Photo Credit: Neville E. Guard/USA TODAY SPORTS

While the fans scream for a high draft pick, ownership screams for a playoff push, and management scrambles in search of something in between, the players on the ice for the Vancouver Canucks are simply taking this wacky season a game at a time. Tonight, they kept their heads focused on the task at hand, and skated away with a rare 4-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks.

It would have been very easy to turn your TV off within the first half hour of puck drop, expecting to have known how the game was going to end up. After all, the game started with a journeyman enforcer scoring his first goal in five years. In this case, Michael Haley took advantage of a glaring giveaway by Ben Hutton, threw the puck on net, and, to his credit kept banging at it until it crossed the line. Before the period ended, though, Linden Vey responded with a powerplay goal while the very same Haley watched from the penalty box. The play was originally challenged for an offside, but ultimately, the refs declared it a good goal and gave the Canucks life.

With his brother injured (more on that later), Daniel Sedin made an amazing individual effort to give the Canucks the lead in the second period. Actually, that’s a lie; with the Canucks once again on the powerplay, Sven Baertchi chucked the puck towards the net from the right side and a screening Daniel deflected it in. This was enough to carry the Canucks into the third period, though five minutes in, Brent Burns pinched into the slot to roof a wrist shot above Jacob Markstrom’s glove.

The Canucks beat the Sharks at their own game soon after, though. Once again, the powerplay went to work, and this time, Dan Hamhuis was the one to go to the net. Bo Horvat saw him pinch, set up the pass, and Hamhuis easily tapped it into the half-net that James Reimer left empty. Alex Burrows added an empty-netter with two minutes to go to seal the deal.

Henrik left the game after this hit from Brent Burns int he first period, ending his night after less than four minutes of ice time. The Canucks confirmed that it was an upper-body injury, but didn’t give specifics or go into any more detail after the game. 

Admittedly, Jacob Markstrom looked particularly porous in his attempt to stop the game’s opening goal, but was spectacular from that point on, stopping 32 of 34 shots against, including a couple of jaw-droppers like the one above. Markstrom may legitimately be the single furthest thing from the problem with the Canucks this year, with his combination of age, salary, and performance relative to expectation being just about a perfect blend for observers of all types.

The Canucks will no doubt be happy with their performance tonight, but the odds are in favour of the pro-tank crowd getting their moment on Monday. Facing the Los Angeles Kings is hard enough as it is, but it gets even harder when they get ever closer to that part of the year where they stand on the gas pedal and go into overdrive. Puck drop for this one is at 7:30 PM.