MacKinnon sizzles, Canucks fizzle
Avalanche captain scores twice and overwhelms Vancouver with his sheer speed
It wasn’t going to be easy to find their way. The moral compass was missing.
There was no Thomas Vanek to set the right mood in the room, set up shop in the slot, set screens, deflect pucks and unleash that heavy half-slapper Monday against the Colorado Avalanche.
The hired gun, who proved to be so much more for the Vancouver Canucks — mentor, leader and teacher — was moved as expected Monday at the NHL trade deadline and his absence was noticeable.
His former teammates talked with anticipation of the possibility of the winger returning in free agency because of what they learned. Even in a rebuild, you need calm. You need stability.
“It would be great,” said Bo Horvat. “As a young guy, he was always giving tips and pointers on how to protect the puck and what can make you better. It was fun to pick his brain.”
Here’s what the Canucks learned in a 3-1 loss to the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center:
MacKinnon is a force
Nathan MacKinnon has an explosive stride and trying to corral the Avalanche captain and his hulking linemates Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen has got the Canucks into a lot of trouble.
The line combined for nine points in a 5-4 overtime win at Rogers Arena on Feb. 20 in which Colorado rallied from a 4-1 deficit and scored five power-play goals. On Monday, MacKinnon had 14 shot attempts through two periods and finished with 20. He scored twice.
His signature dagger move came when he wheeled around Troy Stecher in the third period and scored to give the Avs a two-goal cushion. It’s what has set him apart this season, and the Canucks had no answer for his sheer speed.
The Canucks did do an admirable job on the penalty kill, nullifying
four of five attempts.
Brandon Sutter and Darren Archibald have formed a formidable pairing and with penalty killers Loui Eriksson out with an upperbody injury and Markus Granlund done for the season with ankle surgery. Nic Dowd and Horvat were the other duo.
Rantanen did score a first-period power play goal, but it came off a loose puck scramble and a quick cross-ice feed and not off blown coverage.
Good Jake, bad Jake
Jake Virtanen can fly.
With the Canucks on the second half of back-to-back games, Virtanen led all Canuck forwards in first-period ice time with 6:04. He also took an offensive zone hooking penalty, though he was nearly bailed out when Archibald was foiled on a short-handed chance.
Virtanen then exited the penalty box and made a strong move to the net from the right side. Yet, in the second period, he took another offensive zone hooking minor.
Coach Travis Green was not amused. If that wasn’t enough, he made it a hat trick with a slashing minor with the Canucks trailing 2-0 in the third period.
Oh, Jake. Virtanen played his best game of the season Friday with 10 shot attempts in Las Vegas. Aligned with Sam Gagner and Sven Baertschi, the fourth line looked like the first.
And that’s the thing with Virtanen. You love the speed. You’d love the fact he rang a wrister off the post in the third period Monday to nearly make it 1-1. You’d just love a few more smarts.
When is it goalie interference?
Goalie interference is a hotly contested topic. Some obvious calls aren’t made and cheesy ones are called. It’s often who bumped whom into whom.
This time they got it right
The Avalanche appeared to take a 2-0 lead midway through the second period when MacKinnon wheeled around the net and put a puck into the slot. With Canuck defenders at the far post, Rantanen roofed the shot.
However, Landeskog got his stick into the pads of Jacob Markstrom, while he attempted to move from post-to-post and Green challenged the play. He thought it was goalie interference. He was right. There is hope.
At least there was Daniel Sedin
Brock Boeser hasn’t scored in six games. Vanek is gone. Daniel Sedin’s streak of five goals in his previous five looked in jeopardy and Baertschi was quiet. Horvat’s backhand-to-forehand move on the power play in the third period was one of the best chances.
Then Daniel got his 19th of the season late in the game before the Avs counted the empty-netter.