THE SKINNY
I had to start this one late tonight. My daughter had her 9th birthday party so the PVR was set. Unfortunately, I had it on the SD channel on our other TV. Not good. The first period didn’t look stellar but the Canucks were in control from the get-go. I wasn’t entirely sure because it was in SD so maybe the frame rate was behind?
It wasn’t thankfully and after a lot of skating around, the final 10 minutes of the first brought some excitement. Alex Edler dipped into the fountain of youth and threw a monster hit on Kevin Lebanc. It wasn’t well received. Vancouver had a number of odd-man rushes but if you’re a hardcore Canucks fan you know they’d didn’t bury them.
Quinn Hughes looked great tonight as did Jake Virtanen and Tanner Pearson.
A handful of penalties were traded between both teams but nothing doing. Out of nowhere Loui scores a 5v5 goal with hard work from Quinn Hughes and Bo Horvat and the Canucks lead after two.
I caught up on the PVR, switched to the HD channel and caught the final three minutes of the second and thankfully the score was the same still. You just never know with old technology.
In the third period, the Canucks blew the doors off and put the Sharks away.
Sharks run some heavy goalie interference and knock Thatcher Demko down, proceeded by Tanner Pearson notching a PPG. The Sharks get one back and break the shutout and the man they call Huggy Bear, Quinn Hughes gets it right back and gives Vancouver another two-goal lead which they wouldn’t relinquish.
J.T. Miller buries a 2 on 1 from Jake Virtanen and the Canucks crush the Sharks 4-1.
Final Score.
BRINGING THE HEAT
The contagion amoebas were somewhat sparse but the Canucks drove their unblocked shots from the Hughes zone and the leak led to four goals in Vancouver’s favour.
GO WITH THE FLOW
The Canucks held court the entire game and the skyline is pretty telling. Vancouver didn’t allow San Jose’s second shot until just under six minutes to go in the first period. After two, The Sharks only had six shots and they looked disinterested. It’s a weird feeling when the Canucks are the aggressor. Great game flow by Vancouver, this is one they should be proud of!
THE BREAKDOWN
1st Period
Nothing happened on the score board but Alex Edler dug down and brought this little beauty out of the vault:
No goals after one period. Canucks held the Sharks to three shots.
2nd period
Penalties back and forth and then your hero and mine, Loui Eriksson puts the Canucks up 1-0:
Canucks would be the only heroes in the second period. Vancouver again only allows three shots to San Jose that period.
3rd period.
Thatcher Demko gets run over and Vancouver goes to the man-advantage. The Canucks eventually get a Tanner Pearson PPG. Take a look, won’t you:
There wouldn’t be a shutout for your Vancouver Canucks on this night but it might as well have been. Barclay Goodrow puts one by Demko somehow:
But who cares? Quinn Hughes proving once again he is a legit Calder nominee. Huggy makes it 3-1
And finally, the new guy takes a feed that was Sedin-like from the beer guy and makes it 4-1. That would be the score they record at the league office:
DID YOU KNOW?
  • The Canucks took over first place in the Pacific division after the win tonight. It’s impressive but there are games going on while the Canucks have their bye week. Regardless, Vancouver is in a position it hasn’t been in years. I said after the first Skate jersey game against Colorado that the Canucks will squeak into the playoffs and it’s looking more and more like I’m right. I like being right.
  • Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes, and Troy Stecher were the Corsi leaders tonight with 61.90 for Boeser and 61.29 for Hughes, and Stecher respectively. Boeser didn’t make it to the score sheet tonight but it’s still good to see. Only five players were under 50.
  • Loui Eriksson along with Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson led all forwards in ice-time tonight and combined for four points. Both Eriksson and Pearson hit the back of the net but that line was buzzing and they were highly visible.
  • J.T. Miller has six points in his last five games. Has to be one of Jim Benning’s greatest coups to date and potentially the 5th best trade in Canucks history. The blockbuster sending Roman Oksiuta to Vancouver from Edmonton for Jiri Slegr is just ahead.
  • Someone thought Jim Benning should win GM of the year after tonight’s game. I won’t expose that person.
WHAT DID YOU THINK?
MY FINAL TAKE
It wasn’t an overly exciting game but the Canucks had a ton of chances. They blocked shots left, right, and center and kept the Sharks at bay most of the game. It was a defensively sound game for Vancouver and they saw great efforts from the supporting cast tonight. Loui Eriksson and Tanner Pearson are finding a fit with the Canucks and it’s a shame they can’t keep it going but it’s time for the bye week and then the All-Star Game.
Enjoy your time off.
The Canucks are first in the Pacific.