With the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night, their third win in a row, you couldn’t help but wonder: What does Jim Rutherford have up his sleeve next?

Yes, just days after his bluntly honest interview with Gary Mason about the state of the JT Miller and Elias Pettersson dynamic, the Canucks managed to stay on track yet again, playing some of their best hockey in months.

Which, let’s be clear: That’s a very low bar. Parking the bus and riding out a victory against the Nashville Predators is a proud playoff tradition around these parts, but it wasn’t exactly a game that made you feel inspired about a future in which everything is right again in the world.

But if you’re an optimistic guy or gal, watching the Canucks learn to walk again in the form of playing efficient offensive NHL hockey for a period and solid defensive hockey for another was at least a promising sign for a club that has been locked in a shame spiral for the better part of two months now.

So maybe part of you wonders that Jim’s Mad Men approach to business was the 4D chess move some people have claimed it be. Maybe you unite your stars by making yourself the common enemy, united in their dislike of you. Hey, maybe being asked about the rift by the media for the fourth time is just the fire Elias and JT need to come together and bury the hatchet. Sure, JT is pleading the fifth and looking dead inside while talking during the morning scrum, but maybe that’s also his “I think we can turn this around now” look, who’s to say.

Or maybe Jim is just a man who has no effs to give, with little time for decorum and a lot of things packaged under the guise of brutal honesty. Either or, I suppose.

Still, Rutherford did talk about winning changing everything, so maybe there is that dream scenario of this team putting together a bunch of wins and keeping the band together. Maybe the story of the feud that wouldn’t go away can culminate in Quinn Hughes having to decide who to give the Cup to first, Elias or JT, before handing it to both of them at the same time. Then, with both men lifting the Cup in the air to show that friendship wins at the end of the day, Ron MacLean can recite some poetry on air.

Or was this victory simply another rise in the roller coaster of a season, and we should just wait for the next dip to come along.

So, while it’s impossible to know the future with any team, much less this one, I still find it impossible to imagine a scenario in which Elias Pettersson and JT Miller both happily stay a part of this club. I try not to read too much into body language and vibes with this roster, but it’s hard to watch this group of players and think to yourself, “Oh yeah, those three wins? Totally fixed things. Back on track, baby!” Crazier things have happened, but even if JT and Elias end up as best friends, the lack of depth on defence remains the club’s biggest issue, something that won’t be fixed with a Gary Mason interview.

But hey, we have a 3-1 victory to talk about.

Let’s do this.

Best sequel

Rutherford says Tocchet would ask Zadorov what it would take to keep him, while Allvin was negotiating with the agent.

Zadorov would say $5M and I can stay, they would meet the ask, but then Zadorov would raise the term to 6 years.

Rutherford says "Same process, we said…

— BuckFoston (@BuckFoston_) January 30, 2025

Hey, at least this wasn’t about any current players.

It should come as no surprise that Rick wanted one of his big trees back, and I admit, I miss the swagger Nikita brought to the team. But to hear Jim talk about it, Zadorov’s agent played the Canucks perfectly into getting his client the US destination he wanted all along.

We’ll always have 2024 Nikita; they can never take that away from us.

Best pre-game chaos

Um pic.twitter.com/7iteAQHWNZ

— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) January 30, 2025

Best stuck in the middle with youstu

First shot attempt, a simple passing play on the rush up the MIDDLE OF THE ICE!
Leads to a great shooting opportunity

Imagine that
#canucks

— kevin (@kevinlambert23) January 30, 2025

The first period from Vancouver was notable due to the fact that the Canucks actually took the puck to the middle of the ice and shot the puck?

No, seriously, the team actually carried the puck toward high-danger areas and attempted to get some shots on net. It was about a bold a strategy as you could come up with in this day and age, unless you count “dumping the puck into the corner and feeding Derek Forbort at the point” to be next level strats.

The first good look the Canucks got was seconds into the game, when Pius Suter made a good zone entry, protecting the puck enough for Quinn Hughes to jump into the rush so he could feed Jake DeBrusk at the faceoff circle:

Look, I know there is some level of…I don’t know if sadness is the right word, but there is some level of “oh ok, we’re hyping up shots that every NHL team should be able to generate” going on here but damn it, that’s the world we’re living in right now. So am I going to applaud the Canucks skating into the middle of the ice instead of high-fiving each other for an efficient dump and change? You’re damn right I am.

Up next you had Brock Boeser and JT Miller taking turns skating into the middle of the ice to get a couple of shots off:

All of which culminated in that classic Noah Juulsen to Teddy Blueger to Phil Di Giuseppe combo:

I assume if we asked Rutherford about this period, he’d bring up some unsolved murder, openly wondering if maybe Brock Boeser’s lack of contract was behind it, but for everyone else, this was a good start from a Vancouver Canucks team that has had some serious issues establishing an offensive presence.

Best in this economy?

An honest to goodness off the rush goal?? By Nils Höglander?! #Canucks

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) January 30, 2025

Elias Pettersson’s defensive game has been rounding into form, and he used his hockey IQ to get into a shooting lane, leading to a blocked shot that led to a goal off the rush from Nils Höglander:

That hesitation from Nils to outwait Roman Josi is the kind of thing that gets you 20-goal seasons in the NHL, and I feel like Höglander was especially excited to score in a game that wasn’t a 6-1 loss? Like, his goal against Winnipeg made it 6-1 Jets; you can’t celebrate that. You almost have to go back to the bench and apologize for dragging the game out even longer.

But a goal to put your team up 1-0, that’s a completely different vibe. It continues a good stretch of hockey from Nils, in which you don’t constantly feel like he’s about to be thrown into jail by Rick Tocchet.

You know it’s always a possibility.

But at least it hasn’t felt like he’s being glared at by the coach.

Best give and take

Would love to know how Juulsen got back into the #Canucks lineup tonight. His defensive game has been atrocious this season

— Adam (@adam_dirksen) January 30, 2025

Danton Heinen almost made it 2-0 before realizing he doesn’t score goals, that’s not really his thing, and he shouldn’t have even been near the puck to begin with:

That sparkling save from whom my phone assures me is Juicy Sores also robbed the returning Noah Juulsen of his first point of the season, leaving Kevin Lankinen firmly ahead of him in the standings with his one assist.

That play was also prototypical Rick Tocchet hockey, in which they feed the point and then double-layer dip the slot to try and take away the goalie’s eyes and also stack the crease for loose pucks. Or, as we know it here, good old-fashioned GOTI hockey.

Sadly, this play was immediately turned around into a goal the other way after Carson Soucy made a failed pinch along the boards in the Nashville zone:

Noah Juulsen tried his best in that he gave up Kaiir Elam levels of distance to the attackers, so he made sure he wasn’t going to be giving up a breakaway.

But he also kind of waffled on the 2-on-1 and never really took anybody, either. It was a lot like a Sophie’s choice, where instead of making an equally hard decision of taking the shooter or the passer, he just puts on his headphones and doom scrolls for a while instead.

Still, it wasn’t an egregious mistake; this was more on Soucy trying to get handsy with the puck at the movie theatre. There is also the luck factor of Tommy Novak’s skate hitting the puck into the net at play.

It’s the context of Soucy and Juulsen being a pretty terrible pairing anytime they work together. However, this leads you to seeing people get a bit upset about this goal, especially since D Elias Pettersson was taken out of the lineup for Juulsen, who, while clearly a coach’s favourite, has not exactly endeared himself to the hometown faithful.

Best stacks upon stacks

this is four straight games #Canucks have reached double-digit shots on goal in first period. 5 of last 6 games.

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) January 30, 2025

Refreshed and invigorated by the combination of cross-checking Bouchard in the face, getting a three-game vacation, and having Amazon Prime pump his tires in a way Roberto Luongo could only dream of, Tyler Myers continued his strong play Tuesday night, co-leading in ice time for the Canucks with Quinn Hughes at 24:36 minutes.

None of that should be that surprising, considering the Chaos Giraffe thrives on this. Just when you think you have him figured out, he zigs and you zag, and before you know it, he’s almost scoring on a Danton Heinen pass:

I’ve said it once, and I will say it again: Just unleash the clap bomb. Wind up, go full Tommy Gun, and give us the Brian Rolston experience. Even that empty net goal last game, I won’t lie: I was disappointed he didn’t try slapping the puck from his own end.

Embrace the chaos. We were merely adopted by it. You were born in it, moulded by it.

The Batman didn’t murder Harvey Dent.

Best nervous energy

Never have I felt so nervous with Demko in net. Weird. #canucks

— bavel_puree (@rickcochrane_re) January 30, 2025

Thatcher Demko has been the epitome of the “Not great, Bob” vibes this season, but on Wednesday night, I think we saw glimpses of the old Demko in there. He ended the game with 31 saves and a .969% (nice) save percentage, allowing the Canucks to lean heavily on parking their bus.

That’s not to say the Canucks were awful defensively; in fact, their second period was quite sharp in that regard. But anytime they did slip up, Demko was there to make the save:

Did it look as fluid and as quick as the Bubble Demko days? No, it still feels like he’s finding his mojo in the crease, which is to be expected.

But for a team dying to make up some points in the standings, this was the first game in a while from Demko where it felt like having him in net was a decided advantage for Vancouver.

Best riding the bull

Beautiful cycling of the puck in the o zone. Myers with a beauty of a pass to Karlsson who tips’r in to make it 2-1 #canucks. Karlsson with his first NHL goal. 🚨🚨🗣️woooooooo!!

— just a guy. (@jaycee24_) January 30, 2025

The game-winning goal was scored early into the second period when Tyler Myers sent a perfect pass to Linus Karlsson for his first NHL goal of his career:

I am very much not sold on Linus Karlsson as an NHL player. I know he puts up results in the AHL, but he just seems slow at the NHL level. He’s like that friend on your Warzone team that you don’t quite trust in the final circle. We all have our own version of Jay in our friend group, I know it.

That being said, I would love to be proven wrong, and Linus on this goal? That’s a smart play. He doesn’t just stand in front of the net and pray a puck bounces in off of him, which is a strategy I have perfected myself. It’s the busy work of the NHL world. You just battle a dude in the crease for a bit and then head to the bench and talk about how you “almost got a stick on that last shot.”

Instead of doing that, Linus sets up in the crease, then rotates out and slides back into the blue paint at the side of the net, giving a target for Tyler Myers. Quinn Hughes is a human cheat code, so he takes away the need for moving your feet. Quinn will dance around the ice all day until he can find an open lane to you. But for everyone else? Yeah, you need to move your feet and give your linemates some open lanes for passes; otherwise, you find yourself dumping and changing all night.

It’s a weird thing when you hear Rick Tocchet speak about moving your feet because it’s such a basic hockey tenet, so you just assume NHL players know this. But humans gonna human, and sometimes yeah, you just stop moving your feet out there, and you stop participating. And when that happens, your offence dries up because there is no space to make plays.

But in this situation, Linus pulls it off perfectly, leaving the front of the net only to return seconds later. He knows if you give the Chaos Giraffe a target, then damn it, he’s going to ~~miss you with the pass, giving up a 4-on-1 the other way~~ find your stick with a perfect pass for the tap in.

Best sign of the times

None of the #Canucks realized the ref was trying to hand them Linus Karlsson's first goal puck 😂 pic.twitter.com/yUdfqswK5S

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) January 30, 2025

I don’t think the Canucks are so checked out that they forgot to snag the puck for Linus’ first NHL goal, but some people didn’t enjoy the optic. You had responses ranging from “JT Miller never would have let that happen” to “Linus plays like such a veteran player already, they must have assumed he has scored an NHL goal before” which is a level of dishonesty with one’s self that I can only dream of ever achieving.

Best doing his part

Did Joshua just spring Hughes? lol #Canucks

— Elfren Ordanza (@elfrenordsman) January 30, 2025

The Canucks only had three shots in the second period, one of which was off of a pass from the returning Dakota Joshua over to Quinn Hughes:

The second period was pretty much lockdown hockey from Vancouver, and they were efficient at it. Nashville ended the period with zero high-danger scoring chances and having to live with the fact that Dan Hamhuis was always thinking about Vancouver when he was with them.

Best power slap

First Soucy gets highstciked, then the refs hits Miller in the face😭 #canucks

— hello (@CanuckCatalyst) January 30, 2025

Something about the way JT Miller pushes away the ref’s hand with such disdain absolutely sends me:

That’s the look of a man who asked for Dijon but was handed yellow mustard instead. That’s the face of a man who asked for coffee and it was served with milk instead of cream. That’s the gaze of a person who is hearing someone say they’re from “Vancouver” even though they live in Langley.

Best hold onto your butts

What in the world is the PP doing? Miller gets trapped and Nashville has a SH breakaway … #Canucks

— Elfren Ordanza (@elfrenordsman) January 30, 2025

The third period wasn’t quite as locked down as the second, which meant Thatcher Demko had to up his game, or in this case, kiss his crossbar and whisper sweet nothings into its ears:

Even when on the power play, the Canucks gave up an odd-man rush when JT Miller got overloaded at the point with the puck:

And just so you can’t accuse me of bias, here is Elias Pettersson failing to control a puck in his own zone, resulting in the Predators almost scoring:

The end result of all of this, however, was no goals allowed. Whether it was Demko’s posts coming into play or Thatcher himself being in position, this was a very good night for Vancouver’s save percentages.

Best sit back and relax

Why are we parking the bus #canucks

— Tylan Sparks (@tysparks) January 30, 2025

Himko type game #Canucks

— JT Th!ller (@tutcherself92) January 30, 2025

Hey, at least sitting back when your goalie is absolutely locked in is a far better experience than Dan Cloutier mode. You’re not out here worried Darby Hendrickson is about to implode the core of your team (mostly because the call is coming from inside the house, but you get my point):

That was an incredible save from Demko, especially since shots down low that require quick tracking of the puck have been his kryptonite as of late. Instead of letting in a goal, he’s out here watching the world float to the dark side of the moon.

Now, parking the bus isn’t my favourite strategy, as all it takes is one bad bounce, and you’re done. But when the bounces are going your way, like when Justin Barron hit iron? You just ride it out, baby:

It feels like not a whole lot has gone right for Demko in quite a while, so it’s nice to see luck favouring him for once.

Best dying breath

Perhaps after that game-saver on the power play, or the fact that they kept hitting iron, Filip Forbserg decided the best strategy to employ was just run the goalie:

Nice try, dummy. It’s not 2008, and you’re not Dustin Byfuglien.

I truly think he thought he could hop over Demko; I just don’t think Forsberg is quite the athletic specimen he thought he was.

Best closing it out

3 wins in a row? Rutherford won’t stand for this. New hit piece dropping tomorrow #canucks

— Balraj (@bdilo17) January 30, 2025

With the Predators penalty killing and their goalie pulled, Pew Pew Suter put this one on ice:

So again. This wasn’t a win in which any of the Canucks long-term problems were solved. They still struggle to score goals. They still sit back too much. It still feels like the team is in a holding pattern until the JT Miller / Elias Pettersson situation has been resolved, which at this point, might not even be this season.

But at least they managed to showcase some offensive intensity for a period, and who knows — maybe this will give them a bit of momentum.

And if not, we can always wait for a new Rutherford interview where he verbally assassinates someone else on the team.

The ball is in your hands, Mr. Mason.

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