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CanucksArmy Post-Game: DC Disaster
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Photo credit: © Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Vanessa Jang
Jan 9, 2018, 22:21 ESTUpdated: Jan 9, 2018, 22:28 EST
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Having recovered (hopefully) from a disappointing back-to-back against Toronto and Montreal, respectively, the Canucks were in DC to take on an always-thriving Washington Capitals team. Did they bounce back? Not tonight. The Canucks lost 3-1 to the Caps and extended their losing streak to 5 games.

The Statistics

  • Daniel Sedin: 1 goal
  • Henrik Sedin, Alex Edler: 1 assist
  • Markstrom: 30/33 saves

Game Summary

There wasn’t too much action in the first period. Troy Stecher took a puck-over-glass penalty which sent Alex Ovechkin on the powerplay. They killed it off and then went on a 5-on-3 powerplay, to which Alex Edler’s shot was deflected by Daniel Sedin. 1-0 Canucks.
The Caps responded with a goal that occurred right after this Canucks’ net was literally on top of Jacob Markstrom. Travis Green challenged it for goaltender interference, but the goal stood. The game was tied at 1-1.
Lars Eller made it 2-1 Capitals late in the first period. Nice wrister by Eller, not a good goal for the Canucks defense.
The second period was rough. Washington was all over the Canucks, whose defense was scrambled and allowed too many scoring chances. Erik Gudbranson batted the puck off Jacob Markstrom and into the net, and the Caps’ 3-1 goal was thus credited to Evgeny Kuznetsov. Washington outshot the Canucks 18-4 at the end of the period. It’s safe to say that was one of their worst efforts of the season.
No scoring in the third, but the Canucks played much better after a terrible second period. They pushed back but ultimately couldn’t find the back of the net.

Game Notes

  • Nikolay Goldobin had a strong shift in the first period, creating a few chances all on his own. Though he wasn’t a threat through the entire game, there were moments where you could tell he was hungry. After being a healthy scratch last game, what better way to get back into action than playing against your idol?
  • It was an unlucky night for Jacob Markstrom. Washington’s first and third goals could easily be called flukes due to Michael Del Zotto and Erik Gudbranson, respectively. Markstrom, himself, played some good hockey tonight. He was a beast in the second period when the Canucks gave up a significant number of scoring chances. Unfortunately for him, there was no goal support.
  • Speaking of Michael Del Zotto, I have no idea what he was thinking on Washington’s first goal. First things first, the net was tipped over when Nic Dowd was shoved/pushed into it by one of the Caps players. It was tipped on an angle for many seconds, with Del Zotto sort of just holding in in place. After a sfew seconds, Del Zotto put the net back in place and then John Carlson shot it past Markstrom immediately after. The pegs weren’t dislodged, which is the main reason as to why the goal stood. If that was the reason, why didn’t Del Zotto just let the net fall? I’m sure he was thinking more about Markstrom and not the play in that moment, but still…
  • Loui Eriksson. Yikes. He didn’t have a bad game, nor did he have a good game. He was basically a non-factor tonight and I find myself thinking that exact thing after almost every game. He hasn’t put up a point since December 21st and his last goal was on November 30th. Sure, he’s defensively responsible and is a solid puck distributor, but that’s essentially it. One has to feel for him, though. He signed with Vancouver to play with the Sedins and it hasn’t gone that way. His confidence has obviously taken a toll, but it’s disappointing not to see any type of pushback by him to play his way up the lineup.

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