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CanucksArmy Post-Game: Oil Spill
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Photo credit: © Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Vanessa Jang
Jan 21, 2018, 01:08 EST
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After a full week off, we all knew we were in for a mess of a game. To be frank, the Canucks weren’t very good tonight. They lost 5-2 to the Oilers and looked pretty rusty.

The Stats

  • Sutter, D. Sedin: 1 goal
  • Baertschi, Boeser, Tanev, Edler: 1 assist
  • Markstrom: 30/34 saves

Game Summary

The game got off to a poor start with Edmonton scoring one minute into the game. Virtanen didn’t look good on this play. He’s being pressured by McDavid in the defensive zone, gives up the puck to McDavid, then lets McDavid do what he does best. The inevitable happened. 1-0 Oilers.
Surrey’s own Jujhar Khaira scored a nice goal to make it 2-0 Edmonton. Once again, Virtanen was a part of this play but didn’t look nearly as foolish as he did on the first goal. Jesse Puljujarvi pulled off a nice chip to himself over the stick of Alex Edler, which drew in the likes of Pouliot and Virtanen. Virtanen loses his check in Khaira, who then pulls of a nice goal to give Edmonton a greater lead.
The Canucks cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second period. With Darnell Nurse in the box for high-sticking Nic Dowd, the Canucks’ PP unit of Boeser, the Sedins, Edler, and Granlund got to work. Daniel Sedin was credited with the goal after deflecting an Alex Edler shot, which gave Boeser the secondary assist. Daniel from Edler and Boeser is how the scoresheet reads, and I’m just going to stop there and not mention what some people are speculating. We don’t need to rub salt in the wound if _____ is credited with the goal, which would result in ______ not _______.
The Oilers’ lead was dissolved in the middle of the second period when the newly-cageless Sven Baertschi made a nice play to set up Brandon Sutter for a wide open net. 2-2 game.
Jesse Puljujarvi stole the Canucks’ thunder late in the period. With a crowd in front of Markstrom, Puljujarvi managed to sneak out and put the puck past Markstrom. 3-2 Oilers at the end of the second.
Puljujarvi continued to have a great game, setting up Leon Draisaitl to make it 4-2 in the third period. Puljujarvi had a really good game. Patrick Maroon’s scored his second goal of the game on an empty net. 5-2 Oilers.

Game Notes

  • The first period was a bit of a roller coaster for the Canucks. In the first half, they looked like a team who had a week off.  Edmonton peppered Jacob Markstrom with shots and had all the momentum. The Canucks were able to come back and have a few chances of their own – most notably Brock Boeser stripping an Oiler of the puck and landing himself a breakaway.
  • The scoresheet might indicate otherwise, but Jacob Markstrom was actually pretty good tonight. The first two goals were no fault of his own, and you could probably say the same for the other goals scored on him. By no means did he stand on his head tonight, but he kept the score close for the most part. The Canucks defense broke down and Markstrom did what he could.
  • Jake Virtanen had a weird night. His play on the ice was average at best, but you wouldn’t be able to tell if you looked at his ice time. He didn’t look good on Edmonton’s first goal and he can certainly take some of the blame on their second. On top of those two detriments, he took a penalty in the second period to put the stamp on a bad night. Nevertheless, his leash seemed long as Travis Green kept deploying him alongside the Sedins. He finished the second with over 10 minutes of ice time, hovering around the Boeser area. Come the third period, reality set in. Virtanen had 2 shifts in the latter period, with one being a mere three seconds long. Virtanen finished the night as a -2, 2 PIM, and a team-low 11:54 of ice time.
  • Troy Stecher was arguably the best defenseman tonight. He was jumping up in the offensive zone and making nice passes without putting himself in danger. He was strong in the defensive zone and, for the most part, came out on top when it came to board play. He certainly brings out the best in Edler when they play together. Both are solid in their own end and appear to communicate well. Stecher was caught pinching on the Oilers’ 4-2 goal, but one could say the linesman was a significant influence on that goal. At least Stecher thought so…
  • Speaking of Edler, he’s riding a career-high 5-game point streak!
It’s definitely not ideal to return from the bye week on a back-to-back, but that’s what the Canucks are faced with this season. They play Winnipeg at 5 PM PST, so let’s hope they have a better showing tomorrow night.

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