Those were some mighty fine details.
The Canucks responded to their worst performance of the season with one of their best. The first period was downright amazing, as the Canucks took a whopping 22 shots on goal, including 10 shots in the first five minutes. The Canucks have played four entire games without getting 22 shots this season.
The new lines were clicking. The new defence pairs were making the transition game look easy. Jacob Markstrom was cool and calm in goal, kicking aside Sharks’ chances like they were nothing. This was the best the Canucks have played all season, which is impressive considering they were missing so many key players.
And they still barely won.
The Sharks were on the second night of back-to-back games, so they were a tired team, but they turned up the pressure in the third period and the Canucks couldn’t close them out. It was an incredible Canucks performance, but they still needed overtime and an unlikely hero to take home the victory.
It was a fantastic game, but I had a niggling feeling in the back of my mind when I watched this game.
- The Sedins got wizardous in this game, borrowing a Time-Turner from fellow wizard Hermione Granger to turn back the clock six or seven years to when the twins were a dominant force in the NHL. Whether it was at even-strength with Thomas Vanek or on the power play with Brock Boeser, Markus Granlund, and Alex Edler, the Sedins were more magical than Disney’s Peter Pan before you re-watched it with your kids and cringed really hard at “What Made the Red Man Red” and realized you can never watch it again.
- Before the game, Daniel Sedin said something interesting to me: “I think we all realize what kind of effort we need to be successful right now. Good defensively. You’ve gotta expect to win these games 2-1, and play like that too. I think if we do that, we’ll have a good chance.” With that kind of quote, you might expect a conservative, defence-first approach. Instead, the Canucks came out flying and played a wide-open, puck-moving style. If that’s a “2-1” approach, what in the world is a “4-3” approach?
- Despite playing a great game at even-strength, all of the Canucks’ regulation goals came more or less on the power play, where Markus Granlund filled in capably in front of the net for Bo Horvat. Perhaps the Canucks’ dominant power play is why the referees only gave them three opportunities with the man advantage. Every time the Canucks got a power play, they scored. Giving them more chances would have been unfair to those poor, lowly Sharks.
- Sam Gagner had a great game centring Brock Boeser and Loui Eriksson, and he drew a cross-checking penalty on the first shift of the game. That’s when the Sedins went to work, adding a new wrinkle to the slap-pass, and it was such a typical Sedin move: they turned it into another pass. Henrik slapped the puck to Daniel in the high slot, but instead of tipping it on net, he tipped it to Granlund in front, who turned and whacked the puck five-hole.
- The Sharks responded on their own power play with a set play off the faceoff. Logan Couture won the puck to Joe Pavelski, then ran interference on Alexander Burmistrov to prevent him from getting to the point, where Brent Burns slapped the shot past a screened Jacob Markstrom. It’s understandable that Markstrom couldn’t see past T. Hertl: he brought his entire house with him.
- It is a crime that Alex Biega didn’t get a single point in this game. He was outstanding — legitimately everywhere on the ice, breaking up plays, throwing hits, driving to the net — to the point that you have to wonder how he ended up as such a bubble player. If he’s capable of playing like this, why was he one of the worst players in the entire NHL last season?
- Granlund made it 2-1 right after the Canucks’ second power play expired, shoving home an unexpected pass from Henrik on a Daniel rebound. Well, unexpected to goaltender Martin Jones. I’m pretty sure everyone else in the building saw the pass coming.
- The Sedins and Vanek were the Canucks best line, but Brock Boeser provided a spark to Gagner and Loui Eriksson. They had one of the Canucks’ best shifts in the second period and had Martin Jones swimming, but Boeser and Eriksson just couldn’t tuck the puck home on their scoring chances in front. Perhaps because of all the water that Jones was swimming in. Pucks have a tendency to sink.
- Boeser is what people call a “one-shot scorer,” which erroneously suggests that it only takes one opportunity to score. It’s simply not true; sometimes he requires two. On the Canucks’ third power play, Boeser split the defence, catching them flat-footed expecting a drop-pass. In alone, his shot hit the post, but he was undeterred, sitting in the weeds while Daniel and Henrik worked the puck off the boards and across the ice, where Boeser had all day to pick his spot, because Brent Burns, apparently thinking Boeser was a Sedin, chose to defend the pass.
- It felt like the Sedins could have had five or six points each instead of just three. They created chance after chance, with Daniel and Vanek both tallying six shots on goal. Martin Jones absolutely robbed Vanek on one golden opportunity in the third period. Daniel walked around Brenden Dillon, cut to the forehand, and created a rebound for Vanek with an open net, but Jones somehow got his stick back to make the stop.
- Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher struggled at times in this game — I’m really not sold on the pairing — and they looked particularly shaky on the 3-2 goal. Stecher blindly threw the puck back to the point, turning it over to Marcus Sorenson. On the rush the other way, Hutton needed to box out Sorenson, but got caught puck-watching instead and the rebound went in off Sorenson’s skate. Hutton's clearly been watching too many unboxing videos on YouTube.
- I didn’t like Alexander Burmistrov’s hit on Logan Couture. I suspect Couture didn’t like it either. It was well away from the puck, sending Burmistrov to the box for an interference penalty and Couture to the locker room with an undisclosed injury. Frankly, Burmistrov was lucky to only get a two-minute minor — the hit wasn’t malicious, but it was dangerous and unnecessary.
- The Sharks tied the game with a similar goal to their first: a won faceoff back to Brent Burns, who threw a wrist shot towards the net and saw it sneak past Markstrom. This time, the puck deflected in off Biega’s skate, which is just unfair to Biega, who deserved a better fate in this game.
- You could see how frustrated Sam Gagner was on the tying goal, as he’s the one who lost the defensive zone faceoff. Joel Ward broke his stick on the faceoff and Gagner angrily slapped the broken pieces of his stick to the boards. Gagner plays with his heart on his sleeve, which is not a recommended place to keep your heart. Very messy.
- Gagner redeemed himself at the tail end of a thrilling overtime, where the Sedins once again dominated, creating chance after chance. But it took the playmaking of Jacob Markstrom to break the tie, as he pokechecked Brent Burns as he drove to the net, springing Alex Edler and Sam Gagner on a rush the other way. Edler slipped the puck ahead to Gagner, who went top shelf where serial alphabetizers keep their movies that start with a number. He sent his backhand right at 10 Things I Hate About You.
- What a game. If the Canucks can perform like that game after game, the Canucks might be able to keep their heads above water with Horvat, Baertschi, and Tanev out of the lineup. But that’s a big “if.”
- Actually, this is a big if:
IF
