Welcome back to Instant Reaction. The Stanchies by Wyatt Arndt will be posted later tonight, and The Statsies — CanucksArmy’s analytics-based post game report by Mike Liu — will be posted tomorrow morning.
The Vancouver Canucks lost tonight’s game against the Colorado Avalanche by a final score of 4-1.
And it’s another one of those nights where we’re not really here to talk about the game itself. Our instant reaction tonight is all about Bruce Boudreau’s send-off from the home crowd tonight.
Everyone — even the coach himself — knows Boudreau’s days in Vancouver are numbered, and that’s become increasingly obvious as the week has gone on. And yet, there was Boudreau behind the Canucks’ bench. And there was Boudreau at morning skate, refusing to say he’s been mistreated or take any shots at the management group that haven’t hesitated to take shots at him publicly on numerous occasions.
And there he was post game, ready to face the media for what could end up being the last time.
Tonight, Canucks fans sent Boudreau off the same way they welcomed him to Vancouver — with Bruce there it is chants.
Fans made signs to show their support for Boudreau, and plenty made it clear on social media tonight that they’re far from pleased with the way Boudreau’s final days are playing out. We’re not even talking about the game itself tonight because it all felt so secondary. And it wasn’t just us that felt that way, apparently. Even the players felt the effects of everything going on tonight.
And right up until the very end, Boudreau remained his classy self.
Tonight, fans made it clear that while he may not have the support of the front office, they appreciate the job he’s done in Vancouver. And that’s crazy to think about, really.
A fanbase that often gets dubbed as negative is watching their team in the midst of a losing season, lose on home ice, and mustered up the energy tonight to make Rogers Arena loud for Bruce. All to show the coach that’s on his way out the door that they still appreciate the work he’s done and the hope he brought them, if only for half of a season.
We don’t know if Boudreau will be behind the bench tomorrow. But if he is, you can expect a similar salute from the home fans once again.
