The Stanchies: Canucks keep stranglehold on last place with gutsy 2-0 loss to Senators<\/p>\n
Travis Green and his Ottawa Senators rolled into town Monday night, and to all the haters who said it would be a tedious, low-event hockey game, well, you were correct. Honestly, great call from the haters.<\/p>\n
Losing 2-0 or 19-18, it ultimately doesn\u2019t matter, however. Maintaining your ability to draft a top-three pick is the only endgame here, though I will say this contest was better than others we\u2019ve watched this season. The bar is low, of course, shockingly low, but at least the team didn\u2019t seem to be openly pouting about being stuck here?<\/p>\n
And look, I get it, a lot of the veterans who got shipped out thought 2024 was the start of something great. That a lot of their plans were based on a team led by Quinn Hughes, JT Miller, Thatcher Demko, and Elias Pettersson. It was probably hard to switch up from that to \u201cwe think this AHL trio is going to be gangbusters for us this season.\u201d But the vibes were bad, we all know it. It doesn\u2019t matter why they were, but things around here were depressing. The culture on this team was essentially an in-game chat of a game of Warzone.<\/p>\n
Now, it at least feels a bit lighter. Partly due to the trade deadline no longer being an escape pod, and partly because a lot of the veterans were sent to live on a farm upstate, it left a group of young men who are excited to prove they belong in this league, and Evander Kane.<\/p>\n
And while once I finish this article, I will never think nor want to view anything from this game ever again (I encourage you to do the same), at least when watching Travis Green slowly choke the life out of anything resembling excitement in hockey, you were able to appreciate the feisty push back from the Canucks.<\/p>\n
No, they weren\u2019t able to solve the Ottawa Senators\u2019 defensive system, as this is a hard league to win games in, after all.<\/p>\n
But they hung around and made Ottawa work for the victory, which, low bar aside, is a welcome reprieve from watching Conor Garland stare 1,000 yards into the distance on the bench as he wonders if Max Sasson will remember to write \u201cFragile\u201d on the proper boxes, should he get traded.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think we need to wax poetic any longer about this game, so let\u2019s just dive right into the dystopian nightmare known as Travis Green hockey.<\/p>\n
Confirmed Douglas sighting \ud83d\ude32 With so little to watch for, you bet your ass that the debut of Sir Douglas the Tall is going to garner some excitement in Vancouver. This fanbase got just a taste of big man swagger when Nikita Zadorov briefly patrolled the blue line in Vancouver, so you can excuse people for chasing that dragon and looking forward to seeing if the rebuild years, which will be lean, at least come with a healthy dose of \u201ceff you\u201d energy in the form of angry shoves, big hits, and occasional fisticuffs.<\/p>\n You might beat Vancouver easily for the next several seasons, but a solid combination of youthful exuberance and Burnaby 8 rinks late-game-emotional-baggage-anger-energy will go a long way in keeping this fan base entertained and supportive.<\/p>\n I will say that I was disappointed that on the first shift, Sir Douglas didn\u2019t drop his gloves and point his sword at Brady Tkachuk and challenge him to a duel, but baby steps. He, in fact, did nothing of note in this game, which I attribute to the fact that it was a 1-0 game, and Curtis wants a job next season. Running around chasing hits and costing his team a victory is probably a quick way to find himself benched, so it wasn\u2019t surprising to see him have a bit of a cautious debut.<\/p>\n Also, it was jarring to go from Kyle Wellwood rocking 42 to this new Winter Soldier variant.<\/p>\n That being said, the next time we get a blowout game or someone takes a run at a Canucks player, I look forward to the jousting tournament from Curtis.<\/p>\n Best this is where the big boys\u00a0 play<\/p>\n Tkachuk and Cozens down low must be a nightmare to deal with<\/p>\n The Senators\u2019 offence is fueled by Brady Tkachuk just sort of bowling into people like he\u2019s overstayed his visit on a Saturday night on Granville, and he put it to good use early on. The first big scoring chance from Ottawa was off a play where Linus Karlsson lost a board battle, and Tom Willander stepped up to try and cover, leading to Tkachuk receiving the puck down low in front of Kevin Lankinen:<\/p>\n Lankinen made a good save by standing his ground and was actually really good throughout the night. Again, this wasn\u2019t exactly a barn burner, so the offensive chances from both teams weren\u2019t exactly lighting the world on fire, but credit where credit is due, as Kevin was solid in this one.<\/p>\n Brady then had another great scoring chance where the Senators essentially threw a ball for their Golden Retriever to chase down, and it almost resulted in Tkachuk redirecting the shot into the net with his skate:<\/p>\n It was a grindy, low-event game that brought to mind the 2003 trap era of hockey, the kind of hockey Darby Henrdickson and Wes Walz would be proud of, and if you hear the sound of someone screaming and wishing for a sweet release from this life, that would be me.<\/p>\n Elias Pettersson has tied his career high in PIMs: 18<\/p>\n First, Elias Pettersson sets a record for blocked shots, and now he\u2019s out here reaching new heights in penalties. The transformation to embracing the \u201clittle things\u201d is both impressive and also horrifyingly scary. Do I think he has fully turned into Loui Eriksson? Of course not. Don\u2019t be silly.<\/p>\n Am I worried he is trending that way rather quickly? Of course I am, you\u2019d be silly not to. As long as he doesn\u2019t put a puck into his own empty net, we\u2019re safe, but I find myself wondering if it\u2019s only a matter of time with the way Adam Foote pulls his goalies early in games.<\/p>\n Anyways, here is the monster penalty Elias Pettersson earned in this game for\u2026slightly touching someone with his stick?<\/p>\n To be fair, nobody has drawn more penalties from flops on the Canucks than EP40, as he has perfected the art of the Myotonic goat. You can\u2019t really complain about him having to balance things out by taking an eyebrow-raising penalty once in a while.<\/p>\n Also, with Tyler Myers gone, someone has to pick up the burden of handing out lower-back cross-check penalties, so on that end, it shows savvy veteran leadership.<\/p>\n Ohgren\/Rossi\/Boeser is wiiiiiiiiiiiiild<\/p>\n We talk about it often, but glimmers of hope are all you have during seasons like these. Glimmers of a better future, one in which single line tracking on the Skytrain doesn\u2019t rear its ugly head at you on a rainy day.<\/p>\n And on this night, the Marco Rossi, Liam \u00d6hgren, and Brock Boeser line was the most offensively intriguing trio in the game for Vancouver, as they actually looked like they might score on occasion.<\/p>\n Their best chance was probably the shorthanded two-on-one rush started off of a delightful Brock Boeser defensive read in his own zone:<\/p>\n Boeser continued that defensive energy and would later pick off a puck in the Senators\u2019 zone, before finding Liam for the shot attempt on net:<\/p>\n Somehow, for one period, Brock Boeser turned into an elite defensive takeaway machine, and I was absolutely here for it.<\/p>\n If we fast forward to the second period, the trio started a counterattack from their own zone that ended with Rossi almost feathering a pass through right in front to Liam:<\/p>\n Remember, glimmers of hope don\u2019t have to include goals or even successful passes; they just have to make you think \u201cthat would have been cool if it had worked.\u201d<\/p>\n Rossi would then later generate a zone entry with possession, leading to Brock Boeser threading a pass over to \u00d6hgren in the high slot, only to be denied by, let\u2019s check my notes, oh that\u2019s right, James Reimer:<\/p>\n Yes, James Reimer got a shutout in the year 2026, don\u2019t let that get you down! Focus on the glimmers! Remember the pass that almost got to Liam? Remember how fun that was??<\/p>\n Now, the offence was completely shut down in the third period, but for two periods, these three men had us wondering if we should come up with a fun nickname for them, and damn it, that\u2019s better than nothing.<\/p>\n Best glimmers as far as the eye can see<\/p>\n Zeev Buium constantly looking to take Senators players 1-on-1 on the breakout, and is getting the #Canucks<\/a> moving the right direction consistently in this first period. <\/p>\n Best period he’s played in a bit. Great to see.<\/p>\n The other glimmer in this game? The play of Zeev Buium. Again, I have to caution that none of these highlights will ever be like that journey we took with Quinn Hughes, where this rookie suddenly turned into a superstar in some Marvel-like scenario. In the normal (boring) world, you have to groom your younger players into being top-level players, which means a lot of lows before you start hitting the highs. Instead of the rip-roaring 80s, where cocaine was on every table, Vancouver danced the night away; the Canucks now live in a world in which finishing your taxes early means you earned yourself a light beer. That\u2019s the kind of energy this team is at.<\/p>\n So on that end, sure, maybe using his speed to generate repeated zone entries might not seem that exciting after the Hughes evolutionary track, but this is the reality of the world. Watching Zeev push the Senators back on their heels, allowing him to enter the zone and buy time and space for his teammates? That\u2019s the good stuff:<\/p>\n He had around four or five big rushes like this throughout the game where he would move the puck up the ice with confidence, making cuts to evade incoming checks, and finding a way to gain the zone with possession.<\/p>\n Which means, yes, he earned himself a light beer for the night.<\/p>\n Refreshingly feisty period for Canucks, who were outplayed but battled to 0-0. Hoglander gave Stutzle a good jolt behind net, away from puck \u2014 probably for Stutzle boarding him w\/o penalty last season. Lots of edgy tension w Curtis Douglas (Fir) around for backup.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t quite at the level of the battle of Florida, but the Canucks seemed to be doing a good job of matching shove for shove and face wash for face wash on the night, something this team has struggled with for a couple of seasons now.<\/p>\n Nobody fought or threw a massive hit, but you could see some of the checks landing with a bit of spice, and after every other whistle, there were some heated talks.<\/p>\n The best highlight of the first period was Nils H\u00f6glander throwing a \u201cI could have murdered you if I had wanted to\u201d hit near Tim St\u00fctzle\u2019s head after he had fallen to the ice:<\/p>\n Nils straight up thunders his butt into the boards just above Tim\u2019s head just to let him know, which is something I found quite endearing.<\/p>\n Best give credit where credit is due<\/p>\n Lmao Sasson\u2019s face after that save \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n My favourite reaction of the game? Max Sasson getting a semi-breakaway on James Reimer and then nodding his head and admitting it was a \u201cgood save\u201d:<\/p>\n Any struggling beer leaguer worth their salt recognizes and appreciates this move from Max. Sometimes you do, in fact, have to hand it to them.<\/p>\n What a rush from EP40. <\/p>\n Hogs chemistry is great. <\/p>\n EP40 with the vintage reverse hit, blocked shot, and the grade A chance which results in a penalty drawn<\/p>\n #canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Absorbing hits with his derriere to keep puck possession was a staple of EP40 in his prime, so it was nice to see him bust out that move a couple of times in the game. One of which led to a rush that didn\u2019t score, but at least showcased some slick passing and drew a penalty on the play:<\/p>\n I\u2019m still at the point where I am screaming angrily at the TV for EP40 to shoot from every single spot on the ice instead of trying to pass it, but whatever.<\/p>\n Look, I understand the vision on the play, and it would have been a nice goal had Jake DeBrusk scored in his nightly cameo, but at this point, just shoot the puck my man. Pretend it\u2019s NBA Jam and there are heat spots all around the ice, and if you score from one of them, it\u2019s worth like eight goals or something. No angle is a bad angle; shoot from behind the net for all I care. Just shoot the puck. For once in their lives, the people who bang on the glass and scream \u201cshoooooot\u201d are in the right.<\/p>\n Best it\u2019s a pirate\u2019s life for me<\/p>\n Yeah I\u2019m over it, Douglas get out there run someone through the glass. #canucks<\/a><\/p>\n I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t first show Linus Karlsson getting a penalty for, let me check my notes again\u2026ah yes, allowing himself to be dragged to the ice:<\/p>\n Seems like an odd call, but alas.<\/p>\n And while the Senators didn\u2019t score on the ensuing power play, they did score just as it expired, and they did it in a shades-of-grey, nonconventional way:<\/p>\n Yes, that is Ridly \u201cOld\u201d Greig on a pass off the gloves of Shane \u201cThe mean bean\u201d Pinto.<\/p>\n Now, at first glance, that appears to be a simple situation in which the goal will be waived off. Clearly the puck went off Pinto\u2019s gloves directly to Greig; that is a hand pass, as we all understand it.<\/p>\n Except the Amazon Prime crew talked about a rule where if you\u2019re defending yourself from potential injury, you can essentially do whatever you want with the puck. It\u2019s the \u201cHomer Simpson, he\u2019s gonna open and close his mouth while walking forward, and should he happen to eat a pie, how is it his fault?\u201d rule.<\/p>\n This is the same Amazon Prime crew that said Elias Pettersson was the captain of the Canucks, however, so I began doubting their research.<\/p>\n This is also the same league that, for an entire season in 1999, if any part of your skate, toe, skate lace, or bated breath was in the goalie crease, the goal was called off. Until the Finals, when Brett Hull scored with his entire foot in the crease, and then all of a sudden the league was all \u201coh hey, we sent out a DVD in the mail before the playoffs that explained a new rule in which if you maintain possession of the puck, you can toe the crease as hard or as often as you want, so go live your kink life to the fullest.\u201d<\/p>\n All of which is to say, the rules don\u2019t tend to be rules in this league; they\u2019re more like guidelines than anything.<\/p>\n What does the actual rule say?<\/p>\n This is the hand pass rule, clear as mud. Can argue it wasn\u2019t intentional but the Sens absolutely received an advantage.<\/p>\n Canucks are finishing 32nd, and this game doesn\u2019t matter in the big picture, just confusing<\/p>\n I guess you could say Pinto didn\u2019t allow the puck to do anything. How could he allow a non-sentient entity to do something?<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think Shane Pinto meant to nail that perfect pass by jumping into the air, closing his eyes and turning his head, and in a way, I kind of want the goal to count because if you can pull that off, have at it, good sir.<\/p>\n But also, it feels like if this game were against the Rangers or Bruins in the Finals, and it was Vancouver doing this, I think we all clearly know what the call on the ice would have been.<\/p>\n Sens have held 10 of their last 12 opponents to 23 shots or fewer. #Canucks<\/a> have 9 so far with 6 minutes to go in 2nd period<\/p>\n Vancouver would end the night with 16 shots on net, which, yeah, not great. But this is Travis Green, and looking at you impassively in the eyes while he attempts to murder your enjoyment of anything is sort of his specialty.<\/p>\n Which meant there weren\u2019t a lot of highlights in the offensive zone as the game wore on.<\/p>\n What we do have, though, are the glimmers. Never forget the glimmers.<\/p>\n So here\u2019s Zeev Buium using his skating to create space and setting up a nice cycle in the offensive zone that led to a Fil Hronek shot on net:<\/p>\n Yay!<\/p>\n Karlsson with a make shift RKO\/Stunner on Zub there. #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Artem Zub wasn\u2019t pleased with Linus Karlsson spraying Reimer with ice, which led to a scuffle, which led to the first-ever LKO:<\/p>\n Now I saw some people saying it was a Stone Cold Stunner, which is exposing them for the frauds that they are. No boot to the stomach, no dropping onto his ass, no beer drinking celebration, that\u2019s no stunner, my friends.<\/p>\n Clearly that\u2019s a cutter, and Linus pulled it off almost flawlessly.<\/p>\n Best at least make it subtle<\/p>\n i am sooooo sick of marcus pettersson<\/p>\n My favourite penalty of the game was when Marcus Pettersson got called for holding. At first, you\u2019re like, \u201cok, so he held his stick for a second in the corner,\u201d but then the clip keeps going, and it eventually ends up with MP3 spinning around and bending over while STILL holding onto the stick, and I mean, yeah, that\u2019s an easy penalty call:<\/p>\n i know we\u2019re 32nd in the league and we\u2019re all desensitized to it but god the #canucks<\/a> are frustrating to watch<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to say the Senators\u2019 offence carried the day in the third period, but it was slightly ahead of Vancouver\u2019s. All of which led to, yeah, a bit of a dry turkey of a period to end the game on.<\/p>\n Dylan Cozens generated a nice look on net off a great pass off a board battle from Brady Tkachuk, only to be thwarted by Lankinen:<\/p>\n And then the Senators got a two-on-one shorthanded rush after Drew O\u2019Connor was denied on the puck entry, leading to Shane Pinto air mailing a pass over to Tim St\u00fctzle, who couldn\u2019t get a handle on it:<\/p>\n That was sort of it from Ottawa, as again, this third period was fully in a Travis Green lockdown.<\/p>\n As for Vancouver, I don\u2019t know if they were thinking they needed the perfect shot to beat James Reimer, which seems odd, but one of their best looks on net was a shot that Jake DeBrusk missed by about three hundred feet:<\/p>\n Hey, at least it was a good zone entry and setup from Elias Pettersson?<\/p>\n Hold onto those glimmers!<\/p>\n Best all roads lead to this<\/p>\n
\n#Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n