Ask any number of hockey people their opinion on the Canucks and you’re likely to hear any number of variants on “stuck in hockey purgatory”.

Just two games ago though the city was swept in Auston Matthews mania, which is to say that the Canucks stock was sinking at a Blackberry like pace. Less than a week later the Canucks are firmly within the playoff picture of the Pacific Division, residing in second place with a one point lead over the San Jose Sharks. So much for middling.

Playing host to their former (read: best) coach in Alain Vigneault, the Canucks had ample reason to get up for tonight’s game. It took them a little while, but they did just that, showing resilience in the face of peculiar (read: terrible and inconsistent) officiating on their way to a gutsy 2-1 victory over the visiting New York Rangers.

In spite of their nominally terrible underlying metrics, the Rangers launched what can only be described as the proverbial everything but the kitchen sink at the Canucks to start this one. The edge was more territorial than it was dangerous. While Ryan Miller was key in keeping the Canucks afloat through the early proceedings, his efforts were hardly Herculean in scope.

Neither side strayed from the script in this sense, although the Canucks seemed to get their feet as the game carried on. At some points in the second, some might suggest they looked borderline passable as an NHL franchise, even. Still, they spent much of the frame in the penalty box and were on the wrong side of what became an increasingly lopsided territorial tilt.

Call it an inside job, but Alain Vigneault knows this clubs historic weakness: the second period. Sure the third hasn’t been great to the Canucks this season, but bad seconds are as time honoured as goalie controversy in these parts.

Having just barely escaped the first two frames with their heads above the water, the Canucks were afforded a life jacket in the third by the way of some wonky, if dubious officiating. By the time the quarter mark had passed, the Rangers were peppered with penalties, serving four and suffering an Alexander Edler goal for their troubles.

Any time a team can triple their penalty minutes for the night in one twelfth of the game, there’s sure to be controversy. This was especially so of the penalty which led to the Canucks goal, on a Jarret Stoll delay of game penalty that was so odd, even John Garrett was just a little puzzled. The Rangers convict penalty killer laid motionless on the puck in the defensive zone, all the while getting stabbed by multiple Canucks for his trouble. This is a play I’m sure I’ve seen on multiple occasions already this season and one I’m sure I’ll see another few times, with little or no consequence. Incensed at the call, Vigneault would mockingly applaud the referees after Edler potted the opening tally.

Oh well, all is said and done, right? Hardly. The refs handed the Rangers a bench minor for their demonstration and back to the power play Vancouver went.

Not long after this flurry of Rangers discipline, the favour was returned in spades to Vancouver – you know, just in case you were beginning to think “maybe it was Vigneault the refs hated all this time?”. On a fire drill faceoff play, which resulted in full on dog pile in the Canucks crease, the Rangers were awarded a penalty shot for Chris Tanev’s alleged covering of the puck.

I say alleged if for no other reason than I’m a tad bit skeptical of Tanev’s ability to cover a puck in the crease with his hands, which were both at the side of the net. Terrible officiating giveth, terrible officiating taketh. And of course, Dan Boyle (weird choice, right?) just slid the puck past an outstretched Miller on the penalty shot to knot the game at one. 

The resilient (yes, resilient) Canucks struck back in short order though, courtesy a beautiful deflection at the side of the net by none other than, Daniel Sedin. The twins may not have the fastball that made them perennial Art Ross threats for a stretch, but the deft touch and ability to read the game remain and are ever apparent on plays like these.

Typical the oft repeated narrative of old, Vigneault’s team didn’t necessarily respond well to this stroke of misfortune and mounted little in the way of a pushback. I’ll spare you the agony of trying to expand on their push and rather push on to a much more pressing matter at hand.

Not long after the Sedin goal, the Canucks were dealt another injury to their revolving door blue line in the form of a slap shot to Dan Hamhuis’ jaw. It was horrifying to watch live, as the veteran rearguard was in obvious and extreme discomfort and bleeding profusely. The injury appeared cosmetic at first; maybe needing stitches and the like. This update from Dan Murphy seems to place this injury in much more severe context and is certainly reason for pause. Wishing Hamhuis all the best and a speedy recovery.

Willie Desjardins had this to add…