The Vancouver Canucks managed to snag a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues, which I guess is good?

It’s like going to the Christmas Market and finding a good parking spot. Like, that’s nice you parked so close to the venue, but you still ended up spending too much money on mini donuts, and you’re pretty sure it wasn’t worth it?

Mulled wine wasn’t enough. It’s never enough.

I mean, good on the Canucks for getting the game to overtime while down some bodies, but eventually they’re going to have to get to the point where they aren’t just relying on Quinn Hughes to drag them past the finish line.

Which might seem weird at first glance, considering Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Conor Garland all had two-point nights, while Quinn Hughes recorded zero.

But if you saw the game and look at the numbers, heavy lifting doesn’t do justice to what Quinn Hughes did on Tuesday night.

Canucks with Quinn Hughes on ice tonight:

29:49 minutes
49 shot attempts
21 shots on goal
6 high danger chances
3 goals

Canucks without Quinn Hughes on ice tonight:

31:51 minutes
9 shot attempts
4 shots on goal
2 high danger chances
0 goals

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) December 11, 2024

Obviously, any team won’t play as well without their top player on the ice. But we are getting to comical levels of absurdity where it’s clear that the team should just fold up shop if Hughes ever misses an extended period of time due to injuries. Sorry Michael Bublé, the team is gone, no more Canuck cameos for you.

Because, despite what some writers who exclusively watch Cale Makar games will try to tell you, Quinn Hughes is the best defenceman in the NHL. This is made crystal clear on a night like tonight in which the entire team ran through Quinn. There were times when it felt like both teams just sat back and waited to see what Quinn was going to do.

And as Dim’s statistics point out, Quinn ran the show. He handled the puck more than anyone from either team, as he has essentially become an NBA point guard in the NHL. We have never seen a defenceman play anywhere close to this level before for the Canucks. You know that quote from The Office about how you wish someone would have told you when the good times were so you could enjoy them more?

These are the good times. Enjoy them.

Quinn Hughes plays hockey at such a high level sometimes I feel embarrassed that I’ve ever held a stick in my hands. Who am I to think I could do anything with a stick anywhere near to what Quinn can do? It would be like me setting up shop beside Leonardo da Vinci and winking at him as I pulled out my paint-by-numbers canvas I just picked up from Michaels.

“Hey, we got this, am I right?” I proudly whisper as he’s in the midst of putting the finishing touches on the Mona Lisa while I frantically try to find all the number 17s to paint blue.

“I think she should be smiling more. Maybe show some teeth.” I unashamedly offer up to Leo, giving him tips on how to make his painting better.

“You see how my three cats stand out like that? Because I used neon pink instead of the orange that came with it. Sometimes you have to think outside the box.” I gravely intone as I work away on my painting.

All of which is to say it probably shouldn’t take this kind of effort from Quinn Hughes to drag the team to a single point against St. Louis.

It’s the hot goalie conundrum (athletically, not physically) the Canucks faced with Bubble Demko. People warned that a team that relies purely on a hot goalie might have some underlying issues, to which some people would snarkily respond, “Well, the goalie is part of the team, you can’t just discount him from the equation.” To which people would respond, “It’s risky to try and go all in on a hot run from a goalie,” to which people said, “Don’t worry, I think I’ll trust Jim Benning over a dumb dumb like you,” to which we never heard from them again.

This is where the Canucks are with Quinn Hughes in that he is clearly a human cheat code, but the question that remains is how much do you invest in this season based on the inhuman things he can do?

Do you plan long-term, or do you treat every year like it’s Josh Allen season, and every year you’ve got a chance?

That’s what we’re going to see play out in terms of trades made or not made with this team.

Until then, let’s hand out some gifs.

Best plot of Gladiator 3

Rick Tocchet versus offense of any kind is the greatest battle in the history of man https://t.co/9Iub1PMwYs

— Chester Ming (@ChesterM222) December 11, 2024

I am not going to get riled up over the choice of the bottom-pairing defencemen, but I will say that I did make an odd noise when I saw this lineup decision.

Again, you can’t debate a move like this too hard because bottom-pairing guys tend to be pretty interchangeable. It wasn’t like Brännström had been lighting the world on fire the last three games, but I do wonder if the Canucks strict “Two Ents at all time” policy is what kept Desharnais in the lineup.

I honestly have a lot of time for Mark Friedman, he’s the kind of guy who would stand back-to-back with Biz (Paul Bissonnette) in a parking lot to fight off a gang of Irish folks, so it was nice to see him get a game.

It’s just Vinny. I am not sold on Vinny’s decision-makingg.

Best guess who’s back

that ho who tripped demko dont let me catch you #canucks

— lu ⁴³ 🏒 (@bobochickens) December 11, 2024

Thatcher Demko made his triumphant return to the Canucks lineup and was promptly tripped to the ice by Radek Faksa:

I initially thought Demko had just fallen to the ice, and because I am trained to expect pain and suffering, just naturally assumed Thatcher had blown out both his quads and would have to direct the finish to the Royal Rumble while sitting on the ice.

But no, it was Radek being a little sneaky snake and attempting a plot point from the Karate Kid to open up the game.

Demko was asked to make his first save around the 14-minute mark, and I can confirm it was a save:

Demko finished the night with 21 saves on 25 shots, giving him the Dan Cloutier in his prime .840% save percentage (S%), but this game was never going to be about Bubble Demko showing up.

This was the first game in a journey to getting back to his old self, so while it wasn’t a classic Demko performance by any means, there were plenty of moments where you saw glimpses of the old Thatcher. He got better as the game wore on, as noted by myself when I turned to Daniel Wagner and said, “he’s gotten better as the game has worn on,” except Daniel didn’t hear me because he was singing along to Papa Roach.

Best hooking up

We get our first Garland/Joshua goal just in time for the holidays! #Canucks

— Trent Leith 🏳️‍🌈 (@trentl14) December 11, 2024

Dakota Joshua, a player I gently ask myself, “Did you put his name in the proper order,” every single time I type it, got the Canucks first goal of the night and his first goal of the season:

Ryan Suter is caught jumping onto the boards before heading back onto the ice, as one does, leaving him vulnerable to Corolla Garland poking the puck right by him, leading to the tap in pass over to Dakota.

Let it be known that a Tyler Myers shot around the boards is what led to this breakout. I would have included it but I really wanted to make sure I got in the part where Suter is all “time to go for a line change, oh shit oh god oh shit” before hopping back on the ice and flailing a shoulder in the general direction of Garland.

Best F-bomb usage

Ah fuck! #Canucks

— SmokeCityFC (@SmokeCityFC1) December 11, 2024

Sometimes cursing is the only way to respond to the opposition scoring a goal immediately after your team scores:

Zack Bolduc – despite my brain insisting Alexandre Bolduc had made a miraculous comeback to the NHL – got the Blues on the board when a Demko clearing attempt was intercepted and turned into a shot from the slot.

This was one of those goals where you were like “oh yeah, he’s rusty, he’s going to need some time to get back into the speed of things.” Demko is one of the best goalies at being big in his net, and this was a spot where he got real low and looked real small, barely reacting to the puck going by him.

File this one under “getting back into game shape” and move on.

Fun fact: Alex Bolduc ended his career playing for a team called Riviere-du-Loup 3L, which I promise you is a real thing despite looking like a password you got assigned temporarily.

Best believe in the system

Please, for the love of God, trade for a defenseman & stop the dump & chase. #Canucks

— Dominik Sodin (@Dominik171888) December 11, 2024

Sure, you could watch Quinn Hughes hit dingers all day, OR you could watch the Chaos Giraffe sneak in out of nowhere and almost score:

The Canucks offence isn’t what I would call sexy. I would call it functional? Like, it’s not some hot dress you picked up at Holt Renfrew; it’s more like that cool t-shirt you can turn into a tank top from Value Village?

When Quinn Hughes isn’t doing the heavy lifting, yeah, it just tends to be boring and, at times, very ineffective.

I think that’s why a lot of these games feel like they aren’t putting in a full 60-minute effort. I think they are trying, it’s just trying really hard in the Tocchet GOTI System is a lot of making sure you’re covering your zones, and making sure you hammer away at North / South hockey.

Then, before the team knows it, they are down a goal or two in the third period, and that’s when Quinn Hughes goes into Michael Jordan flu-game mode, and all of a sudden, you get these big pushes from the team to try and tie the game up.

Last year it just so happened that their shooting percentage was out of this world, so it made this whole process look a lot easier.

Best break in Demko

I don’t think it was the game plan, but the Canucks caught Demko up to speed pretty quick in this game, as there were around 4-5 breakaways alone in this one? The Blues could have easily made it 2-1 if it weren’t for Brayden Schenn hitting the post:

Yes, that is Carson Soucy getting walked. No, I don’t know why that is happening so much to Carson this season. I find myself watching him and making “tsk tsk” noises as if he and he alone is to blame for everything wrong in my life. I don’t mean to do this, but he’s just fallen so far from how he played last year.

I just don’t want it to be April and still find myself going, “Any day now it’s going to click for ol’ Carson, any day now. “My therapist would be upset at me avoiding reality like that, we’ve worked far too hard at grounding myself.

It wasn’t just breakaways for Demko, it was also some one-timers in the slot that he handled nicely:

Again, it wasn’t a ground-breaking game you’d excitedly show to your kids as proof that goalie gods do exist in this bleak world of ours, but it was a game in which you could see Demko getting up to speed as time wore on.

Best welcome to the gun show

Not sure if even a well-rested, oft used Thatcher #Demko is getting either of those snipes… Both those #Blues goals were rockets. #Canucks

— Rob Fai (@RobFai) December 11, 2024

Part of being a good host is making sure your guest is taken care of, which is why I assume the Canucks gave the Blues another shot at a breakaway after the Schenn post:

Yes, that is a shorthanded breakaway. And yes, that is one Corolla Garland making a mistake he rarely, if ever, makes. He makes the pinch as the last man, thinking he can keep the puck in, but it squirts by him.

Instead of Garland switching gears and parallel parking with an efficiency that would make your mom blush, he instead has to watch as Robert Thomas scores on a shot so smooth you could almost hear the Carlos Santana guitar riff in the background.

Maybe Bubble Demko stops that, but if we hold everyone to that bar, then life would cease to exist.

All we know is Conor Garland HATES screwing up defensively. Hates it. Eats him alive. The dude thrives off of being a Corolla. So even though he got two points on the night, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would be pissed about this game, win or lose.

And post-game, it sure felt like it. When players don’t want to talk to the media, they talk quietly. They stare at the floor. They give short answers. And in Garland’s case, when asked about this goal, he simply said, “dumb read, dumb read,” before heading off.

Best no passion juice

Watching this team play at home is such a piss off! #canucks should be paying us fans to watch this garbage

— Homie El Guacamole (@Nabatron) December 11, 2024

For a big chunk of the game, the Canucks just couldn’t create much offensively. Their best chance in the first period aside from their goal was Brock Boeser missing on the side of the net on the powerplay:

You’ll notice Quinn Hughes dialling it up and taking the shot that led to the chance, but Brock misfires and puts the puck high and wide, like a young Scott Norwood.

It was not a very fun period of hockey.

Best visual summary of the first period

Couldn’t have said it better.

Best fighting the good fight

Great shift Hogey. More of those please #canucks

— JP (@JerPennington) December 11, 2024

Once you get put into the Rick Tocchet Penitentiary, you never get out, but damn it, Nils Höglander is going to try his best:

Nils didn’t take any penalties, nor did he blow any obvious coverage, so I think he survived this game? That was certainly the best shift we’ve seen from Nils in a while, in any case. Not a single eye roll from Rick Tocchet was sent his way.

I don’t quite know if the Tocchet/Hoglander relationship is a Snape/Harry Potter thing where the ultimate end game is to keep him at arm’s length in case a vindictive wizard tries to take over the world and Rick needs to keep up evil appearances, but I’m also not not saying that.

Best pondering the future

There’s absolutely no way Alvin and JR are watching these games thinking “oh ya this is it”
#Canucks

— kevin (@kevinlambert23) December 11, 2024

Signs you haven’t played a lot of games with your partner? Desharnais is frantically pointing at you and motioning you to defend the trailer:

It was a bit of a loose game from the Canucks in terms of coverage. It was the kind of game I think Rick Tocchet secretly hated and loathed because, man alive, if you want to see this guy grind his gears, get him talking about players not being in the right spot for coverage.

Best old traditions are best traditions

Demko is facing multiple breakaways in his return to the lineup, and he's keeping the #Canucks in it. A tale as old as time.

— Joshua Rey (@JoshuaRey00) December 11, 2024

Jake DeBrusk mishandled the puck in the middle of the second period, leading to a Jordan Kyrou vs Thatcher Demko situation:

Which was quickly followed up with Dylan Holloway sneaking in behind Noah Juulsen for a semi-breakaway:

If you’re thinking to yourself, “man, that feels like an awful lot of breakaways,” then you are very much correct.

Best Tim Peel officiating

Oh my fucking god that is the worst call I’ve ever seen #Canucks

— arpy (@Arpy6409) December 11, 2024

What was the bad call that led to the Blues’ third goal, you ask?

It was Colton Parayko falling to the ice:

Brock Boeser was assessed a tripping penalty for simply being near Colton when he fell, which led to perhaps our best reaction shot of the season from Rick:

That’s me when I go to Starbucks and leave with a coffee, only to find out it’s barely warm. I struggle with what’s happened but I just have to learn to come to terms with it. Maybe I press a highlighter to my forehead, maybe I don’t, who’s to know.

The end result was St. Louis cashing in on the power play:

The Canucks penalty killing has been in a good spot this year, and to the Blues credit that’s an incredible pass from Rob Thomas over to Kyrou.

The main problem is the fact it was a goal scored on one of the worst penalty calls of the year. The crowd was fired up. The Canucks were fired up.

All of which led to the inevitable make-up call.

Best let the anger consume you

The full clip of the Canucks using "fuck you" energy to score a goal after the refs hosed them on a penalty just moments earlier pic.twitter.com/0LEqtHraoh

— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) December 11, 2024

You really need to watch the entire power play to truly feel how the flames of anger fueled this team into scoring a goal.

Brock Boeser alone takes two slappers like he’s Sami Salo in his prime, firing away at Blues goaltender Joel Hoffer who had lost his stick. Seriously, go watch as he winds up for those shots. This is a guy who is all about that wrister lifestyle, the kind of guy who likes to glide in and pick a corner, yet here he is winding up like he’s Jiri Slegr on a bender. He didn’t want to score, he wanted to murder.

Also, watch as Quinn Hughes does everything in his power to keep that puck alive, keep that puck in the zone, keep that power play momentum going with the Blues scrambling to keep up. This is such a prime example of how the entire offence runs through Quinn Hughes. He gets the puck into the zone, and he keeps it there.

And, finally, Elias Pettersson throws it on net and Colton Parayko having the decency to put the puck into his own net, to make up for what he did earlier to Brock. Say what you will, but that’s a classy gesture from Colton to make things right.

That terrible call woke the team up a bit, if we’re being honest.

Which also is a bad thing? I don’t think “hope the ref ****s us on a call” should be a game plan you need to utilize to get the boys going.

Best coverage issues

I truly think Rick hated this game from his team. Sure, they got the point, but man their coverage in the GOTI was ugly:

Again, Garland doesn’t often make mistakes like that. If anyone has enough leash to do that, it would be Conor. If Höglander did that? Straight to jail. But Garland? He’s earned that trust.

But that’s the kind of game it was. Even their vaunted, reliable Corolla was stalling.

It got worse moments later when the Canucks gave up a 2 two on 0 that almost ended in a tap-in:

This was how the Canucks started the third period. Not full of piss and vinegar, but a team that immediately gave up two high ]pdanger scoring chances.

I am telling you, I think Rick hated this game. Loathed it.

Best digging deep

That Petey 1T from the Petterzone was our chance, damn it!#canucks

— Dragon Was Slayed (@522IntoOvertime) December 11, 2024

Making one defensive mistake, let alone two, is enough to keep Garland awake for days, so it was no surprise when he dug deep and got the Canucks on a power play after a nifty takeaway in the offensive zone:

But instead of a power play fueled by anger and injustice, this one was fueled by hopes and dreams, the best of which was EP40 trying to rip a one timer:

Remember the Petterzone? Remember when that was an actual thing?

I miss those days.

Best one day Max, one day

NOOOOO SASSON agggghhh whyyy

— Whyisthissomething (@Whycantirecover) December 11, 2024

I feel like Max Sasson is owed an NHL goal, but he’s finding himself in Tyler Motte mode as of late:

Even if he’s not scoring, I still like Max’s game. At least he’s getting these chances, you know?

Danton Heinen exists but I don’t know what he does. I assume he’s a people person, he talks to the engineers and the customers.

But with Max, I like his game in the bottom-six, because you can see him creating chances for himself and his linemates on occasion.

Best smash that keyboard

YEHSHDJWAJAHAHHHHHH #canucks fuck ya!

— R (@ilycanucks101) December 11, 2024

Sometimes the only thing you can do is smash the keyboard and hit send tweet after your team ties the game up with the goalie pulled:

Quinn Hughes didn’t get a point, but once again he’s an integral part of this goal. He’s out here going Michael Jackson along the blue line, eventually finding Brock Boeser with the pass, who feeds Elias who then finds Jake DeBrusk:

The ability of EP40 to stop that puck with his skate, quickly realize he’s out of room to get a shot of, before adjusting on the fly and finding Jake in the slot is justnext-levell shit. All of this dTwitterthat guy on twitter assuring me that Elias’ career was cooked. It’s crazy.

Also, watch Jake slowly slide back out of the crease, just enough to create some space for himself and to give EP a direct target for the pass. That’s the blue paint game of Jake that makes him so efficient, he is always adjusting his position on the ice and giving himself time and space to get shots off.

An absolutely fantastic goal from the Canucks best players.

Best handing out stamps

SHERWOOD MYBOI #CANUCKS

— terv (@terv) December 11, 2024

Before the game ended Kiefer Sherwood threw a hit on a delayed offside, and it was just as glorious as you’d imagine it to be:

Game just got tied up, you’re heading to overtime, and Kiefer is like “hey I got time for one more hit”. Absolute beauty.

Best a case of the Blues

While the #Canucks got the point, their performance wasn’t worthy of a win. Too many rush chances against (big problem this season), while not generating enough at 5v5. Their d-zone coverage combined with their dump & chase way of creating offensive is hurting them.

— Grady Sas (@GradySas) December 11, 2024

Alas all those heroics only amounted to one point, despite Demko making this save in overtime:

Why you ask? Because Brock Boeser did this:

Followed up by Carson Soucy doing this:

In Brock Boeser’s case, I kind of understand what’s going on. He has two Blues players near him so he’s trying to catch them off guard by splitting them with a pass over to his linemates.

The problem is his linemates at the time were Blueger and Carson Soucy (yes, in overtime, this is an actual thing that happened) but even if Hughes and EP40 were on the ice, I would want him to hesitate in trying to feather a pass through two dudes right there.

And as we know possession is king in overtime, so instead of the Canucks controlling the pace, you have Brock getting to the puck and then trying to force a pass through two guys, and it gets picked off. The Blues never gave the puck back and before you know it Carson Soucy is giving more time and space than a failed marriage as DYlan Holloway gets to walk in all alone on Demko and go top shelf.

It truly feels like the Canucks best game plan is hold the puck until Quinn Hughes gets back because when he’s not on the ice, things get real ugly real quick.

Just a really bad decision from Brock Boeser, but at least I get what he’s trying to do.

Carson Soucy, I’m not sure what’s happening there. He’s guarding the middle but that wasn’t a threat. Close that gap. If you find yourself thinking “what would the Vancouver version of OEL do here?” do the opposite.

The end result is the Canucks get a point out of it, but that game was a sloppy mess, all things considered.

Best media scrum

"You guys are obsessed with Petey huh? It's Petey, Petey, Petey every game…." #Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet seems tired of the Pettersson questions. He gives a fair answer and has some fun with the media.

It's worth the full watch 👇 pic.twitter.com/4BGqzIGqO2

— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) December 11, 2024

Rick gives great press conferences. He essentially plays the role of fun Uncle Rick to the media, telling some stories and sharing some laughs. And I don’t mean that in a disparaging way at all. I survived far too many years of Travis Green scrums to ever look a gift horse in the mouth, Rick Tocchet is a good scrum guy, and if you ask him the right questions, he will even reveal a bit about the strategies and game plans he utilizes. He respects a good question but also has no trouble answering the softball “It had to feel good to have Thatcher Demko back in net” hockey 101 questions that invariably come his way.

Some nights, though, you can tell he’s not happy with a game. He doesn’t give long answers. He keeps things short. His tone is a bit subdued. But the biggest give away is when someone asks a question about a role player having a solid game. On good days, Rick’s eyes practically light up at the opportunity to pump up a bottom of the roster player. He can’t wait to jump in there and hand out kudos to the blue collar crew.

On bad days? That’s when things change. You ask about Kiefer Sherwood leading by example with hits on a good day? 10 minute answer. On a night like Tuesday? Two sentences. Could barely look interested in cutting a promo about one of his boys.

So when Rick Tocchet drops the sound byte of the media being obsessed with Elias Pettersson, and sounding tired of answering questions about it, to me that has nothing to do with Elias. That has everything to do with him watching his team leave Thatcher Demko out to dry a few too many times for his liking. Him watching his team play a sloppy game. His team going through another game further away from the identity he had them locked into last year.

It was kind of funny to watch Rick show exasperation to the questions because honestly, part of you can’t blame him. Answering questions at the best of times can be tedious, so I can only imagine that yes, being asked about a certain player three times in a row might grind some gears.

But Rick is a pro at this. He is really good at keeping things in check and never letting them see you bleed. So to have him seemingly get ticked off about questions about Elias, to me that shows more about a coach being frustrated with the team, more than the questions himself. At one point it seemed like he wanted to say if the media had all the answers why bother asking the questions before quickly catching himself and settling back into Uncle Rick mode. Again, to me that just speaks to a coach that didn’t enjoy the game he just witnessed, someone who just doesn’t have the patience to deal with a media scrum about it.

It’s not a big deal by any stretch of the imagination, and if anything it makes me enjoy him even more. Give me a coach who will push back at tedious questions any day of the week, I am here for it. Frustrated at your job and having to deal with weird people like me? I get it.

But I am very intrigued to know what Rick thinks of the team versus what Uncle Rick tells us because if the team can’t get back closer to last year’s form, I think we might see the mask slip a few more times before all is said and done.

Sponsored by bet365

Recent articles from The Stanchion

Breaking News