You can call the Vancouver Canucks\u2019 three-game road trip many things, but you can\u2019t call it boring. Despite losing to the Florida Panthers 8-5 on Monday night, getting three points out of six should probably be considered a victory of sorts for Vancouver. Not a moral victory, mind you, we don\u2019t just hand those out for free. You have to earn those around here. Your team loses 14-1, and one guy ends the night plus one? That\u2019s a true moral victory, one earned through blood, sweat and tears.<\/p>\n
But the night was still a victory just in the sense that at no point did it appear effort was ever an issue for this club. The majority of the Panthers goals were a result of well-meaning intentions from the Canucks, it was just the execution was horribly a bit flawed. It was akin to showing up to Meryton and refusing to dance with the puck due to it not being handsome enough for such an endeavour; one can only hope the Canucks realize the error of their ways and can get things back on track down the line once they learn the follies of their pride.<\/p>\n
This game was in many ways like the night against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, except this time the Canucks didn\u2019t have Kevin Lankinen in net to survive the rough parts of the game. No, instead that task fell to the Canucks debut of Jiri Patera, who I personally enjoy watching in net due to his aggressive style. It just brings a certain swagger; it feels a bit chaotic in net. It reminds me of a time when Roman \u010cechm\u00e1nek was allowed to cartwheel in net to make a save, and we didn\u2019t know a single thing about reverse VH.<\/p>\n
Alas, that style comes with a cost: it can be high-risk, especially when it\u2019s playing behind this Canucks defence. The Panthers\u2019 offence feasted on the night, and while I don\u2019t think Patera played particularly poorly considering what he saw in front of him, he also made it abundantly clear that he wasn\u2019t going to be the answer, either.<\/p>\n
Which, again, I don\u2019t know how fair it is to heap blame on a goalie succumbing to an elite defending Stanley Cup champion team behind what one would generously describe as a Value Village defensive scheme, but any time you give up eight goals on a night, some people are going to put the target largely on your back.<\/p>\n
That is the beauty and pain of being a goaltender: you could stop 72 shots on the night and lose 1-0, and some people would still be like, \u201cMan, he really should have had that shot that beat him.\u201d Or you can be a self-hating goalie like most of us are and win 7-1, and the entire ride home, you\u2019re still angry about letting in that lone goal. This is the personal hell of being a goaltender.<\/p>\n
But I digress.<\/p>\n
The point is, the fact the Canucks got three point out of the three games is honestly pretty good. This team remains an organization that lives and dies by the PDO machine, so it\u2019s best to just enjoy it when it goes your way. Even on nights when it goes your way and you still lose 8-5, at least you saw some offensive hockey on display? It\u2019s pretty clear the GOTI system has been flushed out of the Canucks, as the defensive zone coverage looks like it was scrawled out on a napkin at 3 am at The Pint, but hey, Quinn Hughes (three assists) and Elias Pettersson (two goals) are hitting some dingers.<\/p>\n
So give your favourite flawed team a hug and tell them you love them anyway, and let\u2019s break this game down.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Petera. It\u2019s Bobrovsky. It\u2019s gonna be a game. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Where were you when Jiri Patera made his first save as a Vancouver Canuck?<\/p>\n At no point during the first five minutes did I have any idea of the kind of night Patera was in store for. I assume he had no idea either.<\/p>\n Like at one point, I clipped a couple of saves from Jiri and was thinking, \u201cHey he\u2019s pretty aggressive in net, that could be fun to watch\u201d not knowing what was to come:<\/p>\n Hey, that\u2019s a pretty slick poke check! I also enjoy the ninja-kick sliding save he makes to boot the puck into the corner. While I respect and trust the school of robotic goaltending that Thatcher Demko went to, you have to understand that Dom Hasek is my GOAT. Part of my soul yearns for and desires weird, unconventional saves. So when I see a guy sliding over and kicking his leg a little too hard on an easy shot, I get a little bit excited. Maybe this will be the game that a goalie does a random pad stack on a dump-in from center ice.<\/p>\n You should also watch that clip and enjoy one of the rare moments where David K\u00e4mpf wasn\u2019t on the ice for a goal against. He ended the night being on the ice for five goals against, while being on the ice for zero goals for. He did well in the faceoff circle, though, going 11-4? Obviously, it was his first game on a new team, but it\u2019s probably safe to say it wasn\u2019t his favourite game he\u2019s ever played in.<\/p>\n But believe it or not, there was a time when it looked like it might be a boring old regular game and that the high point of the night might be a Jiri Patera save on Evan Rodrigues cutting across the net:<\/p>\n See? Everything was normal here. Just two teams having a game of clappy clappy puck puck to start the week.<\/p>\n Life hack: you can skip the first 10 minutes of periods because the #canucks<\/a> take half a period to wake up<\/p>\n With the Canucks current first period game resembling my approach to classes at university, they\u2019ve been getting there when they get there.<\/p>\n So while shots weren\u2019t really on the menu for Vancouver, there were a couple of hockey lessons on display on the night.<\/p>\n One, when a guy tries to dangle you, just look him in the eyes and sit him down, much like Fil Hronek did to Brad Marchand on a rush early in the game:<\/p>\n I just enjoy the fact that Marchand was like, \u201cOk, time to deke this guy out,\u201d and Hronek is like, \u201cnah, just gonna dump you in the corner little bro\u201d, leaving Marchand to direct traffic like he just blew out both quads at the Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n Another lesson in hockey that you hear all the time is not to admire your passes, which AJ Greer was quick to remind Lukas Reichel of:<\/p>\n To be fair, that was a dope pass. If I had pulled that pass off, I\u2019d still be looking at it after the game. You can bet the group chat would have videos of the pass, and I\u2019d be telling them all about it, pretending not to hear them when they asked if it led to a goal.<\/p>\n I think the little smirk from Reichel as he gets onto the bench tells you that he understands the rule, but he knows it\u2019s better to be hit on that play than to get robbed by Kirk McLean on one of the greatest playoff saves of all time.<\/p>\n Best you were the chosen one<\/p>\n if ever there was a Tyler Myers goal waiting to happen it was right there. A Panther runs over his own goalie leaving Myers with a gaping net to shoot at. Alas, angle was a little too sharp<\/p>\n At one point during the opening frame, Tyler Myers was in a race for the puck with Cole Schwindt, and Sergei Bobrovsky was all \u201cthis seems fun, I wanna get involved too,\u201d so he randomly jumped up into the fray, and collided with Cole:<\/p>\n Which, on one hand, I absolutely adore from Bob. That\u2019s some BDE (Big Dom Energy) from Bob, as I still see Hasek running out to clip Marian Gaborik in my head every time I close my eyes for sleep.<\/p>\n But BDE doesn\u2019t come without a cost, as Schwindt had to leave a game due to an injury sustained on the play, and according to the Panthers\u2019 head coach, it probably isn\u2019t a short-term situation.<\/p>\n That being said, I will say I was surprised that Tyler Myers didn\u2019t score on the play, as this is very much his element. Chaos is a ladder when Tyler Myers is on the ice, but on this night, he ended up hitting the side of the net, which would have doubled the Canucks shot count to that point.<\/p>\n Best he Drew it up like that<\/p>\n I remember blasting away at Drew O\u2019Connor early in the season, wondering if he\u2019d ever start putting up points. I gave a very impassioned speech about how he might just be who he is at this point in his career.<\/p>\n And while a 10-game stretch of scoring points since then doesn\u2019t unequivocally prove I was once again a big dumb moron, it is firmly on my radar as we watch Drew continue to pile up the points:<\/p>\n This guy has been one of the most lethal 5-on-5 players for the Canucks in terms of point production, so yes, what I am saying is, you\u2019re welcome, Vancouver. My dumb hockey take inspired this run of hockey from Calendar, thank you very much.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to believe that at one point it felt like there was a contest between Reichel and O\u2019Connor about who could come closest to scoring without ever actually getting a goal, but since then, DOC has become one of the Canucks most consistent players.<\/p>\n And I absolutely love this goal. One of my main concerns about Doc was that his speed rarely translated into positives for his team, either in the form of a good pass to set up a linemate or in driving to the net to score a goal. Well, on this play, not only does his tireless motor end up drawing in a couple of defenders down low, but he then passes the puck to the point where Quinn Hughes has plenty of time and space to move the puck around.<\/p>\n And on the ensuing shot from Tyler Myers, Drew then keeps on working at the puck, eventually stealing it out from under Bob\u2019s glove, and bashes the puck in. It\u2019s a greasy goal from a hard-working shift, and that is absolutely what your bread and butter will be from bottom six players.<\/p>\n (Although I remain convinced that was a bank pass from Tyler Myers and not a missed shot. The dude does bank passes on 75% of his plays with the puck.)<\/p>\n The point is, it\u2019s not often we get to use a second angle from a Drew O\u2019Connor goal to showcase what a fantastic job he did:<\/p>\n That goal was DOC\u2019s fourth goal in the last six games, and while it very well could just be a hot streak, at least he\u2019s showing he can catch on fire now and then, which shouldn\u2019t be discounted in the NHL.<\/p>\n Some players remain cold forever, living in fear of and wondering when they will become the next \u201chey remember that guy? didn\u2019t he play for us once?\u201d<\/p>\n Which, to be fair, even that isn\u2019t so bad? Like at least Lee Goren is like \u201c**** yeah, I remember that guy, he was me!\u201d when he\u2019s out for a night with the lads.<\/p>\n All I\u2019m saying is, if I ever run into Billy Sweatt, I am 100% buying him a drink and asking him who was better, Darren Haydar or Jason Krog, while he patiently explains he never had a chance to play with Krog, so he can\u2019t weigh in properly.<\/p>\n Best east to west connection<\/p>\n The #canucks<\/a> PP answer was always Sherwood.<\/p>\n The Canucks are awful at defending lateral passes in their own zone, so maybe it stands to reason that they\u2019ve seen so many scored against them that they decided to try one themselves:<\/p>\n Kiefer Sherwood took a rare break from scoring goals to finally get an assist or two, as he set up Jake DeBrusk in his Tim Horton\u2019s office for an easy tap-in goal on the power play. Jake literally skates in unnoticed somehow and then taps in the puck with minimal effort. I just sort of assume that when Jake points his stick during the play, he is, in fact, casting some sort of invisibility spell, which allows him to walk in for the goal.<\/p>\n I called him out earlier in the season as a player who can produce nothing for weeks at a time, and nobody cares, and everyone was like, \u201cYeah he\u2019ll get hot soon enough, that\u2019s why nobody cares.\u201d And here we are. And I will admit, I really enjoy him as a player. He just seems like he\u2019s having a good time, out for a skate with the boys, and has fun playing in the blue paint. Nothing but respect for that.<\/p>\n Best here comes the rain again<\/p>\n Defense does not exist for the Canucks. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n AJ Greer would bring the Canucks down to earth as the Panthers would strike back quickly after the DeBrusk goal:<\/p>\n The Canucks have had a tendency this year of multiple players chasing the same check, which often leaves one player wildly open on the play. With Tocchet, he would always hammer home about the GOTI hockey, protecting the guts of the ice. He would literally try to get you traded if you didn\u2019t follow the system and defend the GOTI.<\/p>\n Well, with all of that gone, we\u2019re just starting to see plays like this, where Tyler Myers, D Petey, and David K\u00e4mpf all close in on Sam Bennett. This starts a domino effect: Carter Verhaeghe gets the pass from Bennett with time and space in the slot, which freezes the Canucks trio as they turn to face the new danger, allowing Verhaeghe to find AJ Greer high in the slot, who uses Myers as an effective screen on the shot.<\/p>\n It just feels like once a play falls apart for the Canucks in their own zone, they really struggle to get things back on track, as they start chasing the play and end up leaving players open all over the ice.<\/p>\n Best highlight of the night<\/p>\n Only fitting that our goalie makes a Luongo like save while in Florida. Luongo is also likely in the building too. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n The beauty of the Patera school of goaltending? It can lead to saves like the one he made on Mackie Samoskevich, after the Panthers forward walked right around Quinn Hughes and bull rushed the puck on net:<\/p>\n Which, again, high risk, high reward. That could very easily have been a goal, and this night would have ended 9-5 instead of 8-5.<\/p>\n But the point is, that\u2019s an incredibly fun save, and I enjoyed every moment of it, even if I could hear Ian Clark screaming in agony from across the globe.<\/p>\n The Canucks might consider covering Florida players on the rush. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Despite being denied by the glove of Patera, the Panthers would tie the game up just before the end of the period, when Seth Jones made it 2-2 on a rush attempt:<\/p>\n This is another one of those plays where things just sort of break down for the Canucks. Which, hey, most goals you look at will involve moments where you can be like \u201coh yeah, this broke down real bad here,\u201d but it is a trend for the Canucks to have more of these than most teams.<\/p>\n And on this play, you have Marcus Pettersson probably playing too close to the boards, which opens up space in the middle. Brock Boeser makes a play for the puck and fails, so now he\u2019s stopped skating and out of the play. I believe K\u00e4mpf thinks things are covered, so he\u2019s just casually skating back and sort of watching over things. By the time he realizes Marcus Pettersson has failed containment, he chooses to cover Brad Marchand to help close off the passing option. And then Seth Jones just beats Patera cleanly five-hole.<\/p>\n That\u2019s pretty much been par for the course for the Canucks. Lots of little mistakes in coverage that lead to a high volume of shots and chances against, which is why they are next to dead last at even strength play. If your goalie isn\u2019t on a heater and if your PDO isn\u2019t going brr, you\u2019re in for a long night.<\/p>\n Best mostly everyone is trying<\/p>\n It looks like the Canucks are trying, but you have to wonder why they lose so many one-on-one battles. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n The Panthers would make it 3-2 minutes later when Luke Kunin would tap in the rebound after the Canucks got caught watching Noah Gregor skate a lap around their zone:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if Quinn didn\u2019t respect the game of Gregor, or just made a bad read, but he ends up having to chase Gregor around the ice, which leads to Evander Kane half-heartedly pointing a stick towards the puck, before the Panthers forward gets the backhander off. Elias Pettersson is firmly in his shot block era, so he\u2019s going full Alex Edler to make a save in the crease, and he ends up sliding away into the shadowlands when Jiri Patera uses his chaotic energy to make a ninja kick pad save.<\/p>\n Remember earlier when I enjoyed Patera kicking his pad to make a big save on a normal shot? This is the risk of that lifestyle.<\/p>\n So with EP40 and Patera off to the side, Kunin literally has no check on him, so he taps in the easy goal.<\/p>\n The Canucks tried to answer quickly with a goal of their own, but Brock Boeser ended up missing an empty net, leading to one of the best \u201cwtf how did I not score there\u201d reactions of the season:<\/p>\n Brock puts his stick on his head and does a complete 360 as he tries to come to terms with what just happened. It\u2019s the kind of shock where you have to think things through for a full minute to make sure that actually occurred. \u201cWait, did I not put my emergency brake on? Did my car really just roll away down the hill into that pool?\u201d as you patiently wait for Jamie Kennedy to jump out and tell you in a really weird monotone voice that you\u2019re on his hidden camera show nobody has heard of.<\/p>\n Best shaming the goaltender<\/p>\n Evan Rodrigues would then make it 4-2 as once again the Canucks making questionable life choices reared it\u2019s ugly head:<\/p>\n Yes, at one point, K\u00e4mpf, Myers and Marcus Pettersson all chased the puck behind the net, managed to lose it, and provided no defensive zone coverage whatsoever.<\/p>\n Again, I don\u2019t doubt their effort on this play. I don\u2019t think either man was thinking about mailing it in. But their efforts were used in an ineffective manner, as the end result was a pass from behind the net going to a guy wide open for a tap-in.<\/p>\n K\u00e4mpf is probably most to blame for this one, as he needs to guard the front of the net when his two d-men are down low like that, but I have no problem if you want to yell at multiple players for this goal.<\/p>\n Alright we might be losing, but i am loving the 3 goals on 6 shots #canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Florida would then make it 5-2 on an Anton Lundell goal that was scored before the TV even had time to finish showing the previous goal scorers:<\/p>\n This was the main goal where I audibly said \u201cwoof\u201d in the direction of Patera, as he probably should have had this one? Although it was good puck placement from Lundell, it does feel like Patera shouldn\u2019t be letting one in from that angle.<\/p>\n At the very least, we didn\u2019t have to describe four other Canucks making mistakes in coverage leading up to the goal? That\u2019s fun, right?<\/p>\n Hey nice rush goal. Petey gets it. Nice pass by Kane. Hughes with 3 assists. 5-3 them \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 #canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Despite being down 5-2, the Canucks pushed back in this game, starting with Elias Pettersson\u2019s first of the game:<\/p>\n Planet Ice excels in the offensive zone, so it was no surprise to see the skill put on display by Evander Kane as he taunted Bob with either a shot or a pass, before deciding at the last second to send the puck over to Elias.<\/p>\n Bob showcases immense BDE energy on the play, immediately dropping his stick so he can try to make a dramatic blocker save, but Elias Pettersson ends him with precision.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a very nice counterattack from the Canucks if we\u2019re being honest, and something we didn\u2019t see a lot of last year. Hey, if you\u2019re going to be dog water in your own end, it at least better come with some fun offensive rushes the other way. Bruce Boudreau didn\u2019t teach us that lifestyle for nothing.<\/p>\n Evander Kane would then hit the post a moment later, sneaking behind the defence for a breakaway:<\/p>\n Which, again, he\u2019s Planet Ice for a reason. Cheating up to spring for a breakaway, that\u2019s fantastic beer league strats, this guy knows how to earn beers in the locker room. I have to assume Adam Foote loves the beer league lifestyle as well, hence Evander Kane is getting the most 5-on-5 ice time of any forward on the team.<\/p>\n I think Petey just got Boesered \ud83d\ude1f #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n No word on if the general or the soldiers took the brunt of the blast:<\/p>\n Putting the head down to ride out the pain wave, we\u2019ve all been there.<\/p>\n 8 shots, down two, second period. Yupppp, I\u2019m on the right channel #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Can I interest you in some Drew O\u2019Connor hard work instead of a goal?<\/p>\n I know the Canucks penalty kill is truly awful this season, and is basically on par with the final season of How I Met Your Mother where it\u2019s revealed the Mom was Derek Forbort all along, but I think we can all take a moment to appreciate a hard working effort from O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n in what world is that 4 minutes #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n At one point Niko Mikkola ran Kiefer Sherwood from behind, leaning heavily on his neck and head, which understandably upset the Canucks. Tyler Myers ran to his teammates defence, throwing his gloves off and, well, just sort of holding Mikkola as if to say he was this close to eating some thunder bombs (this is what I assume Myers calls his fists):<\/p>\n But the NHL being the NHL decided that hey, let\u2019s just balance this out, so they handed out four minutes of penalties to Mikkola and four minutes of penalties to Tyler Myers, as the Chaos Giraffe was hit with a double minor for roughing. Which again came as a result of him literally dropping his gloves and holding Mikkola near the bench. At no point did it look or seem rough, but NHL officials are never held accountable for anything, as seen by the continued employment of Kelly Sutherland, so you just learn to try and laugh your way through it.<\/p>\n Vintage Petey, man\u2026hook it to my veins <\/p>\n #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Perhaps inspired by the lack of justice, the Canucks started the third period strong, punctuated by Elias Pettersson digging into his bag of tricks and pulling out his vaunted rookie season shot:<\/p>\n Things to note on this goal:<\/p>\n Kiefer Sherwood got his second assist on the night, bringing him to 12 goals and 3 assists on the year. He\u2019s a skilled player and we know he can pass, so it\u2019s just amusing to see the imbalance in stats when his shooting percentage is riding a heater.Tom Willander continues to show that he never wants to leave the NHL ever again. Was it a banner night for him in terms of Corsi? Not really, he was near the bottom of the team. But overall, he\u2019s more than held his own in his deployment, and we continue to see flashes of brilliance when he rushes the puck up the ice. And on this play, not only did he create a zone entry and back the Panthers up into their own zone, he made a \u201cwho do you think you are, I am\u201d pass right before he hit the blue line, which set everything in motion. He then continued to rush to the net like a young Ed Jovanovski, demanding the attention of the Panthers defenders, allowing Elias Pettersson to get some time and space with the puck.That finish from EP40 was the sort of thing we used to see all the time, and that is very much a \u201cThere you are Peter!\u201d Hook moment everyone keeps waiting for. We know EP40 can shoot the lights out. We just need to see it happen more often.<\/p>\n How is this a tie game?!!! Hronek scores!!! Power play goal! \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 5 all! #canucks<\/a><\/p>\n The Canucks would then tie the game up on a power play break out that ended with a tap in off the rush from Fil Hronek:<\/p>\n Everyone but Aatu R\u00e4ty touched the puck on this play, which will probably be brought up in therapy, but the finish on this goal was as clinical as it gets. Evander Kane makes a perfect pass to Max Sasson, who then makes a perfect pass to Fil Hronek, as the Canucks do their best impression of a waterfall as they crash the net.<\/p>\n You can watch the replay and see each Panther make a play for the puck, only to get beaten by the pass, which eventually leaves Hronek all alone in front of Bob. Tidy piece of business with the extra man, even if Aatu will forever be wondering why he wasn\u2019t invited.<\/p>\n Florida takes the lead right back. Bennett deflects home a Mikkola shot. This game is on something.<\/p>\n The Panthers would then take the lead for good when Sam Bennett tipped in a Mikkola shot that didn\u2019t involve a head for once:<\/p>\n As with all tips, this was as deft as they come, and I assume Patera was just praying for the night to be over at this point. The Canucks get caught with too many guys down low, which leaves Mikkola wide open at the point, who then feeds the shot to Bennett, who is all too happy to give Willander a \u201cwelcome to the NHL, kid\u201d moment.<\/p>\n And as with most goals on the night, David K\u00e4mpf got to watch a red light go off behind his own goalie.<\/p>\n canucks have given up an nhl-high 23 ppg this season, and this is game 21<\/p>\n After the Canucks failed to score on third period power play, the Panthers effectively ended the game with their seventh goal of the night on a power play of their own:<\/p>\n Once again, Tyler Myers and David K\u00e4mpf continued their Hall and Oates partnership as they both closed in on Verhaege, which allowed the Panther player to find Sam Reinhart open by the side of the net, who then has the patience to find Seth Jones as three Canucks players end up puck watching on the play.<\/p>\n That was a very sloppy penalty kill, I won\u2019t lie, although I think David K\u00e4mpf can be excused, as it\u2019s his first night with the team, so he\u2019s not used to the \u201cI have no idea what to do with my hands\u201d penalty kill approach the Canucks have been employing this season. Tyler Myers should have stayed closer to the net and given a semblance of a diamond, but because he cheats up so high on the play, Reinhart is more open than a stupid Costco built in a city that absolutely does not have the proper traffic infrastructure to handle it.<\/p>\n And since I feel bad for Patera, here he is making a breakaway save:<\/p>\n Not sure I’ve ever seen a worse save percentage for a goaltender that will likely get the W #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n The final gasp from the Canucks was Jake DeBrusk hitting the post on a late third period power play:<\/p>\n With the way PDO has been going for the Canucks, I was honestly surprised they didn\u2019t make another comeback at this point.<\/p>\n Best we meet again old friend<\/p>\n Brad Marchand would finish off the game after Evander Kane jumped up on a faceoff and tapped the puck back directly to, well, Brad Marchand, who also jumped up on the play:<\/p>\n Live by the beer league strats, die by the beer league strats.<\/p>\n Elias Pettersson now has four consecutive multi-point games.<\/p>\n 2A vs. WPG Doing so against tough opponents and the toughest matchups. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n With the deployment Elias Pettersson has handled, and the defensive responsibilities he\u2019s been given, this has actually been a very decent season from him.<\/p>\n
\n1G, 1A vs. CAR
\n2A vs. TB
\n2G vs. FLA<\/p>\n