Canucks light years from last year
Ryan Kesler had only been gone a few months, but it feels like years.
Mostly because this Canucks team has started the season like it’s light years away from the one that tumbled like an avalanche last season. That one couldn’t score. Period. This one scored three straight goals. It erased a 2-0 lead and did it like it was nothing. The Canucks took one of the presumed power teams in the Western Conference to overtime and did it on the second night of back-to-backs.
They did it with a second period that was more entertaining than just about anything that happened in 2013-14.
The Canucks got the game to a shootout, but should have won it in overtime when Daniel Sedin narrowly missed completing a beautiful give-and-go with his brother.
In the shootout, Kesler was stopped by Eddie Lack to the thrill of the crowd.
It wasn’t enough. Even with the fans chanting “Eddie, Eddie” the Ducks got two shootout scores to win the game 4-3.
There should be no moral victories in the NHL.
Still, getting a point was something of an accomplishment for Vancouver, mostly because of the way they did it.
They did it without Alex Burrows, who didn’t play because of an injury. And they did it without Dan Hamhuis, who was hurt in the first period.
The Canucks did it with two goals from their fourth line. And they did it with generally dominating possession performances by their first and second lines.
Maybe the game would have been different if the Ducks didn’t score on the first shift. The Canucks were clearly the better team. How many times did they play a California team last year when you could have said that?
It may not have been a moral victory, but it was a loss the Canucks can build on.