The final game at Rogers Arena was a huge one. There was a lot on the line. Connor McDavid was hunting for his first 100-point season, and Vancouver fans were hoping for a dignified slide into the sarlacc pit of obscurity.
Here’s the thing about the last games of the season: there are a lot of B and C grade jokes that don’t make the cut. They've got a few miles on them, they should be thrown out, but they kick around in my noggin collecting dust and I'm too sentimental to give them the boot. You’re gonna get some of those jokes tonight, because I watched and analyzed almost 40 games this season. I’m so very tired you guys.
I should probably put out some thank you notes to those who have fed us with material all season. Thank you, Nikita Tryamkin, for taking a few months off holding up the Earth to help the team out. Thank you, Troy Stecher, because puppy. And thank you, Willie Desjardins, for being so Megnanimous with your player deployment. So many bullet points thank you.
I watched this game.
- Bo Horvat started out the evening right, winning a bunch of hardware in the pre-game team awards. He won the Most Exciting Player award, as well as the Team MVP, as well as the unheralded-yet-still-important Player With the Most Pleasing Head Shape plaque. He played a game worthy of those trophies; he didn’t have any points but he notched four shots and a fight.
- Connor McDavid started the game with 97 points. In addition to wanting the Pacific Division title, it seemed clear that he was itching to be the only player this year to breach 100 points. He played the whole game with drive, determination, and Draisaitl, and began hot as he nearly turned Troy Stecher inside-out for a dangerous shot on net. McDavid is so fast that he scored a walk-on role in Fate of the Furious as a car. But he also has some incredible puck-handling skills. Luckily on this particular chance Stecher made like the family from Little Miss Sunshine and took the body.
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Because it’s the end of the season, just to switch things up (and hey, why not), coach Willie Desjardins played Jayson Megna a whole bunch.
The winger normally plays minimal fourth-line minutes and rarely sees power play time. Nah, everything was totally normal. Strikethroughs aside, Megna looked pretty good. He had several breakaways and stopped up to feed a streaking Brandon Sutter for a shot off the post. That’s why Sutter’s balls are so gritty, it’s all the streaking.
Ugh. That was a terrible mental image. Moving on. - After a turnover at the Canucks’ blue line, Milan Lucic shuffled the puck over to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who then chipped it up to Jordan Eberle. Eberle pounced on it and fired a shot on goal which deflected off Troy Stecher’s stick and over Ryan Miller’s reach for the opening goal. Like the poor victim in the Temple of Doom, it was extremely disheartening. (For the love of Indiana, do not watch this clip with children or the elderly.)
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Vancouver’s newly-crowned MVP Bo Horvat hit Darnell Nurse along the boards. The big Oilers defender took issue with the clean hit and challenged Horvat to fight. “A bout? Without a doubt!” Horvat did shout. While it was not exactly a rout, and no one was knocked out, Horvat stood his own against the lout.
He even yanked Nurse's sweater over his head. This was Horvat’s first fighting major. I’m honestly not really about “old school hockey.” That is until my favourite player jerseys a big, nasty Oiler, and then it’s pretty much the only thing I’m about. -
Cam Talbot, like everyone’s favourite sugary cereal, was both lucky and sickeningly good. Late in the second period he stopped Troy Stecher from in close on a power play, but moments before that Bo Horvat had a killer chance on a wide open net and put the puck just over the bar. Later in the third Alex Biega and Ben Hutton both had great looks at Cam Talbot during a netfront scrum. And later Horvat again showed off some speedy dangles to nearly solve Talbot.
(Note: Bo is a professional. Do not attempt speedy dangles yourself, you will likely be arrested.) -
I said a few games ago that Brock Boeser was a revelation on the power play. In hindsight, that wording makes increasing sense, since we’re at the end of a season best described as the Apocalypse.
After Iiro Pakarinen took a boarding penalty, Brock scored the fourth goal of his short season while standing in his office on the right side. But while Brock might have the fancy desk and the expensive scotch, Henrik Sedin is the sassy redheaded office manager holding the whole operation together. After taking a pass right in the crease, Henrik immediately slid the puck between his legs and back to Boeser for the one-timer. Henrik’s pass made me question my whole life because I realized that in my 32 years I’ve done nothing to equal it
Brock Boeser scores his fourth goal in his eighth NHL game!#Canucks pic.twitter.com/WYeoODKsb6
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) April 9, 2017 - To finish up the second period, Reid Boucher took a high sticking penalty. And unfortunately, like an artist specializing in vampire portraits, he drew blood. After the Canucks killed most of the ensuing four-minute penalty I was worried. Edmonton was not scoring, and killing that penalty (when a win would be meaningless and a loss would hurt their draft pick chances) would be peak Canucks. However, right near the end Connor McDavid gained control, aimed, and passed a hard shot to Mark Letestu for a tip-in goal from the middle ice.
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Milan Lucic took a roughing penalty in the third and the power play, like almost every stunt in every Jackass movie, was unnecessarily dangerous (but entertaining.) Brock Boeser showed great patience at the right side, outwaiting the Oilers defender and taking a step for a clear shot that nearly found the net. However, a classic Canucks reverse-momentum moment happened seconds later, as Milan Lucic broke out of the penalty box, outmuscled Troy Stecher and ripped a shot. He couldn’t beat Miller but Pakarinen followed up to bury their third goal.
Stecher was hurt on the play; Lucic’s stick smacked him in the face as he fired. Stecher was fine, but he’ll be a little less baby-faced and a little more scar-faced now. Hope you feel better, my little friend. - The Canucks pulled Ryan Miller in the late moments of the game. After Stecher couldn’t quite hold the puck in the zone, Connor McDavid skated it behind the net in Vancouver’s end. Game over, right? Well… yes, it was. But not at that exact moment, because Vancouver would be the one scoring. Patrick Maroon whiffed on McDavid’s centring pass and moments later Henrik Sedin spied Reid Boucher in front of the net, and Alex Edler whacked in Boucher’s rebound to cut the lead to one.
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But there it would remain. Despite a few scary moments for the Oilers and Team Tank, Edmonton managed to limp away with a one-goal win. I, meanwhile, will limp away to decide which playoff team to support. Ottawa or San Jose?
