CanucksArmy Postgame: Canucks lose Hughes; earn a point in loss to Ducks
4 years ago
The Canucks were in search of their ninth win in 11 games when they visited the Honda Center to face the Ducks on Friday.
The Canucks made some roster transactions prior to the game. Michael Ferland was placed on IR and Sven Baertschi was called up from AHL Utica.
Ferland is in concussion protocol after he appeared to suffer an upper-body injury when he fought Kyle Clifford in Wednesday’s win over the Kings. Adam Gaudette got into the lineup for the first time since Oct. 12 with Ferland out.
Gaudette scored for the Canucks, but they ended up falling just short against John Gibson and the Ducks in a 2-1 OT loss. Here’s how the game played out.
Lines
First Period
The Canucks picked up right back where they left off against the Kings by taking it the Ducks in the opening period. They already had double digit shots midway through the first period but couldn’t solve John Gibson. The Canucks had two power plays in the opening frame, but they couldn’t convert. Instead, the lone goal of the period came shorthanded by the Ducks. It was a tough sequence in general that started when Elias Pettersson blew a tire in the offensive zone. The Ducks rushed the other way but Quinn Hughes did a good job hustling back. Hughes was then pushed off the puck in the defensive zone by Richard Rakell and the puck was recovered by Jakob Silfverberg. J.T. Miller did a fly bye and Hughes couldn’t stop Silfverberg from breaking in alone and roofing a shot on Jacob Markstrom.
The biggest story of the first period was an injury to Quinn Hughes. Hughes went to the locker room with just over five minutes remaining in the period. The rookie blueliner appeared to catch a rut with his left skate and twisted his ankle in the process. There was no contact on the play, but Hughes appeared to be in pain. While this wasn’t as extreme, we saw the potential dangers of an ankle injury when Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen went down on a similar looking play last week. The Canucks later announced Hughes wouldn’t return to the game due to a lower-body injury.
Aside from the breakdown on the power play, the Canucks had a dominant first period and outshot the Ducks 19-5.
Second Period
The Canucks carried their strong play from the first period into the second frame. The Canucks continued to pepper Gibson, but it was Jacob Markstrom who came up with the two biggest saves.
Markstrom made one of his best saves of the season when he robbed Adam Henrique point blank in the slot with six minutes to go in the frame. Jordie Benn couldn’t handle a pass from Tyler Myers behind the net and Richard Rakell recovered the turnover. Rakell found Henrique wide open in the slot and he fired a one-timer that was stopped by the glove of Markstrom.
The Ducks also had a fantastic chance to increase their lead to 2-0 in the dying seconds of the second period. Tyler Myers had failed to get back properly after pinching at the other end of the ice and Nick Ritchie was able to walk in all alone on Markstrom. Ritchie was turned away by a combination of Markstrom and the post.
Third Period
After piling on the offense in the first two periods, the Canucks weren’t able to generate as much in the final frame. The Ducks tightened up defensively and mainly kept the Canucks to the outside. Jacob Markstrom made another impressive stop in the early going when he sprawled out to rob Richard Rakell.
The Canucks finally got on the board with 6:18 remaining in the third period when Adam Gaudette broke in with Brandon Sutter. Gaudette’s centering attempt bounced off some skates and found a way past Gibson. With the way the game was going, it was going to take an ugly goal to beat John Gibson.
Just as it appeared the Canucks were gaining monteum and could win in regulation, Jacob Markstrom got hit with a questionable “delay of game” penalty with just over three minutes remaining. Markstrom did come out a little far out of his crease to smother the puck, but that typically isn’t a call you see made, especially that late in the game. Ryan Getzlaf and the Ducks lobbying for a penalty call likely didn’t help Markstrom’s cause.
Chris Tanev made a huge block on Silfverberg during that penalty kill as the Ducks were applying heavy pressure. After the Canucks killed off the penalty, Pettersson rang the post in the dying seconds of regulation with the Canucks applying late pressure.
Overtime
Both teams had decent chances in the opening minutes of overtime before Troy Terry sprung Ryan Getzlaf with a breakaway pass midway through the 3-on-3 session. Jacob Markstrom went for the flying poke check, but he completely missed the Ducks’ captain. Getzlaf was able to maneuver around Markstrom and put the puck into the empty net to win the game for the Ducks.
Highlights
Stats
Game Notes
- The Quinn Hughes injury is obviously the biggest concern following the game. The rookie blueliner is having an excellent start to the season with 10 points in his first 10 games. There’s no replacing the elusiveness and creativity he brings to the blueline. He’s especially effective at carrying the puck into the zone on the power play and getting possession set up in the offensive zone
- The initial report of the Hughes injury is positive. According to Patrick Johnston of the Province, GM Jim Benning thinks Hughes will be alright for tomorrow’s game against the Sharks
- The Canucks had a few costly defensive breakdowns that they’ll need to fix moving forward. One of the most glaring ones was the sequence at the end of the second period where Myers was pinching in the offensive zone and couldn’t get back in time. As Myers rushed back, both him and Edler were playing the right side of the ice and that essentially enabled a 2-on-0 stemming from the left side in the dying seconds of the period.
- This game was tilted in favor of the Canucks for the majority of the night. John Gibson is an incredible goaltender and he’s carried the Ducks to countless victories since he entered the league. He did it again tonight. The Canucks didn’t have an overwhelming amount of grade A scoring chances, but they need to find a way to capitalize. You also have to give props to Markstrom. It’s sometimes very difficult for a goalie to stay sharp when the other goaltender is facing all the action. Markstrom came up with two huges saves in the second period and then one early in the third period to keep the Canucks in it
- It’s nice to see Gaudette get rewarded for all the hard work he’s put in. He was one of the best Canucks against the Ducks and has earned the right to play against the Sharks. It appears Travis Green is on board too as Gaudette was moved up to play with Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson to begin the third period and finished with 12:03 of ice time on the evening. If Sven Baertschi is able to play in San Jose, you have to think it would be Loui Eriksson coming out of the lineup
- On the topic of ice time, Edler played a whopping 30:25 with Hughes going down. Jake Virtanen only had 7:59 of ice time, while Loui Eriksson played just 8:22. The Canucks were on the power play for a large portion of the third period and Eriksson saw just two shifts in the final period, while Virtanen had one.
- The Canucks have earned a point in six straight games. It didn’t look like they were going to be able to get anything past Gibson, so hopefully they can take some positives into San Jose on Saturday night. It’s clear how important Quinn Hughes is to this team. The power play instantly suffered in the third period and the Canucks were not nearly as effective without him running it
