Highlights

Quick Hits

• Is it safe to say the honeymoon period is long over with Willie Desjardins? Things were tenuous at best following Vancouver’s loss on Sunday; another loss later and we find ourselves playing the role of estranged partner, with the Canucks roster looking the part of a neglected child caught in the middle. 
• I don’t even know where to start where the questionable decisions are concerned. The Sedins ice-time, or lack thereof seems like a good spot. Separate side of the same coin, but I find Coach Real Good’s refusal to do any line matching with home-ice advantage equally negligent. Desjardins took corrective measures towards both, with the Sedins icing their highest ice-time of the series tonight. Have to give him credit for the one adjustment he did make. 
• By that same token though, Coach Real Good should be rightfully scolded for his continued leaning on the defensive pairing of Kevin Bieksa and Luca Sbisa, despite their getting completely dominated every night. Then, when dealt a tough hand with the Alex Burrows and Brad Richardson injuries, Desjardins passed up on not one, but two opportunities to insert Sven Baertschi into the lineup to face his former team. The players selected ahead of him were Brandon McMillan (he of the waiver wire dump from the Western Conference’s worst team) and Linden Vey. I literally can’t even.
• I brought up the possibility of a Ryan Miller start in the last Canucks Army postgame. Didn’t necessarily expect it to happen. Certainly not in the second period. After giving up three goals on seven shots, Eddie Lack’s night was ended before the second frame. I’d hardly say you could fault Lack on any of the Canucks goals tonight, save for perhaps the third. That said, a .571 on the night is never a good look. Might be the last we see of Lack in this series, despite posting a respectable .914 to this point. 
• Of all the Canucks problems, I’d rank goaltending somewhere near the honourable mentions. That said, if the decision to play Vey in favour of Baertschi tonight proves anything, it’s that when pushed into a corner, Desjardins will stick to his guns. Desjardins is famed for his loyalty and Miller has always been his guy. If Miller is 100% recovered from his injury, I’d expect he starts the series-deciding game five. 
• Remember the good old days, when it was said the Canucks had three third-lines? That would be a generous assessment of their lineup as it currently stands. The second line in particular has seen its play drop off especially. Nick Bonino is rumoured to be hobbled by some sort of undisclosed injury and for a centre who wasn’t the fleetest of foot at the best of times, it’s really showing. 
• Bones hasn’t received much help from his flanks, either. Radim Vrbata has been completely invisible and Chris Higgins hasn’t been much better. The Canucks tried to mix things up tonight, putting Shawn Matthias on Bonino’s flank for the odd shift. The results leave much to be desired. While their possession numbers are well in the black, they’ve yet to launch anything in the way of a challenging shot at Jonas Hiller in what feels like the entire series.
• Was interesting to see Jannik Hansen take Burrows spot alongside the Sedins. The obvious choice was Radim Vrbata, who looked great alongside them for the majority of this season. That said, I’ve never been overly opposed to seeing the pesky Dane get the odd first line shift. In the last three years, the Sedins have posted north of 60% Goals For with Hansen alongside them and leave their possession totals well in the black to boot. They didn’t look overly imposing tonight, but historically it’s a trio that has seen a fair amount of success. I’m curious to see whether Desjardins goes back to that well. 
• I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse performance from Kevin Bieksa in my entire life. Is the Sbisa effect real? Is he now awful by proximity? Probably not. Bieksa is now 33-years old and my, what a rough and tumble 33-years they’ve been. He’s not the player he once was and he is continually being doled out to play the role of shutdown defender and first unit penalty killer. He’s just not up to it. Not anymore. Bieksa has traditionally been a very strong playoff performer though. It’s a lot easier to take a Luca Sbisa out of the lineup than it is a Kevin Bieksa. This might be a worthwhile idea, if for no other reason than it reunites Bieksa with Ryan Stanton. The two were relatively successful last season, seeing regular shifts alongside each other. It’s an option worth exploring. 

Conclusion