One of the reasons I’ve never been a huge fan of doing game day previews is that it’s so easy to be very, very wrong.
Lines combinations can change at a moment’s notice. A goaltender expected to get the start might sit instead. And any attempt at predicting what might actually happen in a game is pure folly.
So yes, I was wrong about a lot in my preview for this game. Nikolay Goldobin started on the top line with Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser instead of Sven Baertschi, though Baertschi moved up later in the first period. Anders Nilsson got the start when Jacob Markstrom felt ill during warm-up. And the score was definitely not 5-2 for the Bruins.
Heck, I even misspoke and suggested this game was being played in Boston. I can be forgiven for the rest, I think, but not that mental error. Yikes. That just shows a Ben Hutton-level lack of focus. I was a lot more focussed when I watched this game.
- The Canucks celebrated Chinese New Year in Rogers Arena, which meant a number of unique in-game elements, such as a special red jersey for warm-ups, a lion and dragon dancers, and Marie Hui singing the national anthems in a traditional cheongsam. Before the game, they also honoured Larry Kwong, a native of Vernon, BC, who was the first hockey player of Asian descent to play in the NHL.
- I didn’t see this game coming at all. The Bruins are the hottest team in the NHL right now and were well-rested coming into Vancouver, with a three-day break between games. Tuukka Rask is playing like a potential Vezina Trophy winner, Brad Marchand is second in the NHL in points-per-game, and the Bruins’ defence is one of the most stifling in the league. And the Canucks — the 28th-place Canucks — ran them out of the building. They embarrassed them. It was glorious.
- This game was almost enough to make you forget this was only the Canucks’ second win in their last eight games. Almost.
- It certainly was a game that you hope scouts were watching. Erik Gudbranson played his best game in a long while, leading the Canucks in ice time with just over 23 minutes, while Thomas Vanek provided a pretty assist. Of course, that probably means the Canucks will only trade Ben Hutton, who didn’t play and whose trade value could not possibly be any lower.
- Loui Eriksson got the party started on a Saturday night. He made like a Bostonian eating breakfast and finished off a wicked scramble, tapping in Daniel Sedin’s savvy pass while fighting off Brandon Carlo.
- Carlo got victimized again on the second goal. As Thomas Vanek danced through defenders — somewhat awkwardly thanks to some hacks and whacks — Carlo left his check, Daniel Sedin, to help out. He apparently missed the memo that Vanek got a Sedin blood transfusion, as he followed the Laws of Sedinery perfectly, passing away from the most dangerous area in front of the net to counterintuitively set up a more dangerous scoring chances. Daniel was wide open, as was the net.
- Anders Nilsson had some help from a goaltender’s best friend in this game, as the Bruins recorded more posts than the FBI’s social media division. But, as I always say, there’s a reason goalies are also called netminders and not postminders. It don’t mean a thing if it don’t hit that string. Or cross that goal line. Whatever.
- On the pucks actually heading stringward, Nilsson was outstanding. He made numerous five-alarm saves, including a desperation stop with his glove on a David Krejci chance in the third period, but what was most impressive were the saves that he made look easy. His positioning was more sound than the Krakatoa volcanic eruption and he ate up rebounds like a zombie Taylor Swift.
- Bo Horvat showcased some power forward chops to drive down the right wing, stick his shoulder into Charlie McAvoy, and finish with a shot to the shelf on the short-side. He was aided by a great breakout by Troy Stecher, who dug deep inside to find his inner Erik Karlsson and skated the puck out himself before sending Horvat in.
- A lot of fuss was made about Erik Gudbranson hitting Brad Marchand, but it should be noted that Marchand got a high stick in his face from Alex Edler a moment before the hit. That’s why Marchand was crouched down and in a vulnerable position. Gudbranson had a solid game, but he’s not the reason Marchand was slow to get up.
- There was some confusion late in the first period when the officials appeared to call an icing when Thomas Vanek clearly won the race to the faceoff dot and the puck. The commentary team of Dave Randorf and Louie Debrusk couldn’t explain it, but a look at the play-by-play stat sheet confirms my suspicions: it was an offside, not an icing. Vanek stepped in a moment too early and, since the pass came from the Canucks’ zone, the faceoff came all the way back into the defensive zone.
- Sven Baertschi scored a goal in his return to the lineup after a healthy scratch, but it was a weird one. He took a shot from the left wing, Rask kicked the rebound into the slot, and Noel Acciari tried to clear the puck, but sent it off Sean Kuraly’s stick and into the net. So, three Bruins touched the puck between when Baertschi shot it and it went in. Hockey is a weird sport, you guys.
- The most impressive part of Jake Virtanen’s power move to the net on the 5-0 goal was the change of speed. He came down the left wing at what Torey Krug must have thought was his top speed; then he accelerates. Krug is left spinning, trying to keep up with Virtanen, but he creates a massive gap. Anton Khudobin made the stop, but Nic Dowd popped in the rebound. And when Nic Dowd starts scoring on you, just throw the towel.
- The Bruins had their chances to get back into this game, but nothing went right. Krejci missed an open net. Marchand put a rebound through Nilsson’s legs, but it went wide. A centring pass went off Edler’s skate towards the net, but he pulled it off the line before it crossed. It sure is nice when PDO breaks in your favour.
- They did get one goal, making it 5-1 in the third period, but the Canucks responded later in the final frame with one more goal of their own. Upset with no power plays for a second straight game, with referee Gord Dwyer working both games, Travis Green let the ref know his displeasure in less than polite terms. That got the Canucks a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the Canucks let their coach know where they stood in the debate by going out and scoring a shorthanded goal.
- Dowd did a lot of the work, winning the puck on the forecheck and getting it out to Eriksson for a chance. That one was stopped, but Derrick Pouliot gave Eriksson another chance and he buried it. Gently. It was a whiff on a one-timer that snuck through Khudobin’s legs, but it still counts, and gave Eriksson a two-goal game against his former team.
- Eriksson tried to return the favour, setting up Dowd for a shorthanded chance of his own, but Khudobin robbed him with the right pad, probably saying, “I’ll be damned if I let Rick Dodd score two goals on me! Or Mick Crowd, whatever his name is.”
- With an assist on Eriksson’s game-opening goal, Alex Edler is now in sole possession of second all-time on the Canucks in scoring from a defenceman. He’s just three points back of Mattias Ohlund for the franchise record.
