themselves if they want to make the playoffs.

Conclusion