CANUCKS NEED FEISTY FERLAND
Winger at his best at his most physical
The narrative was supposed to be about goaltending. And it was.
However, the significant storyline of the Vancouver Canucks being able to deploy either of their two capable stoppers — Thatcher Demko got the call Monday while Jacob Markstrom did the physical and mental reset — was overshadowed at the other end of the Rogers Arena ice surface.
The inability of Florida Panthers backup Sam Montembeault to stop anything in the first period forced Sergei Bobrovsky to mop up the spill in the crease until the visitors played musical goalies again to start the second period.
By then the damage had been done by the Canucks. It included the following first-period forays:
Every line scored in the opening
■ 10 minutes and every forward had a point except Brock Boeser, who would later close out the scoring.
The rejuvenated Tim Schaller
■ scored his fourth goal in the last three games.
The resilient Jake Virtanen
■ netted his third marker in as many nights.
The ridiculed Micheal Ferland
■ showed plenty of giddy-up to set up two goals.
The forgotten Loui Eriksson
■ did some disruptive spade work on the second goal.
The only remaining drama once the Canucks built a 5-1 lead after 20 minutes was if they would have a flashback to Freaky Friday when they blew that same advantage against the Washington Capitals. That wasn’t going to happen. Not this time.
The Canucks claimed a convincing 7-2 victory against a club that looked like it was playing its second game in as many days and left its Grade A game in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon.
SCHALLER’S POWER IS SUDDENLY A THING
The fourth-line winger owned it at training camp by admitting he was overwhelmed a year ago and vowed to show he’s a much better player — like the one who had a dozen goals with Boston before the Canucks came calling in free agency.
After moving up and down the lineup and failing to score in his first 23 games last season, he managed just 10 points (3-7) in 47 games and was a frequent scratch. A legitimate question was what to do with the winger?
The answer was wait and see. Schaller gained scoring traction last Tuesday in Detroit and then added a pair on Friday. He struck again Monday.
His fourth goal of the season came after Jay Beagle got the puck in deep and Eriksson did some board work before Beagle found Schaller at side of the net. He jammed home the offering.