If you need further proof that the Pacific Division is a complete clustercuss this season, consider this: heading into this game, the Canucks had lost five straight. They had just three wins in their last 16 games. They mustered up just 49 shots combined in their last three games.
The Canucks have been flat-out horri-awful of late.
But the win over the Buffalo Sabres put the Canucks in a playoff spot. Oh sure, the Ducks and Coyotes behind them have games in hand, they’re only 6 points out of 30th, and December is a little early to be talking about playoff position, but the stretch the Canucks just endured would have turned the playoffs into a pipe dream in a tougher division. But because it’s the Pacific, it was just a minor setback, barely worth mentioning.
Did I see a playoff team when I watched this game?
- What we saw of the tribute to the West Coast Express on TV was underwhelming—it was neat hearing Tommy Larscheid announce them as they came out for the ceremonial faceoff, but seeing an actual tribute video would have been nice—but the team on the ice put together a pretty solid tribute of their own, matching their goal total from the last five games combined. Whether you credit Naslund’s locker room speech or Bertuzzi giving Prust’s stick the magic touch, it was nice to see the Canucks remember how to score on WCE Appreciation Night.
- Early on, it looked like this game would be a disaster, with a couple bad turnovers by Sven Baertschi and Matt Bartkowski at their own blue line setting the tone. Bartkowski’s giveaway led to the Sabres’ opening goal, which Brian Gionta knocked in with a high stick, but was held up on video review, possibly because the Situation Room doesn’t think the 5’7” Gionta can actually reach that high.
- When a Canucks goal was later called off because the referee blew his whistle (or intended to blow his whistle or just intended to blow in general and ultimately succeeded), it seemed like it wasn’t just West Coast Express night but Get Screwed By the Refs night as well. Given how tight the Canucks’ games have been this season, the two-goal swing caused by the two blown calls seemed like the death knell for this game. Instead, it was the opposite...a birth knell? I think this bullet point got away from me.
- Radim Vrbata was superb in this game, scoring a hattrick on a game-high 6 shots, but he owes his first goal to Ben Hutton, who made a fantastic play to keep the puck onside, and Chris Higgins, whose catted determination led to a juicy rebound for Vrbata. I would have said “dogged” determination, but the way Higgins was batting the puck around seemed a lot more cat-like.
- The Canucks tried some new wrinkles on the power play and maybe it was the Sabres’ 29th-ranked power play, but they seemed to be really effective. One breakout had Edler coming up the right side instead of the left, his drop pass was quickly returned, and three quick passes later, Alex Burrows was in on the right wing with a dangerous chance. Like Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, it was a great Canuck rush.
- Another new wrinkle saw Vrbata up at the point, where his right-hand shot was a one-timer threat for passes from the right wall. It’s a riskier look, with the lone defenceman, Alex Edler, sneaking down to the backdoor, but seeing something different on the power play is more refreshing than a Star Wars fan’s browser on October 19th.
- Vrbata gave the Canucks the lead with his second goal, this time on a shift with the Sedins after a power play. Dan Hamhuis threw the puck towards the front of the net and Vrbata temporarily became Al Gore’s ex-wife and deflected the puck up over Linus Ullmark’s shoulder.
- Sven Baertschi just can’t buy a break. Apart from his ugly first period turnover, he was noticeable for all the right reasons, including a stellar defensive play, diving out to knock the puck away from Evander Kane and prevent a shorthanded breakaway. But his best chance to score came in the second period on a 2-on-1 with Bo Horvat. Baertschi shot it back against the grain, forcing a fantastic save from Ullmark, stretching further than I did to make that Tipper Gore reference in the previous bullet point.
- Brandon Prust doubled down on his newfound popularity in Vancouver, figuratively spearing the Sabres in the groin with a rare goal, his first as a Canuck. Derek Dorsett made a great play behind the net, shaking Cody Franson with a quick change of direction, then centring for Prust, who was being checked by Mike Weber, aka. wide open.
- The Canucks ended up with a 4-on-3 power play late in the second and, not wanting to risk taking another penalty to make it 3-on-3, thereby guaranteeing a loss, ended it quickly. Edler and Henrik clearly played with Hot Wheels as a kid, as Edler played the role of launcher, Henrik set up the jump, and Ullmark’s 5-hole was the plastic ring-of-fire.
- A 4-1 lead heading into the third might seem secure, but this is the 2015-16 Canucks, who hane never met a third period lead they couldn’t squander. So it was concerning when Sam Reinhart got the Sabres to within two. It was also concerning that wunderkind Jack Eichel hadn’t done anything yet. Seriously, he just spent the entire game up to that point standing in the neutral zone like that little guy in the mafia vs yakuza gang fight on The Simpsons. “That little guy hasn’t done anything yet,” Canucks fans all whimpered, “He’s going to do something and you know it’s going to be good!”
- He didn’t do anything.
- Okay, Eichel did one thing: he floated around uselessly in the defensive zone instead of checking Radim Vrbata at the right faceoff circle, allowing Vrbata to pay tribute to Markus Naslund, sniping a goal from Nazzy’s favourite spot on the ice.
- Couple things to notice on that goal: it came after a great fourth line shift and Adam Cracknell’s pass deserves some plaudits. If you watch again you can see Vrbata smartly clear Derek Dorsett’s broken stick from his shooting area before the pass comes to him. And Canucks fans remembered how to celebrate a hattrick, littering the ice with hats. Real, actual, probably-expensive hats!
- Vrbata completely overreacted to the hattrick goal, smiling for a full second before returning to his usual perpetual scowl. Geez, Vrbata, act like you’ve been there before.
- Finally, a neat thing: six different forwards were on the ice with Vrbata when he scored his three goals. He was on with Higgins and McCann for his first, Daniel and Henrik for his second, and Prust and Dorsett for his third. After succeeding with so many different linemates, I have no idea how Willie Desjardins is going to break them up next game.
