CALIFORNIA DREAMING
Canucks’ performance against the Ducks was about what could be this season
There was a moment in the second period when Thursday’s game, mercifully, stopped being about Ryan Kesler’s return to Vancouver and started being about something else.
OK, the script writers didn’t get the ending right, but given everything the faithful endured last season, including being rejected by Kesler, this one felt like something was being restored. It remains to be seen if the Canucks can sustain their pace but, right now, they sit in second in the Western Conference and that should be celebrated along with Thursday’s performance.
On Kesler appreciation night, the Canucks surrendered a goal 37 seconds in, lost Dan Hamhuis to injury, then fell behind 2-0 before they awakened the ghosts of 2011 with three highlight goals in the middle frame. OK, if it ends there, it’s the perfect night. Or if Daniel Sedin converts his brother’s pass in OT, it’s the perfect night. As it was, the Ducks record a 4-3 shootout win, but let’s take the long view on this one.
Last season, the Canucks were 2-9-3 against the three California teams. This season, they’re 2-1-1. Thursday, they also got just about everything right except the opening scene and the dramatic conclusion. In the memorable second, Bo Horvat scored his first NHL goal before Jannik Hansen and Radim Vrbata scored 30 seconds apart and The Rog was transformed. Defensively, the Canucks didn’t give up a thing, and in the third, they surrendered just four shots on Eddie Lack. Problem was Matt Beleskey scored on one of them.
Kesler, you ask? Well, he wasn’t invisible, but he was minus-1 and pointless on the night. Horvat, for his part, opened his goal-scoring account, played just under 10 minutes and won 64 per cent of his faceoffs. He was also named first star in a hometown decision, but the larger point was, by the end of the night, the crowd could barely muster the interest to boo Kesler.
This game, instead, was about their team and what could be this season. You just hope they nail down the ending better than they did against the Ducks.