Some things can change a lot in a year.
But at the same time, we had to know it would end this way.
If you’d told me in October the Canucks were going to lose to the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 in a pivotal late March game, I wouldn’t have been that surprised. Canada Life Centre has been a house of horrors for the Canucks since Jets 2.0 arrived, posting their lowest winning percentage of any current NHL arena. And that includes Utah’s Delta Center, where the Canucks haven’t won yet.
But if you’d told me a Cole Perfetti dangle around Derek Forbort was going to all but ice the Canucks’ playoff dreams, one year after being crowned the Pacific Division champions, that would’ve been a big shock.
The journey here certainly was too. It started on opening night, when the Canucks blew a 4-1 lead against the Flames and lost in overtime. From that moment on, the snowball has been rolling down the hill. With today’s loss to the Jets, all the Canucks can hear are the sounds of an avalanche starting above their cabin.
It was always going to take every ounce of power for the Canucks to get past the league leading Jets. The roster is stacked with homegrown talent, a defensive core that seemingly never runs out of skill, and Connor Hellebuyck needs no introduction.
Doing it without Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander was never going to be easy either. And for 35 minutes, they were able to hang with the Jets. But the runway eventually came, and the plane left them stranded on the tarmac.
Best ‘Maybe today will be different!’
This game started with the usual ‘refs handing the Canucks a challenge immediately’ by throwing Aatu Räty in the box for interference and Teddy Blueger in for high sticking Mark Scheifele – despite Scheifele’s interference causing it in the first place.
And to the Canucks credit, the penalty kill came to play against the league’s number one power play. They got in passing lanes, didn’t overcommit to pushing shooters away from the net, and the shots that did get through Demko got in front of.
It seemed to bode well for the Canucks that their PK unit killed off a 5-on-3 at the most crucial point of their season. And in a way it did: the Jets ended up going 0 for 4 on the man advantage in this game.
Best Sneak Preview
Pius Suter’s confidence of late has been on another planet compared to his teammates. The absence of Pettersson down the middle has certainly been felt, but thrust into the spotlight of carrying the top line, Suter has absolutely taken the ball and ran with it.
Here, he called his own number after a cross-ice pass from Hronek and beat Hellebuyck cleanly over the shoulder like a veteran 50-goal man, but the crossbar got in the way.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say we’re going to see him again very soon.
Best is that good?
Best Pew Pew
Of course Pius Suter came back. But this goal starts with a heads up play by Tyler Myers.
With a minute to go and the Jets on an ill-timed line change, the Chaos Giraffe draws a pair of Jets to him at the blue line while Suter streaks through the now-open middle lane. Myers feathers the pass through, and Suter goes top shelf over Hellebuyck with the surehandedness of an Ovechkin or Draisaitl for his 22nd goal of the season.
But first, controversy! Before the Canucks could take a 1-0 lead into the locker room, the Jets challenged that Suter entered the zone offside before Myers did with the puck. And I’m not gonna lie to you, I thought this one was coming back.
But the Jets coaching staff forgot to account for the sheer good luck the Canucks have had with coach’s reviews against them this season, and the goal stood.
Best history lesson
Speaking of the Jets’ staff, that man leading the charge for Winnipeg’s best ever season might look familiar to you. That’s Scott Arniel, former bench boss for the Canucks’ old farm team, the Manitoba Moose, in the pre-Jets days.
Arniel coached the Moose from 2006 to 2010, a period highlighted by earning the AHL’s best regular season record en route to the Calder Cup Final in 2009. Among the future Canucks on that magical team were Cory Schneider, Cody Hodgson, Michael Grabner and the legendary Mario Bliznak.
If you didn’t think I’d find an excuse to show off Mario Bliznak’s lone NHL goal, you don’t know me very well.
Tanner Glass showing why he became Alain Vigneault’s favourite fourth liner by following up his own rebound, and the former Vancouver Giant getting inside position to bat the puck past Pascal Leclaire.
When Vigneault packed his bags for New York City, he took Glass with him and Arniel, who served as an assistant coach on Vigneault’s Rangers.
Best ‘Shap
This was a game defined by the goalies, Thatcher Demko was dialed in for the vast majority of this game. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: this game would’ve been over a lot sooner without him.
His best save of the game was this one on the doorstep off Adam Lowry, set up by Josh Morrissey who skated the perimeter in a way we’re only used to seeing in Vancouver from Quinn Hughes.
As Hughes goes to check Morrissey, Lowry is able to sneak to the far side without Fil Hronek noticing, but Demko keeps an eye on him and shut the door off the quick cross ice pass.
Best Milan Hejduk impression
Eventually the dam started to burst, and of course it was Kyle Connor to get the Jets going again.
Connor became a dad for the first time last week, and with it came with the added boost of dad strength. That’s arguably the only explanation for how he was able to blow the puck underneath Demko’s pads from distance.
The added screen by Derek Forbort didn’t help, but it’s fair to assume it’s still a goal Demko wanted back.
Best Conspiracy
A disclaimer: I don’t think Angel Reese was watching the Canucks game. But she might’ve been, so welcome to the Stanchies, Angel!
The Jets were running picks and hooks all day that weren’t called, but these ones on Garland were particularly egregious. The Iafallo high-stick and the Scheifele trip on Garland that were both missed were just the icing on top of a tougher day at the office for Corolla.
Best Kirk McLean impression
Thatcher Demko doesn’t need the Skate jersey or the classic black McLean pads to do something reminiscent of him. This kick save came right out of an old Sports Page highlight reel narrated by Don Taylor.
A wonky-looking save to see in the hybrid era, but as a goalie aficionado I can never get enough throwback saves. It also tells you Demko seems to be in a way better place health-wise.
Best Apple
The first thing I thought about when Mason Appleton outmuscled Hughes for this rebound goal was the incoming Drancer victory lap. I lived through that Seattle expansion draft content.
The second thing was just how clinical the Jets’ attack is compared to the Canucks.  Pending UFA (and future Canuck) Nikolaj Ehlers whips the puck at the net at the perfect time for Lowry and Appleton to press and crash the net. Lowry gets the first crack at it that Demko stops, but Appleton is right on the doorstep to whack the second chance in.
Best Hard Truth
Contrary to the “Drew O’Connor merchant” claims by some random Avalanche fan, Quinn Hughes is always taking the hardest minutes and the longest shifts. And even a superhero gets tired of stopping speeding trains.
Playing on fumes, the cracks are starting to show in Hughes’ ability to hang onto the puck or create something spectacular, and that’s not shade at him. He’s done plenty for this team already. But as he goes, the Canucks are obviously going to go with him.
Best we’ll always have 2024
The Canucks were throwing every last bit of energy they had left to give after the Appleton goal. They killed off a Kiefer Sherwood high-sticking call and started to gain momentum towards a tying goal, including a grade-A Teddy Blueger chance that Hellebuyck got his big pads in front of.
Then the bubble burst in the loudest way possible.
This goal, unfortunately, is absolutely gorgeous. Perfetti sends a puck-watching Forbort into another solar system by putting the puck between his legs and cutting to the inside, managing to roof it over Demko’s blocker side as he falls.
As he slid across the ice to the cheers of the Canada Life Centre crowd, the hopes of Canucks fans and the bench went sliding with him.
Best Eulogizing
For the sake of science, I did run the Tankathon simulator 10 times after this game.
The Canucks, sitting at 15th overall, didn’t budge from that spot once.
Best Poetry
With their season on the line, Rick Tocchet pulled the goalie with over four minutes to go. Then with just over a minute to go, his team somehow managed to take a too many men penalty.
Demko skated towards the Canucks bench, expecting another empty net. But Tocchet wasn’t looking, effectively waving the white flag on the game and the playoff dream.
This all sucked. Is there anything fun to end on?
Best Hockey Town
Here we go.
Vancouver potentially getting a PWHL expansion team should come as no surprise. If you’re reading these Stanchies, on a day where the Canucks likely saw their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs get lost in the mail, you’re part of the reason why. Vancouver fans’ passion for the game knows no bounds, and it showed when the city sold out Rogers Arena for the PWHL Takeover Tour, drawing a larger crowd than any Canucks game this year.
And it wasn’t just fans going for the novelty of a pro women’s game. It was true hockey fans, starved for a good game and good teams to get excited about.
Seeing the magic of the 2024 season turn into a blip on the radar stings a lot. This fanbase suffered through a lot of bad seasons to end up having their hopes raised and dreams dashed just a calendar year later. Fans in this market deserve to see quality teams playing meaningful hockey all the way through the spring and beyond more than just once in a blue moon.
This year has been a setback, but those days of perennial playoff runs shouldn’t be far away. And with two pro teams in town, that’s just double the chance of seeing a parade down Robson Street some day.
I can’t wait to see the floats.
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