Second line now No. 1 in our hearts
ST. LOUIS — At least now we know where the Canucks’ second line went for months.
It didn’t disappear, it was just waiting for the games to matter a little more. Better late than never. To start the most critical road trip Vancouver has had in years — and that’s not hyperbole — the Canucks were carried by their second line. Again. It ranks as one of the more unexpected twists of the season.
Nick Bonino scored, but so did Radim Vrbata, who has been the team’s best story this month. That’s saying something given the way goalie Eddie Lack has played.
Vrbata had an assist and iced the game with a wicked shot off the wing. It clinched the game, a 4-1 Canucks win, and gave him 31 goals, moving him into the NHL’s top 10.
The importance can’t be understated. Vancouver faces four potential Western Conference powerhouses in six nights, including Monday, with a playoff spot on the line. Is that all? The situation didn’t look all that important to them to begin the trip’s opening game, a showdown with the Blues. The first five minutes ticked by and the Canucks didn’t have a shot. But maybe it was by design. It sure looked that way. Monday’s Canucks were simpler Canucks. They chipped pucks along the glass. They had forwards coming back deep to help out their blue-liners in the transition game. They were safe, and they waited. And waited.
The whole process took the energy right out of the rink and by the third period, the Blues’ fans were booing.
Other than Vrbata and a Shawn Matthias breakaway, the Canucks showed very little in the way of offensive flair. But that’s how you play on the road this time of year — at least, if you want to win.
Vancouver got the break it needed when a bad line change left Matthias open for his breakaway. See, the Canucks aren’t the only team with bad line changes. And now, they’re also not one of the teams without a second line.