HOWL-MARK MOMENT
Canucks open six-game homestand but get squeezed by Coyotes 4-3 in OT
Confused?
So were we. On many levels.
The Vancouver Canucks hosted a Stars Wars themed night at Rogers Arena and maybe it was by design. With the NHL club blanked in its last two games, three of the last four, and four of the previous seven, maybe it was about the force or those lightsabres, or something to inspire a sputtering offence.
Maybe the marquee should have featured something like: Return of The Goldy, or The Shotgun, or The Future Captain.
Nikolay Goldobin hadn’t scored in 11 games and had one goal in 18 outings when the Canucks faced the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. Jake Virtanen and Bo Horvat hadn’t scored in seven games and a rare four-day break was expected to make a difference.
The Canucks worked on breakouts in practice, they concentrated on getting through the neutral zone at speed. They promised to get pucks and bodies to the net. The end result?
The Canucks flirted with the franchise record for fewest shots in a period — it’s zero and it has happened four times — until Adam Gaudette sent a 46-foot release from the wing off goalie Darcy Kuemper’s blocker at 15:27 of the listless first period.
The Coyotes were coming off a 5-0 blanking of the New York Rangers and are ranked eighth in goals-against per game, but we should have expected much more much earlier before the Canucks finally found their stride. They finished with 36 shots.
The clubs awoke from the slumber and exchanged goals 57 seconds apart in the second period before a 2-2 draw was snapped in the third period. An Alex Galchenyuk pass went off the stick of Erik Gudbranson and right to Conor Garland, before Sven Baertschi scored his second goal to send the game into overtime.
Against the flow of play, Richard Panik went far side for the winner with 49.6 second left.
Here’s what we learned on Thursday as the Canucks dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Coyotes:
IS BAERTSCHI TURNING THE CORNER?
Missing 30 games with the fifth concussion of his career was going to test the winger’s physical and mental mettle. Baertschi had to get to the tough areas without worrying about getting hit to use his speed and release. There were encouraging signs.
After Panik opened the scoring early in the second period, Chris Tanev sprung Baertschi with a long pass and the winger did the rest. He turned defenceman Jakob Chychrun inside out and then ripped a wrist shot stick side.
Baertschi then got his second of the night by again doing what he has to do. He got to the net and scored on a rebound, and registered a team-high five shots through regulation time.
THE FORCE IS WITH GAUDETTE
The rookie centre was already having a good night before scoring his third career goal.
He threaded long lead passes in the first period to spring Virtanen, he got that first shot on net, and then drew a penalty in the second period. The Canucks responded with six shots on their first power play against the league’s top-ranked penalty kill.
Gaudette then went one better by going hard to the net late in the second period to bury a Ben Hutton rebound and draw the Canucks even at 2-2. Pretty tidy for 7:46 of ice time through 40 minutes.
MARKSTROM SHOULD BE MIFFED
Upon further review, Jacob Markstrom had every right to lose it Thursday. He didn’t.
The Canucks challenged a second-period goal by Nick Cousins, believing the centre interfered with Markstrom in the crease as a Panik point shot appeared to go in off him.
It was called a goal, but there was video evidence that Cousins actually kicked the puck in with his right foot to make it 2-1.
To his credit, Markstrom later made his best stop early in the third period off a scramble.
THE PETTERSSON WATCH IS ON
One player doesn’t make a team, but Elias Pettersson isn’t any one player. He’s a star.
The injured centre isn’t just the Calder Trophy front-runner with 42 points (22-20) in 38 games, he’s dynamo.
Pettersson makes the Canucks better on both sides of the puck, and without him, the club is more blue collar and has to grind for greasy goals. He’s expected to practise today and Saturday. The Canucks host Florida on Sunday and Edmonton on Wednesday.