Choosing to believe he was late because he tried to take the 1st Avenue exit not knowing they’re doing construction from Boundary to Rupert this weekend<\/p>\n
With Kevin Lankinen pulling up lame with a minor injury just hours before the game, Jiri Patera was called into action from Abbotsford.<\/p>\n
Now, I choose to believe he was found rocking the go-kart track at Super Castle Fun Park, then just took a right, merged onto Highway 1, and made his way to Rogers Arena, but I think the construction theory holds merit as well.<\/p>\n
Though if we\u2019re being honest with each other, I think we all wanted Elias Pettersson to step up and be the backup on the night. EP40 finished another game with zero shots on net, so at the very least, we could have sat back and watched him stack the pads to make some saves.<\/p>\n
Best scoring on the rebound<\/p>\n
Canucks repurposing the rest of Garlands sticks after he left<\/p>\n
ok having mini silver hockey sticks for Evander Kane’s kids is adorable<\/p>\n
where is curtis douglas. he’s kind of like clifford the big red dog for the canucks<\/p>\n
Can I just say that with nothing left to play for, surely the Canucks can just let Ser Douglas the Tall ride out the season playing the rest of the games.<\/p>\n
Nobody is saying he\u2019s a game-changer or that he will be a vital cog in the machine for any turnaround this club may or may not achieve in the next decade.<\/p>\n
But with zero reason to play games, why not let the big guy chase down his first career goal, and protect the kids while he\u2019s at it? With so few interesting things left to engage with regarding this team, you can at least offer up Douglas to the fans as something to watch for.<\/p>\n
He performs well enough in his minutes, and I don\u2019t think a handful of games is going to make Adam Foote or this organization love Nils H\u00f6glander in any way, shape or form, so you might as well see what Douglas can do in a late-season audition. We\u2019re at the point where Nils could score five straight hat tricks to end the season, and Adam Foote would sit him for the last game for reasons nobody understood.<\/p>\n
Bees? Probably bees.<\/p>\n
ROOKIE KARLSSON WITH 14<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n
#Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Linus Karlsson was the first star for the Vancouver Canucks on the night, as his two goals were another reminder of what an effective net-front player he can be. He started hot, cooled off, but has come on strong again as the season comes to a close, which has helped ease the concern around his newly minted contract.<\/p>\n And it was very early into this contest that Karlsson got on the scoresheet, as he stole the puck off the boards and skated hard to the middle of the ice, before unleashing a problematic backhander that Karel Vejmelka just couldn\u2019t get a handle on:<\/p>\n I feel like that\u2019s a shot that shouldn\u2019t be going in a lot of the time, but the beauty of the NHL is sometimes you can just throw a puck on net and twist the soul of any goaltender into the self-loathing creature that lies just beneath the surface of any true netminder.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a fresh reprieve from seeing endless point shots on net from a team that does it so often that it\u2019s gotten to the point where it might need its own kink section on Sub Reddit.<\/p>\n The endpoint? I like Karlsson\u2019s game. To quote our old friend, the kid knows how to get to the GOTI and seems to thrive upon it.<\/p>\n Although it was a high-scoring game, it wasn\u2019t one filled with a plethora of scoring chances. In fact, the high-danger chances ended the night in all scenarios at 7-6 in favour of the Mammoth, speaking more to the efficiency of the shooters in question, the quality of said chances given up, and the goaltenders not exactly having themselves a strong night. In many ways, it kind of mirrored the game against the Colorado Avalanche, except with the roles reversed. Sadly, there was no one to play the role of Nate MacKinnon staring into a mirror as the mere thought of losing melted him into a Senator Robert Kelly ending, but it was close enough.<\/p>\n The Canucks had some glimmers here and there for the future, however, which is the fuel for dead seasons such as these.<\/p>\n Zeev Buium danced around the offensive zone to create a shooting lane that led to a plump rebound chance for EP40:<\/p>\n It will still take time to adjust, going from a generational defenceman like Quinn Hughes, who was able to generate plays like this three times in one shift, versus seeing it once a game, but the path for Zeev is there. The more time with the puck he gets, the more his confidence should grow, allowing him to pull things off like this more often. Hopefully, this time will be less demanding to be traded and all that.<\/p>\n Evander Kane would then hit the post, preventing his quest for scoring against every team in the league from being completed:<\/p>\n The shots at this point were 8-1 in favour of the Canucks, but it is important to note that no high-danger chances had been recorded by this point, not even Karlsson\u2019s goal. The Canucks were doing a good job of generating shots on net, but none of them were particularly threatening. It very much had the feel of a game in which the better team is taking their time to get going because they know they can win this one easily whenever they want.<\/p>\n Which, no shade, I remember when the West Coast Express would regularly go down multiple goals early only to watch Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi do unspeakable things to the other team, marching the Canucks back to victory.<\/p>\n Now I will say I didn\u2019t love the officiating on the night? It didn\u2019t cost anyone the game, and ultimately doesn\u2019t matter in the grand scheme of things for Vancouver. I just found it confusing. It\u2019s like when you get instructions from an order on Amazon, and all they send you is a picture of a whale giving birth to a bench, and somehow that is your guide on how to set up your new cheap off-brand smart lights.<\/p>\n What do I mean, you ask? Well, here is Liam O\u2019Brien delivering a brutal 12-to-6 slash on Vittorio Mancini to absolutely no call from the officials:<\/p>\n Like, O\u2019Brien tries to slash Vittorio so hard that he literally falls to the ice in the process. This is that guy trying to impress his date who tries to test the power of his punch at that arcade machine with so much intensity that he flails to the ground when he tries to put his entire hip into it. If Liam is slightly off in his aim, he\u2019s chopping Vittorio\u2019s arm or leg, and that feels like something that should easily be a penalty.<\/p>\n I just don\u2019t understand how in a league where sometimes a dude reaches out and taps a stick only to watch it snap in half, gets called for slashing, but here O\u2019Brien goes wood chopping and it\u2019s all good.<\/p>\n YAMAMOTO DEFLECTS ONE IN FRONT & UTAH TIES THE HOCKEY GAME!!!!<\/p>\n Great forecheck by 56 to pin Vancouver and set up the scoring chance.<\/p>\n Kailer Yamamoto would tie the game up near the end of the first period after utilizing some hustle on the forecheck, which led Vittorio attempting to reverse the puck along the boards, leading to Logan Cooley then finding Kailer wide open in front of Tolopilo:<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a great puck from Mancini, as he doesn\u2019t get nearly the pace on his clearing attempt, but he also has zero board support, allowing Utah to easily create the takeaway.<\/p>\n Now, whether that poor board coverage was due to a breakdown in their coverage, or simply the fact his own team wasn\u2019t expecting the reverse attempt, either way it ends with PO Joseph doing the world\u2019s largest turn of all time, preventing him from getting back in time to cover the front of the net. If you\u2019ve ever tried to play a Nintendo game you once mastered as a kid, only to wonder how a human being could ever have controlled this clearly poorly programmed disaster of a character, that\u2019s kind of how it felt watching PO Joseph on this play.<\/p>\n Best it\u2019s Linus o\u2019clock<\/p>\n My daughter gonna be mad as hell when I name her Linus Karlsson \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n Linus Karlsson was the most consistent Canuck player on the night, making an impact in all three periods of the game. And his approach was simple: crash the net and be as irritatingly persistent as possible:<\/p>\n Vjermelka was able to get his pad out to prevent Linus from tucking the puck in around him, but you could tell Karlsson was feeling it Saturday night.<\/p>\n Ty Mueller would also get a good look to close out the period, almost securing an Aatu R\u00e4ty rebound, only to be denied by Vjermelka once more:<\/p>\n Best in defence of my goalie brethren<\/p>\n Tolopilo sucks. Put in the EBUG! #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n The Utah Mammoth would then take the lead after Clayton Keller charged into the slot, backing the defenders off enough for him to unload a powerful wrist shot that clanged in off the post to add an audible element to the misery he was unleashing on the home crowd:<\/p>\n Tolopilo didn\u2019t have a strong night by any measure, but I will say that there are a couple of things on this goal where I give him some leeway.<\/p>\n One, that is just a fantastic effort from Keller. That\u2019s the kind of thing Markus Naslund and Joe Sakic would do, where they\u2019d push their way into the slot to back you off, and the second you gave them an inch of room, they would just murder you with a piss missile wrister. You\u2019d be out the next day pretending you were Sakic unloading a wrist shot, only to watch as your 30mph offering fluttered wide, reminding you that a knee injury did not, in fact, prevent you from making the NHL.<\/p>\n Two, Zeev Buium brings his stick down in a Liam O\u2019Brien chopping motion and actually does manage to deflect the puck, changing the trajectory on the shot. While I love the effort, I do think goaltenders wake up from horrifying nightmares about \u201cgood-intentioned stick work\u201d from their own teammates tipping pucks past them.<\/p>\n Ohhhhh Karly on Hatty watch? \ud83d\udc40 Linus Karlsson would then open the second period much like he opened the first, this time by tipping the puck past a clearly confused and frightened Vjermelka:<\/p>\n Again, you can tell Linus Karlsson is feeling it when he\u2019s behind the net and trying to lob the puck over the back of the net to try to dribble it in off the goalie. He ultimately has to circle around to the front and tip Mancini\u2019s point shot for the goal, but in a season in which you are looking for any sign of hope, Linus doing confident net work like this is the kind of thing that helps people sleep at night about next year.<\/p>\n Zeev Buium would then drive through the offensive zone, shielding the puck well, before finding Brock Boeser for a hard shot from the slot:<\/p>\n Again, not the most lethal-looking scoring chance, but the process is there. Having players charge around the offensive zone is one thing, but doing so and creating scoring chances? That\u2019s the level they need to get to consistently to become a better team.<\/p>\n Keller tips the puck down and it hits the crossbar and goes in. How in the hell can you determine that\u2019s not a high stick?? #canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Later in the second period, Fil the Pill would get called for a penalty, and again, I didn\u2019t love it? I wouldn\u2019t talk glowingly of it in the group chat? I would leave a two-star review and worry that I should have left a one-star review instead?<\/p>\n Nick Schmaltz clearly engages first, hooking in Hronek\u2019s arm so he can\u2019t get to the puck. And while I fully admit Hronek took that opening to drop them both to the ice, this very clearly seems to fall under ICBC\u2019s no-fault insurance policy. Either both go, or none should have gone.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong, I respect the game from Schmaltz here. Nobody was better at pulling this off than Hank Sedin; that guy knew how to clamp down on you, and then half the time HE would be the guy to drag you both to the ice. He was a master at his craft.<\/p>\n But this was just another call where I was like ok sure, this feels dumb, but whatever.<\/p>\n Clayton Keller would, of course score on the following power play, and the Mammoth would never give up the lead again:<\/p>\n The goal was initially called off for high sticking, but upon further review, it was deemed a valid piece of woodwork. I honestly agree with that assessment, as Keller was raising his stick, and it seemed like the puck hit his shaft before it had cleared the crossbar. But also, these games don\u2019t matter, so even if Keller had screamed, \u201cI am getting off so much by high sticking this puck\u201d while flailing at the puck high above his head, I ultimately would not have cared what the NHL decided to do on the play.<\/p>\n Best result of a really good trade that let Jim Benning work for another couple of months<\/p>\n We arent talking enough about how Dylan Guenther is going to be a 40+ goal scorer this season. Dude is the best value in the league! With the Canucks heading back to the man advantage after Utah\u2019s third goal of the night, you might have felt yourself feeling slightly confident.<\/p>\n After all, the Canucks power play has been oddly efficient as of late, to the point where you\u2019ve almost considered soft-launching a relationship with it.<\/p>\n Alas, it was not to be on this night, as the Canucks would get absolutely clowned on their second period man advantage, resulting in odd-man rush after odd-man rush until Dylan Guenther finally, mercifully, scored.<\/p>\n The first odd man rush was Nick Schmaltz and Sean Durzi playing footsie down the ice, leading to a team so confident it was going to win that they were out here doing drop passes on breakaways:<\/p>\n Schmaltz would fire the puck wide, but don\u2019t worry, as Dylan Guenther would get sprung for a breakaway after Zeev Buium offered up a soft dump-in that was easily batted down by Utah:<\/p>\n Buium circles away from the middle of the ice after the dump-in, which gave up the centre of the ice to Dylan for said breakaway, and only a post prevented it from becoming 4-2.<\/p>\n Of course, Guenther would finally make it a two-goal lead after the power play expired, when John Marino would find a wide-open Dylan at the side of the net:<\/p>\n Somehow, Marcus Pettersson and Tom Willander take turns covering nobody, allowing Utah to find passing lanes at will, ultimately leading to a tap-in goal for the Mammoth.<\/p>\n The Canucks were quiet in the second period for the most part, although DOC Brown had an odd-man rush in which he looked like he might have a pass in front of the net that could have been put in:<\/p>\n And then Sean Durzi would lose his sh!t for at Max Sasson for pushing him to the ice on a Linus Karlsson hat trick attempt:<\/p>\n Second periods have not been nice to the Canucks, and that trend continued in this one.<\/p>\n Jakey the PP merchant strikes again! With the third period starting on the power play for Vancouver, you\u2019d be excused if you thought it would turn into nothing. I don\u2019t think there is anything worse in hockey than a power play split between two periods, as it feels like the team never really finds its groove on either end of it.<\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re the PP merchant himself, Jake DeBrusk:<\/p>\n We\u2019re at the point where I don\u2019t even know if Jake meant to tip that puck in, or if he\u2019s just so good at this that he doesn\u2019t even have to move his stick to be in the right spot, he just knows where to stand. This is the kind of tipped goal Castor Troy would get, after which he would just lean out of the airplane and shrug, as if to say, \u201cWhat are you gonna do?\u201d<\/p>\n DeBrusk is now tied for third in the league in power play goals, and with his reasonable contract, I think you can very easily find a market for him during the offseason should you want to bring in assets for him. Any team in need of a power play boost will take a nice, hard, long look at Jake in the coming year.<\/p>\n Damn cant we enjoy a goal for a minute #Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n Tolopilo would then make a bold move that Cotton would have been interested in, as he attempted to play the puck around the boards himself, leading to Clayton Keller stealing the puck and finding Lawson Crouse for Utah\u2019s fifth goal of the night:<\/p>\n Tolopilo could have probably played the puck around the boards to his bench, but I will say that Nick Schmaltz did a good job of getting in his passing\/shooting lanes, so you can understand why the Vancouver goaltender went back behind his net. Zeev Buium also put himself in an awkward spot for a pass, and coupled with Keller closing the gap on him, also kind of ruined that option for Tolopilo.<\/p>\n In the end, Tolopilo tried to wrap the puck along the boards, but once again, there was zero support on that side of the ice, leading to another goal due to bad board play. It\u2019s been a constant theme for the Canucks this season: they just don\u2019t have the structure to support safe zone exits, which has led to a lot of goals against.<\/p>\n The Canucks kept it close when Brock Boeser tipped home a Marco Rossi power play shot, scoring their fourth and final goal of the night:<\/p>\n Brock Boeser is now fifth all-time in power play goals, passing Todd Bertuzzi, but still trails in attempted murders on ice.<\/p>\n The Canucks power play finished the night going two for four, marking a small bright spot for the team finishing out this stretch of the season.<\/p>\n UPDATE:\u00a0The NHL went back and awarded the goal to Marco Rossi, thus ruining what I wrote. Brock Boeser must wait until he has booted Todd out of fifth place in PPG.<\/p>\n Man Adam Foote is such a great defensive coach and has instilled such incredible structure in the way the #Canucks<\/a> play.<\/p>\n Liam O\u2019Brien should never score against your team, much less beat out your defenceman and then dangle around your goalie, yet here we are:<\/p>\n Willander is pinching in an effort to generate offence, and Marcus Pettersson can\u2019t get over from his side of the ice to win the race for the puck with Brandon Tanev. Add in Marco Rossi being a step behind O\u2019Brien, and that\u2019s how you watch another team score their sixth of the night on you.<\/p>\n
\n#Canucks<\/a><\/p>\n
\n#tusksup<\/a><\/p>\n
\n#canucks<\/a><\/p>\n
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