Only the Vancouver Canucks could follow up one of their strongest efforts of the season with a close, low-scoring game against the worst team in the NHL.
The one major difference between this team and the Canucks from a week ago? These Canucks actually won an overtime game.
Beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in overtime isn’t the gamesheet you’ll print out and put on the fridge, but it’s the kind of game that the Canucks from earlier points in the season would’ve struggled to close out. The last-placed Sharks are obviously young and learning, but the vibes in San Jose are already wayyy better than they are around other recent rebuilders like Chicago and Anaheim. Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund and Will Smith are leading the charge for a team that’s trying to play fun, high-octane hockey.
The Rick Tocchet-era Canucks do not see themselves in the same light, especially with Quinn Hughes missing his third game in a row. Which is probably why this contest alternated between high and low event like the Energizer Bunny after chugging a bottle of Nyquil.
If you elected not to watch this game, you were probably better off for it. And since we didn’t get a single goal from either team for the first 45+ minutes of the game, these Stanchies are gonna require some bouncing around. If you don’t own a CanucksArmy-branded trampoline, one will be provided for you.
Let’s dive in.
Best reason to ban 7:30 starts
There are multiple reasons why 7:30 puck drops are terrible. For starters, Wyatt always happens to have a cough on those days, and his understudies have to draw straws for who gets the late game, hence why I’m here.
The second and more important reason is that it always leads to the Canucks’ strangest efforts. They started out strong with the first five shots on goal just four minutes in and even outshot the Sharks 13-9 in the middle frame. But like clockwork, the chip-and-chase game eventually began.
In the third period, the Canucks put together one of their most complete ‘park the bus’ efforts of the season; they scored on one of their three total shots while letting the Sharks pepper Thatcher Demko with 16 before overtime. The Sharks are among the NHL’s worst teams in goals allowed, but when the dust settled, they’d outshot the Canucks 34-24, and Vancouver needed overtime to score more than once. Not exactly the highest vote of confidence for the coach’s system.
But on the other hand, they walked away with two points. And when you’re fighting just to reach the playoffs, you can’t question how the points come too much.
Best Red Demko Redemption
The news of Thatcher Demko’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
Coming off a statement shutout against the Avalanche, Demko looked like his usual game-stealing self again on Thursday. And he couldn’t be rounding into form at a better time, with the Canucks in a battle.
The Sharks could’ve easily opened the scoring after Derek Forbort fell at the blue line and inadvertently kicked the puck onto Fabian Zetterlund’s stick, who sprang Will Smith for a breakaway. Demko read Smith’s shot perfectly, stopped the rebound that popped out towards Smith, and then stymied the trailing Mario Ferraro with his pad.
Fast forward to the third period when the Sharks were really pouring on the pressure, and Demko made a save that likely gave every Canucks fan a small heart attack: a big five-alarm stop on Carl Grundstrom that required Demko to stretch his left leg to the maximum and seal off the post.
The Sharks eventually robbed Demko of his chance at back-to-back shutouts late in the game, but there’s no doubt Demmer was as dialled in as he had been pre-popliteus injury, and his confidence testing his knee seems to be growing and growing.
Or perhaps more accurately, he appears to be thinking less and less about it.
Best Hot Potato
The discrepancy in skill on paper showed up early, with San Jose taking the first three penalties of the game trying to contain the Canucks. But if anything, the Sharks were better off putting themselves in the box.
Five of their six 5v4 shots came on their third power play of the game midway through the second, earning goose eggs on the first two. The issue beyond some Sharks shot blocks was obvious: overpassing. Without their usual trigger-man in Hughes, the rest of the Canucks often looked terrified to take charge of the situation and ended up playing hot potato with the puck rather than shooting.
And it wasn’t for a lack of try, either. The Canucks were doing a phenomenal job controlling the puck; they just couldn’t finish the job.
The most glaring culprit of those struggles was, unfortunately, Elias Pettersson. While D-Petey contributed on the scoresheet with three shots, the OG Petey just kept looking off shot attempts. Even with the Sharks PK playing in a diamond setup that leaves ample room for a Pettersson one-timer from the wing, EP40 just kept passing it away or hanging onto it until his lane disappeared.
That’s not to say he was the only one guilty of that decision-making. But when your best shooter won’t shoot, it’s going to raise eyebrows.
Best Shark Hunter
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Conor Garland is always a notable presence when he faces the Sharks. He didn’t rewatch Jaws 37,564 times for nothing.
In the first, Garland used his tracking skills to hunt down Mario Ferraro behind the San Jose net and absolutely flattened him near the boards.
But the Shark(s) bit back this time. In the second period, after Celebrini knocked Garland off his feet, it was Jake Walman’s undisciplined cross-check to Garland’s chest away from the puck that landed him in the penalty box for roughing.
When Walman came at him again late in the period, Garland went awkwardly into the boards and ended up missing the final five minutes of the second, as well as the start of the third.
Garland eventually found his way back onto the ice, as if he was ever going to miss the rest of a close game against the club he’s scored the most of his points against. He just needed to get a bigger boat.
Best Storyline Crusher
It’s only fitting that the Canucks would look so listless on the power play for the vast majority of the game, only for their lone goal in regulation to be a PPG.
With Macklin Celebrini just seconds from returning to the ice after the dastardly crime of putting the puck over the glass, Pius Suter gained the zone, spun around to keep some distance between him and the Shark penalty killer, leaving enough time for Dakota Joshua to park himself in front of Vitek Vanacek undetected. Suter whips the puck around, and Joshua deftly tips it past the San Jose goalie, but the penalty expires.
What power play problems? All I see is a man advantage that went 25% on the night.
Joshua’s third goal of the season was a reward for a night where he was one of the Canucks’ most efficient skaters at both ends of the ice, ranking the highest of any forward in GameScore according to HockeyStatCards.
Joshua’s a player you want nothing but success for, and you hope this will snowball into some more puck luck for him.
Best *shakes fist* TOFFOLIIIIIII
It was always going to be Tyler Toffoli. You might think the obvious candidate to tie this game for the Sharks was known as future Canuck Celebrini, but it’s the former players that always haunt Vancouver the most.
For all his tremendous play since joining the Canucks, it was Filip Chytil’s lone giveaway along the goal line that bounced right to Toffoli in front of the net. Thatcher Demko certainly didn’t make it easy, stoning Toffoli not once but twice from point-blank range. But eventually Demko opened up just enough room by the right post for Toffoli to tuck the third chance in.
But that was only a tying goal. Sure, they’d left the door open enough for the last-placed team in the league to break through, but that’s just what being the 2024-25 Canucks is all about! There’s still overtime to sort this out, a portion of the game that the Canucks have definitely had success with and hasn’t been their Achilles heel at all (for legal purposes, this is sarcasm).
They’d just need a new hero to preserve Demko’s career-long, 12-game unbeaten streak against the Sharks.
Best Run-D.O’C.
Out of the three new players that have suited up for the Canucks in the last week, Drew O’Connor arrived with less fanfare than Chytil and Marcus Pettersson. But to call him a breath of fresh air would be an understatement.
O’Connor’s speed was talked up in the days after the trade, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for how glaring the difference would be.
Here in the second period, O’Connor regroups at the blue line and gets a pass over to Chytil amidst a swarm of Sharks near the centre ice. By the time his linemates enter the zone, O’Connor already has several steps on the last Shark back, Henry Thrun and easily collects the well-placed pass from Brock Boeser.
If not for Vanceck getting in front of the low shot, O’Connor would’ve had his first Canucks tally on a goalie sooner. But Doc had a prescription quota to meet, even if it took some extra time.
In overtime, O’Connor broke far enough away from Celebrini that when Filip Chytil’s centring pass reached him in the slot, the Sharks’ phenom had no choice but to hook Run-D.O’C. and force the ref to call a penalty shot.
With a second opportunity after his earlier chance, O’Connor let his shot go from a nearly identical spot as his first scoring chance. But this time, he dragged the puck behind him to pull the goalie out of position, then labelled it for Vanacek’s low glove side.
Game, set, match.
Best Cautiously Optimistic
Vancouver might’ve beaten San Jose by the skin of their teeth, but the Canucks’ win over the Avalanche felt different than the other 24 victories this season.
Neither of their last two outings have been absolutely perfect, and the Canucks play style hasn’t dramatically changed since J.T. Miller’s bags were loaded onto a car for the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. But the change in energy surrounding the team has been unmistakable, like a balloon filled with pressurized air that finally popped.
Through their first set of games, the three newest Canucks have all had positive impacts in one way or another. Drew O’Connor’s speed and awareness has added some sorely missing punch to the bottom six. Marcus Pettersson has helped mitigate Quinn Hughes’ absence from injury. And Filip Chytil’s willingness to carry the puck, and success doing so, has boosted the Canucks’ number of scoring opportunities.
It makes sense that the Canucks would be playing a little more loose and relaxed brand of hockey, and that has nothing to do with who they traded, either. But there’s no doubt that the uncertainty hanging over the team was impacting their play on the ice, and now with the opportunity to reset and focus solely on the playoff chase in front of them, the Canucks can finally welcome that challenge.
So long as the Canucks don’t immediately put anybody else on the chopping block publicly.
Ah! Well. Nevertheless, there’s no such thing as a dull day in Canuckland.
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