Canucks Army Postgame: The BBB Show

The Canucks embarked on a road trip that has them playing three games in four nights. Up first was the struggling Arizona Coyotes. It was the battle of the bottom tonight as the NHL’s 29th and 30th-place teams faced off in sunny Arizona. Was it an exciting game? Not exactly, but nonetheless we should be happy with the outcome.

The BBB line, Baertschi-Bo-Burrows, carried the team to their second road win of the season as they defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 tonight.

Bo Horvat: 1 goal, 2 assists

Sven Baertschi: 1 goal, 2 assists

Alex Burrows: 1 goal, 1 assist

Loui Eriksson: 1 goal

Markus Granlund & Luca Sbisa: 1 assist

Ryan Miller: 35/36 saves, 0.972 SV%

Shots: VAN 27 – ARI 36

FO%: VAN 57% – ARI 43%

3:03 into the first period, Sven Baertschi put the Canucks on the board off of a nifty pass from Bo Horvat. Each team had a power-play and chances to capitalize. Brandon Sutter came close with a tip that went wide, while Arizona could not take advantage of the missed clearing attempts my Markus Granlund. Ryan Miller’s save of the period came as he stretched the pads and got his left leg in front of a Shane Doan shot. Shots were 16-11 Arizona, but for the second game in a row, the Canucks had the lead at the end the first period.

At the beginning of the second period, Olli Juolevi’s former London Knights teammate, Christian Dvorak, scored 58 seconds in. 

The Canucks came storming back minutes later after Loui Eriksson scored your prototypical ‘dirty goal’ in front of the net. You can’t expect all of Eriksson’s goals to be snipes, but it’s good to see him putting the puck in the net. Eriksson currently had two goals in two games and has been playing well alongside Markus Granlund and Michael Chaput.

In the next sequence, Bo Horvat notched his team-leading 7th goal of the season as he tipped in an Alex Burrows shot from the far boards. 

But wait – the Canucks didn’t stop there! Alex “Dragon Slayer” Burrows ended Mike Smith’s night putting a weak shot through the five hole. Historically, Mike Smith has not had a good showing against the Canucks. He has just one win in the past six games and a SV% & GAA that you would love to see as a Canucks fan. Louis Dominque came to Smith’s rescue 6:49 into the second period.

The third period was scoreless, and the Canucks defeated Arizona by a score of 4-1.

– Welcome to the NHL, Joseph LaBate! Replacing the injured Derek Dorsett, his call-up came at a good time because his play in Utica had just begun to pick up. Drafted in the 4th round in 2011, LaBate is the fourth Canucks-drafted player from that draft class to have made his NHL debut. He finished the game with 5:55 TOI and three hits.

– The line of Baertschi-Horvat-Burrows has developed quite the chemistry over the past handful of games. They combined for 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) tonight. Horvat led his line in TOI with 17:19, followed by Baertschi with 15:24, then Burrows with 15:05. Horvat was 52% in the face-off circle, and he and Baertschi had two of the higher Corsi percentages for tonight. Also, I’ll just leave this right here…

Baertschi is known for being a streaky player, and he seems to be on the high right now. After his 3-point performance tonight, he actually has 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in 7 games dating back to Nov. 8 vs. NYR. 

Alex Burrows’ play has certainly picked up since being put on a line with 47 and 53. Although his stats aren’t eye-catching, one can tell that he seems to have an extra jump in his step. He’s contributing to the team, something that some people doubted in the off-season. For a player who’s role on the team was a bit unknown at the beginning of the season, he has exceeded expectations. 

– Some point streaks came to an end tonight:

– Luca Sbisa is currently tied with Philip Larsen and Ben Hutton for points by a Canucks defensemen. He has 4 points (all assists) in 20 games. For those interested, he needs to play in 9 more games to be eligible to be exposed in the upcoming NHL expansion draft.

– Overall, it wasn’t a good night for Arizona, and Vancouver took advantage of that. Although the Coyotes beat the Canucks in the shots category, Ryan Miller was not forced to make any huge saves. Nonetheless, aside from the Dvorak goal, Miller was all you could have asked for in a goalie tonight. He made the saves, the Canucks capitalized on their scoring chances, and the Canucks leave Arizona (tomorrow) with another victory.

With three points tonight, Bo Horvat is my Player of the Game! Honestly, what more could you ask for out of Horvat right now? As always, Horvat’s work-ethic and high compete level was on full display tonight. You can argue that he has been the Canucks’ most consistent player, and he was rewarded with a big point-productive night. He currently leads the Canucks with 7 goals and is tied with Daniel Sedin for points with 13.