Outshone by the Stars
Tryamkin answers the bell, but Vancouver’s cast of prospects upstaged
Two third-period goals broke up a close game Thursday as visiting Dallas not only beat the Canucks, but also passed them in the standings.
There was the scoreboard. There were the scorecards. And even an unexpected fight card. On a night when nobody really knew what to expect from the beat-up and beat-down Vancouver Canucks and the dreadful Dallas Stars — wide-open pond hockey or a commitment to structure because the Canucks can’t score and the Stars can’t defend — everybody knew what the play-the-kids-who-are-really-journey-men mantra meant in this market Thursday at Rogers Arena.
With eight restricted free-agent forwards, including five at wing, it was more about auditions for the next NHL season than making something of what’s left in this death march.
Dropping further down the Western Conference standings will please the draftists and irk those in the hockey operations department who believe it’s winning that builds character, no matter who you ice.
A 4-2 loss was supposed to provide a better idea of who has a leg up on a roster shot next fall. The results were mixed because the Stars, who have allowed the most goals, peppered Ryan Miller with 36 shots. But that’s another story.
It was Nikita Tryamkin who did his best to steal the show, not that the steadily improving and hulking Russian defenceman had to make a statement. But he did. There was his first-period pinch to the crease and two healthy whacks of a Reid Boucher cross-ice feed before Sven Baertschi buried the loose puck.
And there was a thunderous second-period hit that dropped Jamie Benn. The Stars’ winger responded with a slash and the pair slugged it out. Benn didn’t return for the third period.
As for other impressions that needed to be made, there was the curiosity of whether Boucher’s quick shot release was going to surface. Would Joseph Cramarossa’s grit quotient surface? Is there more than just size in Joseph LaBate and is there a strong two-way game in Drew Shore?
“There are guys who will never get a better opportunity to prove that they’re NHL players than now — never,” said Canucks coach Willie Desjardins. “They have to be ready to take advantage of it.”
Boucher looked tentative early on a line with Bo Horvat and Baertschi — he lost a defensive-zone board battle and couldn’t clear the puck out of the zone on the same play — but the pass he threaded from the corner right on the stick of Tryamkin in the crease was noticed.
“I have to have a higher compete level through the game and be hard on pucks and win battles,” said the 23-year-old Boucher. “I’ve always been a shooter and I’m going to try and get it off as quick as I can.”
The problem was Boucher didn’t have a shot.
As for the 24-year-old Cramarossa, there’s an edge to his game and he had three hits on a line with Brandon Sutter and Shore. He also showed some offensive smarts.
Cramarossa did a nice job of pivoting in the offensive zone to set up a Ben Hutton point shot and he let go a couple of shots on goal that were deceptively quick and accurate.
“Every game this season has been big for me and nothing really changes,” said Cramarossa. “Being a rookie in the league, every game could be your last and that’s how I look it. Playing hard is what got me here in the first place and it’s something teams like and if I continue with that, it will only help.”
What didn’t help was overplaying Miller. The 36-year-old goaltender was beat short side in the slot by Esa Lindell and to the glove side on the winning goal by Tyler Seguin.