The Stanchies: Canucks on to Edmonton as Silovs’ saves, Boeser’s pass, and Myers’ balls take centre stage
1 day ago
If you had told me at the start of the season that a pink dress shirt would feature prominently in the Canucks’ first authentic series win since 2011, I wouldn’t have believed you.
I would have heavily considered it, mind you. You don’t watch Tyler Myers play hockey for so many years without gaining a healthy appreciation for the chaos of life. Kevin Garnett was right; anything is possible in sports, especially with a Chaos Giraffe around.
But I probably would have walked away thinking you had lost your mind.
That’s where we find ourselves, however, after Artus Silovs put on one of the gutsiest performances from a Canucks goaltender this fanbase has ever seen.
It was an impossible task, really. Coming in to stand in the shadows of Thatcher Demko, and being handed the keys to the kingdom. Being asked to out-duel former Vezina winner Juuse Saros in a series in which goal support was next to non-existent. Yet not only was Silovs up to the challenge, he barely broke a sweat doing so.
You kind of knew this kid was special after the game five loss. I’ve seen a lot of scrums and seen many a mix of emotions during them: anger, sadness, frustration, and anxiety. You see a lot pass through a player’s face as they discuss a big loss.
With Silovs, though? He could have been discussing how he forgot his jacket at home that morning. Or about how The Beekeeper movie is criminally underrated. When he was offered up the idea of how he needed to bounce back from the loss by doing a quick reset from a media member, he leaped at the terminology. Sure, reset, yeah, let’s do that. Sounds good. He echoed it again in the leadup to game six. Just do a quick reset. Turn it on and off again, and it will be right as rain.
And it was. It was a game that harkened back to the Roberto Luongo vs. Marty Turco battles in 2006/07, where it was a battle of two goalies who seemed intent on never giving up a goal again. As the game wore on, you simply accepted that it was going to be a first-goal-wins scenario. There was no other way this was going to end. It was just a matter of which goalie would stumble first.
In the end, it was Saros who blinked first, not the kid from Latvia. It was Vancouver who found a way to get that elusive goal, despite Nicole Kidman cheering on the Predators with all she had.
It was a series begging for someone to stand up and have a big moment, and none was bigger than the performance of Arturs Silovs.
Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of other people who had their moment to shine for Vancouver.
JT Miller and Brock Boeser were the best line from either team in the entire series.
Nikita Zadorov earned an extra million on his next contract for his play alone in the first round.
Tyler Myers made the ballsiest play of the series in game six.
But for me, Arturs Silovs closing out a series in which he thought at most he’d maybe have to chew gum nervously if Demko or Casey DeSmith got hurt? That’s legendary stuff. That is now a part of Canucks lore. Chris Levesque walked so Arturs Silovs could run.
No matter what happens on this playoff run, Silovs will have a place in Canucks history after that performance. Eddie Lack has to pay for his billboards in Vancouver, but with Silovs, people are going to put his up for free.
Now it’s the Edmonton Oilers who await the Vancouver Canucks on the other side. Thatcher Demko’s recovery is going to be a main talking point as this series approaches because, realistically, a healed-up Demko remains the Canucks’ best goaltender. Stopping Connor McDavid and that offence is a task that is a big ask for any goalie in the world.
But after that series? After that game? As crazy as it sounds, part of you almost wants to see what Silovs can do next. To see what the Ice King has up his sleeve for Oilers Nation.
I’m not saying it’s the right move.
I’m not saying he can win that series.
But as Kevin Garnett told us, anything is possible.
We have a game to recap before we get there, though. Want to read about how the Canucks won a playoff series?
Let’s do this.
Best final goodbye
At times, it felt like a contest to see who could sing the US anthem the slowest in Nashville, and let me tell you, game six was a doozy.
I don’t know if I’ve ever wondered what the US anthem would sound like if a bored coffee barista with pacing issues decided to give singing a go, but I have a good handle on that experience now.
Best rink reporter Dave checking in
David was live in Nashville and had the goods about the Lotto Line going full Endgame by appearing out of nowhere, minus the cool-looking flame portal things, but it was short-lived. They started periods one and two together before disappearing forever, so it was like a fun cameo in a movie. You got to say, “Hey, I remember those guys!” before sitting back and watching Nashville try and block a hundred shots.
And after the Lotto Line’s brief appearance, it was Nashville almost scoring on their first rush of the game:
What’s important to note here is that Nashville fans thought they almost scored, only to be denied, and then had to process varying degrees of sadness over it. Like, there was probably a father in the crowd telling his kids that the first goal was coming, but it never did, just like those two Christmases they were promised.
They then got to experience this for another three hours, while also coming to terms with the fact that one of the most interesting facts about their town is that Teddy Roosevelt came up with Maxwell House’s coffee slogan there.
This is a true statement. I am not riffing. It’s the fifth-funnest fact about their city.
Best no clip doesn’t make it false
I’m not sure what this was referring to, but yes, yes he did.
Did he land a triple Salchow, something I spell out as sow cow every single time? Sadly, no, it was probably just his elite edge work.
Best get ready for this
The game was very much like most of the games in this series, in which Vancouver struggled to generate shots and never really got many clean looks on net.
A lot of that has to do with how Nashville plays hockey. We know that. They clog up the middle of the ice worse than your toilet after two servings of Opa.
But when you add in the Canucks’ execution on plays designed to get around five shot blockers lining up in front of their goalie (slap passes and backdoor passes), it results in a long night of wondering if you’ll ever see a goal again.
Which is how you found yourself watching Tyler Myers bust down the ice, fake the clapper, go wide and…fail to connect with Nils Höglander in the slot:
Nashville defended this really well, and it’s also par for the course for the series where it’s Vancouver trying to find a way to get shots on net but failing to do so.
Things went to an absurd level mere moments later, where it felt like Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes took turns missing an empty net:
They actually get the back door pass off to Brock pretty good, but he fires the puck back, and then Hughes fires it back, and you know what, we’re at the point where I don’t know what’s a failed pass and what’s a failed shot.
Like, this team has leaned in on the slap pass and back door lifestyle so hard that for all I know, Quinn And Brock took turns urging the other guy to finish off the back door play like some Oscar Wilde scene on ice.
“No, you do it.”
“No, no, I insist, you do it.”
“Oh I could never, you should do it.”
“Oh, but I can’t, for you see, there were no cucumbers in the market today, not even for ready money.”
It could also very well be that both guys kept taking turns missing their shots and just kept ending up with the puck again. WE JUST DON’T KNOW ANYMORE.
That’s the kind of mind frame you found yourself in watching this series, it was like you entered the Upside Down, and you had no idea what was going on but all you knew was you were confused and kind of scared.
Best Daniel knew
The only flapping on this night, aside from giraffe based reproduction systems, was the stick of one Arturs Silovs:
Demko is very big on standing very straight, and very tall, when stopping breakaways. When he denies you, he wants you to know it took as little effort as possible, and that you should be embarrassed at how poorly thought out your attempt was.
Casey DeSmith? He favours barrel rolls and other maneuvers normally saved for a scene in Top Gun when Tom Cruise has to bail out of a jet.
Arturs Silovs? He loves himself a good poke check. He used it three or four times on the night very effectively, shooting that stick out and then jumping back into position very quickly. It’s very much a tool in his arsenal that he’s not afraid to use at a moment’s notice. It’s an exciting play because he’s essentially using his stick as a weapon, leaping in and out of the action like a young Edoardo Mangiarotti. It’s a move based around investing a lot of points into his levels of swagger when he created his character.
And that swagger? it extends to his glove as well:
He tracks the puck, isn’t screened, but he flashes that leather forward as if he’s Grant Fuhr locking down a solid 8-7 win on the night.
That’s the kind of swagger that builds up confidence in the fan base. It’s weird, but it does. Not to attack DeSmith, but there were times when he thought he had the puck cradled against his body, only for the puck to be down by his skates. That gives you the kind of anxiety you get when watching a movie scene where a guy drops a grenade on the ground by accident.
When Silovs is out there making the giant glove save on a random shot? That builds you up. You find yourself sitting up in your seat inspired by his confidence in himself, and you find yourself saying “yeah, I can build that Ikea shelf I bought six months ago, I got this!”
Now, I have no idea if Elias Pettersson is on the bench getting amped up on smelling salts, Motley Crüe, and Silovs glove saves, but for people watching the game, as superficial as it is, watching Silovs is a much calmer experience than watching DeSmith.
Best depressing Jeff stat
The good news is this was the worst stat of the night. It did get better. The third period especially.
But yeah, it was a lot of the same reoccurring storylines of wondering if this was the game Elias Pettersson would wake up offensively, and then waiting to see if anyone could finally convert a slap pass or not.
Best Smashville hockey
To Nashville’s credit, they came out of the gates pretty hot. The first period was their best twenty minutes by far, as they tried to get the crowd into this game early.
And Vancouver? They looked nervous. Tyler Myers, who’s game has calmed down considerably under Rick Tocchet, was chasing hits at times during the first stanza. And on one occasion, he went searching for a hit and ended up getting caught too deep:
The Canucks covered Tyler’s transgression decently enough, but that still required a very good save from Silovs to keep the game tied.
Which was kind of the theme of the night. Both teams would exchange chances here and there, but Saros and Silovs were the story each and every time. Which again, is incredible that the Canucks’ third-string goalie heading into the playoffs was out here matching Saros save for save, giving the unexpected homerun performance much like the time Michelle Pfeiffer took over the role of Catwoman from Anette Benning.
So you see, that’s where the trouble began for Nashville.
That pink shirt.
That damned pink shirt.
Best been there, done that
The Canucks’ offensive woes continued, and if you ever wanted one clip to showcase how this series went, it would be this one:
Elias Pettersson has his shot blocked, then Höglander circles with the puck, fires high and wide, and the puck ends up leaving the zone.
The only thing missing? A slap pass to a backdoor play that doesn’t get converted on.
It feels like Edmonton will be scoring 4+ goals a game, so maybe we will grow to appreciate the simpler times when even generating a scoring chance felt like a momentous task.
Best tit for tat
This series kind of settled into two teams trying to generate goals off of screening the goalie and putting in point shots.
Which means Silovs had to be good at tracking that puck, which he was:
Line up the shot, take away the goalie’s eyes, rinse and repeat.
And much like Nashville, Vancouver deserves credit for their defensive play. Both teams worked so hard to keep the middle of the ice free from occupation.
But even when shots did get through? The Arty Party was there to stop it.
How good was Silovs? I don’t even have any clips of him panicking in net, or fumbling a rebound. I want to prove to you that this kid is a human, and not in fact a proof of concept about AI and it’s ability to create top level goaltenders, but I have no mistakes to show you.
The guy was an actual rock in net. A rock with a good moustache, debatable fashion sense, and a slick glove hand.
Best nervous energy
Sign of the times? The second best chance of the period was a basic point shot:
That would legitimately be a top level scoring chance in this series, that’s how dedicated both teams ended up being to the no scoring life style. You actually found yourself looking forward to point shots because there was a potential for an actual shot on net, assuming it didn’t turn into another god damn slap pass.
Best slowly turning up the gas
The Canucks worst period was in the first, and while the second frame wasn’t a giant leap forward, you could tell the Canucks had settled their nerves down. Scoring chances started appearing, like on this play where Garland flipped the pass into the Nashville zone in Dakota Joshua’s general direction, who then dragged two defenders with him so Elias Lindholm could experience the thrill of shooting on net from the slot:
The Canucks then followed this up with JT Miller setting up Brock Boeser for a quick shot on net that led to a rebound chance for Pius Suter:
In what has become a trend for Suter, however, he was denied by Saros’ incredibly athletic legs. Throughout the night the player with the best chances to score a goal was by far Pius Suter. But much like most of the series, it felt like it was illegal for him to score on a high danger chance, so he was relegated to becoming a side character in the biography of Juuse Saros, award winning goalie who is really good at kicking his legs at pucks.
You’ll notice of course the prominence of Boeser and Miller, who once again were the two players dragging the Canucks into the offensive fight on the night. If the playoffs are what a fanbase measures you by, then Miller and Boeser passed their first test with flying colours.
Best Arty Party continues, all night, forever
Nils Höglander has yet to find the trust of his coach in these playoffs, and his play hasn’t been worthy of said trust. Apparently, shooting at a 25% clip at evens during the regular season is something you can’t easily reproduce in the playoffs.
Which would be fine if Nils was being his usual annoying physical self, or playing smart defensive hockey, but he made some plays that you just knew steamed the lapels of Rick Tocchet.
One such play? A weak dump in on a line change that led to Jason Zucker just missing top corner on Silovs:
Now we know Silovs wasn’t going to be scored on in this game, so it was foolish of Zucker to even try, but there is probably a list of things that drive a coach absolutely batshit crazy. And lazy dump ins on a line change? That’s probably very high on that list, right beside loud music and poorly made peanut butter and jam sandwiches where the ratios are off. 70% peanut butter, 30% jam, it’s not a 50/50 split, everyone knows this.
But try as they might, even when setting up in the Canucks’ zone, the Arty Party continued unabated:
The kid tracks the puck the entire time, then stops the shot and corrals the rebound like it’s no big deal.
I’ve watched Dan Cloutier in net against a defensive low scoring situation. This save is very much a big deal. I shouldn’t remember Darby Hendrickson’s name, but I do, because he sent the West Coast Express’ best chance at a Stanley Cup home when he beat Dan Cloutier.
You want a shot in the slot? Silovs literally shrugs it off:
Every time Nashville got a chance, Silovs was there. If Wind Beneath My Wings wasn’t written in 1982, I would have sworn it was inspired by Arturs.
Best ok sure why not
High-sticking rules are vague at the best of times. For some reason, blood is a deciding factor, even if some dude bleeds easier than Abdullah the Butcher. But only with high sticks, you see. If you cross check someone from behind into the boards, blood is not a determining factor. But with sticks, clearly there is a weapon at play, so if you make someone bleed their own blood, then you must be punished accordingly.
It feels very much like the 12 to 6 rule in the UFC where you can’t elbow a dude in the head straight down because, as rumor has it, a commissioner saw someone break bricks with their elbow in a competition, so clearly that’s the most lethal move you can do in a fight and must be banned.
It’s a weird rule because a stick to the head that causes a concussion would be worse than splitting a dude’s lip, but hockey gonna hockey, so here we are.
So when Brock Boeser got a double minor on this play, it felt egregious:
Boeser is shooting the puck and then trying to move away from an impending body check. Nothing about this feels like a malicious situation. I don’t think Boeser’s plan was, “Hahah, I’ll disguise my high stick by trying to dodge this hit and then slamming my stick near his face,” but maybe Brock has a little evil in him. That perfect hair has to come at a cost.
I still felt like, at best, this deserved two minutes, but as Ron MacLean would tell me, who am I to dare question an NHL official, the most perfect representation of good in humanity that there is?
And while this could have been a major turning point in a game in which the goals were few and far between, the power play from both teams has kind of sucked? Or the penalty killing from both teams was elite? Whatever PBJ ratio you want to apply to that formula, the special teams hasn’t played much into the scoring in this series.
The best chance the Predators saw? Wouldn’t you know it, it was Silovs tracking a puck perfectly and then going full Time Cop to make the save:
Aside from that? The best chance to score was honestly Elias Pettersson:
EP40’s shot still looks awful. It still looks like he’s getting absolutely no flex on his stick when he shoots. It feels like we’re at the “when will we find out about the injury?” rather than “will we find out if there is an injury?” at this point.
You hear some chatter among the fanbase about sitting Elias, and honestly, unless playing hockey is holding back his ability to heal from an injury, then keep him in the lineup. I don’t know what world people think Nils Aman will be able to slide into the lineup and provide anything close to what even an injured EP40 can provide, but it’s not this one.
Now, offensively, Elias has been subpar, that’s very true. Combine that with him playing with two linemates that cannot score to save their lives, and I can’t think of a worse scenario for a possibly injured Elias to be playing in. Hell, let’s say there is no injury and it’s all mental, that’s still a tough situation for him. Watching Ilya Mikheyev shoot the puck has to be one of the more deflating things to experience in life, on par with finding out you misremembered what time Wendy’s closes.
And with the way Elias plays, if he can’t shoot, he can still pass….it’s just he would need a dance partner that can do that. There is a reason Kuzmenko looked so good with him, and it’s because he could dance with him. He could feed off of him. He could finish.
Right now, you’re basically watching EP40 struggle to generate offence with two partners that are struggling just as much as he is, and it’s created this very visual mess of a line we’re seeing now. Elias will eat two hits and then make a nice pass up to Ilya just to watch him load up the muffin canon and go straight to Breka, right in the goalie’s chest.
The good news is Elias and his line are still playing well defensively. They won their matchups in terms of shot production. You can’t just throw in Aman and get 15 minutes of ice time from him like you can with this version of Elias.
The bad news is that this was against easy matchups against the Predators.
Against the Oilers? That is a very different scenario.
Either way, you don’t scratch Elias Pettersson.
Best pushing the pace
Quinn Hughes? Yeah, he’s pretty good at hockey:
Hughes sauces in that pass to JT Miller which generated one of the best chances to score in this game for Pius Suter.
You’ll notice that JT Miller shoots hard and low, to generate a rebound, because EA Sports was right in teaching us this is how rebounds are made.
And Pew Pew? He does everything right but score. He skates hard to the empty ice because he knows a back door pass or rebound is coming his way. And the Predators? Nowhere to be seen because Quinn Hughes has fooled them all with his attack via airspace.
It’s just once again Juuse Saros and those damn legs. He slides across and makes a massive save to keep the game tied at 0.
Goalies, man.
Best he’s not wrong
Best welcome to the Arty Party, pal
Oh you want a dangerous shot in the slot? Well so does Nashville:
You know who eats shots from the slot for breakfast? Arturs Silovs.
I’ve talked about Silovs a lot already, and I still feel like I’m underselling what a marvel it was to watch him tonight. Ryan McDonagh is out here doing soccer moves to celebrate season 3 of Welcome to Wrexham, snapping shots from the slot on net, and Silovs won’t even give up a single rebound.
Incredible.
Best double standards
Fresh off of game in which Filip Forsberg drew a cross-checking penalty by re-enacting the scenes out of Family Guy where a guy falls to the ground with his arm behind his back, somehow this Roman Josi cross-check was dubbed nothing more than a love tap:
Conor Garland gets absolutely trucked there, but I guess because he didn’t flail about on the ice, screaming in agony, wondering if he’d ever see his dogs again, the officials let it go.
Which you know what? You’re not going to call any cross-checks like that? Fine, sounds good. At least the standards have been set, and you now know you can cross-check with impunity, even if there’s only 30 seconds left on the clock.
My main thing with officials is just be consistent. That’s all I ask.
This is what we in the business call foreshadowing.
Best poke bowls
The Predators, sick of being stoned on shots from the middle, decided to try crashing in on Silovs from the side:
That poke check was on point, though, and Zucker’s attempt is stopped in its tracks by Silovs.
And again, watch Silovs shut this play down like it’s nothing. A tie game in a game six, and he’s out here poking away, thinking about buying new dress shirts for Riga night clubs, or whatever it is he does.
Best habitual habits
For better or for worse, the Canucks continued to try and slip through their slap passes and back door plays, but at least they combined them all into one package?
Like on this play, Filip Hronek tries a slap pass that misses, then Brock Boeser tries a backdoor pass to JT Miller that fails, before finally Quinn Hughes just leans into a clapper that results in a solid stab at a rebound goal:
I’m not sure the last time Hronek took an actual shot on the net, but it feels like several months. He has one of the hardest shots on the team, but Nashville didn’t have to give him any respect because he never uses it. He gets the same looks Nolan Baumgartner used to get when he wound up for a shot, a whole lot of “that’s cute, sweetie” before moving on with their day double covering Quinn Hughes.
Best eye tests line up with the stats
Best party back home
Shout out to Canucks fans for packing Rogers Arena for the watch party. The vibes and atmosphere looked better than the one at Nashville, which is strange considering Nashville is the birthplace of the Goo Goo Cluster, and it doesn’t get much more fun than that.
Best trust the process
Hey, remember how Miller and Boeser continuously created offence in this series? Well, they did it again. This time JT Miller wins a board battle and finds Boeser in the slot, who then fires the puck wide (but also could be a pass, as again, nothing makes sense in this series), which resulted in Suter having a chance to bank in the rebound off the back boards:
Suter had a look on net just like this in game five, but wouldn’t you know it, Saros and those damn legs of his.
And moments later, Boeser would find Suter from behind the net for ANOTHER good look on net:
Keep this play in mind, because it is very much how the Canucks would finally score their only goal of the game.
We talked all year about how the Canucks learned lessons from losses and how they had to learn to play uncomfortable hockey, and it’s a pretty uncomfortable situation to be playing in a game six and trying to stop a game 7. And to their absolute credit, the Canucks best period by far was the third period.
Playing against a team that was desperate and fighting for their playoff lives, in front of their home crowd and Nicole Kidman, the Canucks dominated puck possession in the last frame. They generated more chances on net. The Canucks were simply the better team down the stretch.
Best cardio and vibes
That’s ok, they were letting them play. The standard had been set. No more penalties. All we ask for is consistency.
Best reliable ride
Corolla Garland had one of his better games of the season, as it felt like he was playing like he’d fueled up recently at a good price per liter. His speed was noticeable on the night, and he was once again good at setting up teammates with fantastic looks on net:
I cannot express to you how excited I was at a potential game-winner from Tyler Myers. The stories I was going to be able to write, the tales I would tell of this moment.
But he was denied. Saros? He stopped him.
Little did I know that something far better lay in wait for the legacy of the Chaos Giraffe, something far more important than scoring a goal.
Best JT gonna JT
I am immune to JT Miller turnovers at this point:
Once you accept that he does one of these a game, your life gets a lot simpler. Once it’s done and out of the way, you can relax and enjoy the rest of the show. For whatever reason he’s just hardwired into making a pass where you could swear he meant to give it to the other team on purpose.
The good news is Allvin set his goalie to Superstar difficulty, so Silovs made another save look easy.
Best B4-2
You knew this game was going to come down to one goal when the Canucks struggled to generate a shot on a 4 on 2:
To be fair, that’s the Canucks’ fourth line, and I can’t imagine they’ve run a lot of 4 on 2 drills. At this point, you’re just proud that they didn’t have their blocked shot turned into an odd-man rush the other way.
Simply getting the puck on net was a rousing success here.
Best almost there
But for every struggle the other lines had, JT Miller and Brock Boeser continued to lead the way for this Vancouver team:
That is the same Brock Boeser move he tried in game five, but once again, Saros and those legs saved the day for Nashville.
Best seriously, almost there
Corolla Garland then watched a puck bounce between Joshua and Lindholm, leading to a scoring chance? A shot on net? A strongly worded letter?
Oh, a zone clearance.
This was straight up one of the greasiest series of hockey I have ever seen play. The ice was bad in both buildings, both teams got dragged down into Nashville hockey, and it ended up being just a complete slog fest of a series.
Best have you seen the muffin man
You’ll notice a lot of clips of Vancouver dictating the flow of play, and that’s because they really did rise to the occasion to cement this series away. And while it pains me to show you a clip of Mikheyev shooting the puck, I am morally obligated to do so in order to prove that Vancouver had tilted the ice in their direction:
The odds of Mikheyev scoring there were astronomically low. I think the last time Ilya looked threatening on a breakaway, Pimp My Ride was the number one show on TV.
But the important thing is if the puck is Nashville’s end it means Vancouver is staying out of their own zone.
Best and here we go
ALL OF WHICH LED TO THIS MOMENT:
There are so many narratives at play here.
- Pius Suter finally scores a goal. After getting so many good looks on net, he finally converts on a high danger scoring chance. And once again it comes from his hockey IQ and knowing when to charge to the net. As frustrating as it can be to watch a guy be denied on scoring chance after scoring chance, there is something to be said about the fact the guy is constantly putting himself in position to get said chances.
- Boeser being instrumental in the goal. For a guy in Boeser who almost wanted out, this season has been an incredible turnaround to watch. You’ll also notice how once again Boeser was working behind the net to find a guy in front, something he was working on earlier in the game.
- For all the shit Elias has been going through, he made a huge play on this goal. His ability to outthink his opponent is one of his best talents, which is why you keep him in the lineup. He straight up leaps around his check to get a stick on the puck, which allows him to keep the play going behind the net to Boeser. Without Elias Pettersson on the ice, there is no goal here.
Best surely you can’t be serious
Excuse my language, but what the duck are we doing here? Are you ducking kidding me? What the duck is this? Is this some sort of ducking joke?
On a night where Conor Garland got hit in the exact same way earlier in the game, you’re going to tell me this isn’t game management? That this isn’t the officials feeling a bit frisky and wanting to see what happens? Just throw half a pool cue in the middle of the room and see who comes out?
I am blown away by that call. That is 100% game management to me. How you can have the temerity to call that, but not the earlier one on Garland, one that was arguably worse, is beyond comprehension to me.
If the Canucks lose this game, that penalty is right up there beside Mark Messier as one of the most talked about travesties of justice in Canucks history.
Absolutely no consistency in the calls whatsoever. To quote a large Russian we all know, everyone should be sharp in the playoffs, not just the players.
But what do they say about pressure? It makes diamonds? Well take a look at the pair of rocks Tyler Myers was using on Friday night:
Now, there is a lot to digest on this play as well, so let’s hit up some note form action.
- JT Miller will do anything to win a game of hockey. He’s literally diving on his goalie, ready to eat bullets for him. I’m not sure that’s the most effective play to use in that situation, as the goalie tends to have better gear for stopping pucks, but you can’t question his heart. He’s out there ready to die in order to prevent that puck from going in.
- Silovs was once again unnaturally calm. Even with JT Miller draped all over him, he’s still track the puck and putting his glove up to help block the net. He makes the initial save on this sequence, which will get lose in the insanity of what happens next.
- Tyler Myers saves the game with his balls. You read that correctly. The Chaos Giraffe slid onto the ice and used his testicles to block a Gus Nyquist shot. If you had ever wondered “what’s any of this for? What does it all mean?” the years of watching Tyler Myers play the most chaotic hockey around all led to this moment. With the game on the line, and the team needing a big play, of course it’s the Chaos Giraffe using his junk to stop a goal. After reading that sentence, I realized that the crazy part is that it makes complete sense. All roads led to Tyler Myers’ balls.
- Ian Cole, a man brought on to be a grizzled veteran who warns you about which taverns to avoid when visiting Rivendell, completes the ballsy play from Myers by punching the puck away as it was slowly arcing through the air after hitting Tyler’s minors. With JT Miller draped over his goalie to his left, and Tyler Myers gripping his wounded soldiers on the ground to his right, Ian Cole calmly punches the puck away from danger.
And that was the game. The Canucks fought through a questionable penalty, and they rode their young goalie to a shutout victory. It was an incredible game from a team that has once again done their best to prove people wrong all season long. It would have been so easy to go back to Vancouver with the series tied. With the fan base nervously laughing as they revisited memories of past failures.
But this team? They closed it out. They got the job done. They deserve all of their flowers and pink shirts.
Now, the next task is a big one. The series against Edmonton is going to cause a war on hockey social media I don’t think the world is prepared for.
But no matter what happens? This has been a pretty darn successful season from the Vancouver Canucks.
Best twist ending
Best update
If you ever question why Dan Murphy is the best in the business, this should put a stop to it.
Within minutes of the series being over, Dan gave us the update we all needed.
Best unspoken truth
Best get ready for a different beast
Best emotional journey
Best there’s no place like home
Best closing image
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