With the win over the Avalanche, the Canucks did something they never managed last season: win four games in a row. This wasn’t even the first time this season they’ve managed such an incredible feat, as they started the season with a four-game tear. This amazing display of competence has the Canucks just one point outside the last wild card spot in the Western Conference, which can’t possibly be right.
Are the Canucks… good? I mean, obviously they’re not. But, what if they are? I mean, they’re definitely not. But maybe? No.
While I marveled at the Canucks’ four-game win streak, I was brought crashing back down to earth when I saw that the Columbus Blue Jackets won their fifteenth game in a row. But I didn’t watch that game. I watched this game.
- This game saw the return of Anton Rodin to both the lineup and the wing of Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, which als meant the return of my favourite pre-season line nickname: RoBoBear! The RoBoBear line didn’t get to actually play much together because of a ton of special teams, but they looked a lot better than your garden variety mechanized ursine.
- Unfortunately, Rodin was in the lineup because Alex Burrows was not, as he apparently suffered a scratched eyeball during the game against the Edmonton Oilers when Patrick Maroon gave him the kind of rough facewash that would lead to lawsuits for a spa. Too much exfoliant, Maroon! And you’re not supposed to exfoliate eyes, you maroon!
- Each member of the RoBoBear line picked up at least one point, with Rodin tallying his first point of his NHL career. The real star of the show, though, was Baertschi, who had a team-high five shots and scored two goals while apart from Ro and Bo. He made the most of his deployment on the first power play unit because he’s smarter than the average Baertschi.
- Horvat opened the scoring after a goalless first period. Ben Hutton jumped up into the rush and Rodin found him with the pass. Hutton somehow managed to sneak the puck past the sprawling and improbably-named Cody Goloubef and Horvat made like Terence Fletcher (NSFW) and ripped the puck a new one.
- The Avalanche replied on the power play after Alex Edler broke his stick in an unusual place: the defensive zone. Bo Horvat lent him his stick, but was then unable to clog up any passing lanes, rendering him largely ineffective. Since it was the long change in the second period, Horvat couldn’t make a mad dash to the bench. It makes me wonder if it would have been more useful for the forward playing higher in the zone to have a stick to take away passing lanes than the defenceman who’s focused on tying up his man in front.
- The Canucks regained the lead after a dominant power play performance from the first unit, spending almost the entirety of the two-minute penalty in the offensive zone. Baertschi scored seconds after the penalty expired, taking a Brandon Sutter pass and leaning into it like Michael Jackson.
- Sutter thought he had extended the lead when he went bar down off a Loui Eriksson pass, apparently because no one told him that there’s an implied “and in” after the phrase “bar down.” A quick video review revealed that the puck was down and out, like the Singin’ Hobo, not down and in, like the knife of a Stabbin’ Hobo.
- The Avalanche tied things up again when Tyson Barrie fired a shot through traffic like The Twins from Matrix Reloaded. Ryan Miller didn’t have a chance with Luca Sbisa and his accursed opaqueness screening him.
- The Canucks continued their uncharacteristic power play performance with the gamewinning goal. Henrik Sedin tried to find Baertschi at the backdoor, but the hockey gods, thinking he must have meant to pass to his brother instead, redirected the pass to Daniel, who fired a shot on goal. Henrik’s will prevailed, as the rebound went where he wanted it in the first place and Baertschi barely buried the backhand.
- It was a great game for the Canucks’ fourth line of Jack Skille, Michael Chaput, and Brendan Gaunce, as they soundly outplayed the fourth line of the Avalanche with strong play along the boards. Gaunce led the Canucks’ in corsi%, with the Canucks only allowing three shot attempts while he was on the ice, while Chaput went 6-for-7 in the faceoff circle. Like a pitch pipe, they set the tone.
- Finally, there’s Ryan Miller, who was outstanding. The Canucks didn’t allow a ton of shots, but the ones they did allow required some heroics from Miller, who delivered better than Spider-Man.
