I didn’t watch the first four minutes of this game as the game between the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes went long.
I can only imagine what happened in those four minutes. Clearly neither team scored, but what if I missed an incredible save or a controversial no-goal call? What if the Canucks and Sabres spent the first four minutes battling a demonic hellbeast that appeared out of a magical portal at centre ice and drove it back through the power of teamwork and friendship? I’m pretty choked that I might have missed such a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to imagine what happened after that, because I watched (the rest of) this game.
- With the victory, the Canucks are 4-0 to start the season for just the second time in franchise history. The last time that occurred was the 1992-93 season and it seems like the Canucks are well on their way to a repeat of how that season ended: losing in the playoffs to the Los Angeles Kings. Aw crap…
- The Canucks just could not buy a goal in the first period, though if they were trying to buy one, that might be the problem. The NHL rules prohibit the exchange of money for goals. Jannik Hansen came closest when his attempted pass on a shorthanded 3-on-1 got blocked and he nearly chipped the puck in with Robin Lehner out of position.
- Whenever John Shorthouse said “Lehner” I heard “Leonard,” and I kept expecting Captain Cold to show up. He never did. Disappointing.
- Luca Sbisa had a really solid game, but he still made one utterly boneheaded play, literally tackling Marcus Foligno to the ice after his stick broke blocking a shot. It’s like he was worried that kids watching might be confused and scared by this newly-competent Canucks defenceman and he wanted to reassure them that he was still the goofy screw-up they all know and love.
- Sbisa’s best play of the game came on the opening goal, as he neatly poked the puck away from Nicholas Baptiste and sprung Brandon Sutter on a rush the other way. Sutter ripped a shot from his favoured right faceoff circle, while Jannik Hansen made like Kristaps Portzingis and put back the rebound.
- The goal was a neat milestone for Jannik Hansen: his 100th career goal. Cliff Ronning once described Hansen as a “natural goal scorer,” which seemed laughable for a while, but Hansen is likely to pass Ronning among the Canucks’ all-time goalscorers sometime this season. #ronningknew
- Willie Desjardins activated the Line Blender 3000 in the second period, briefly splitting the Sedins and moving Sven Baertschi anywhere from the fourth line to the first line. The only line that remained intact, and understandably so, was the line of Sutter, Hansen, and Markus Granlund, which has been the Canucks best line so far this season, as we all anticipated. Nothing surprising about that whatsoever.
- It was bad enough that Markus Granlund got called for Marcus Foligno falling down on his own recognizance, but the fact it came right after Johan Larsson got a 2-minute minor for crashing full-speed into Jacob Markstrom made it seem way worse. Larsson nearly gave Markstrom a concussion; Granlund literally didn’t touch Foligno. Definitely worth the same punishment.
- The Canucks finally broke their power play egg with a cracking play. Daniel found Brandon Sutter open at the backdoor, but Lehner came across to stop his one-timer. Now, your typical net-front presence immediately tries to jam the rebound in, but Loui “Atypical” Eriksson made like a Sedin and passed away from the front of the net to Daniel. After that, it was over easy.
- The Rogers Arena crew were hilariously slow with the goal horn, as if they had just assumed a power play meant a two-minute break and hit the loo.
- The Sabres pulled one back in the third period, but it took forever to confirm it. First, the referee vociferously waved off the goal, suggesting it was directed into the net in some untoward manner, such as a lewd gesture—a hip thrust or Ross Gellar’s friendly finger. They reviewed it, realized that Edler kicked it into his own net and called it a good goal. But wait! There’s more! The Canucks challenged the review of the no-goal that called it a good goal, saying that there was goaltender interference and it should, once again, be no-goal. The challenge failed. The goal stands. You all wasted previous minutes of our lives that could have been spent debating the US election on Facebook.
- That meant, for the second time this season, a Canuck goaltender was robbed of a shutout by an own goal. At least Markstrom was in net for this one. He was otherwise superb, stopping all 26 shots directed his way by Sabres players, including all 14 in the busiest period since Richard Scarry’s Busy Period.
