BOUNCING BACK
Injury-ravaged Canucks crown Kings in Los Angeles
If you were wondering if the hockey gods ever get tired of making the Vancouver Canucks the punchline to their private joke, the answer, apparently, is never.
Thursday night in Los Angeles, the Canucks faced the Kings with six regulars out of the lineup after losing Chris Tanev and Jake Virtanen the night before in Anaheim.
Tanev has been placed on the IR with an ankle injury. Head coach Travis Green said Virtanen suffered an upperbody injury, the result of a sketchy hit by the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf.
Green added Virtanen’s injury isn’t a concussion. That’s what passes for good news around the Canucks these days.
Here’s what we learned as recent call-up Adam Gaudette tied the game at three late in the third period before Brock Boeser scored the winner in the shootout.
MARKSTROM STELLAR
The makeshift lineup might have been missing some key pieces but it did have Jacob Markstrom, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser — which was enough to keep the Canucks in the game.
Pettersson opened the scoring on a first period power play with a laser past Jonathan Quick. That lead lasted all of eight seconds before the Kings’ Austin Wagner tied the game.
Boeser then gave the Canucks their second lead, converting an Adam Gaudette pass before Michael Amadio tied the game again.
The three goals aside, Markstrom was stellar. Making his second start in as many nights after missing Monday’s game against San Jose, the Canucks’ goalie stopped 24 of 26 through the first two periods, including a highlight reel save off Adrian Kempe in the second.
LINE JUGGLING
The injuries, however, made a significant impact on the Canucks’ lineup, distorting the workload and altering the line combinations.
Troy Stecher played an absurd 20:35 through the first two periods, 29 seconds more than Drew Doughty, and Ben Hutton clocked in at 17:40.
Up front, Loui Eriksson was moved to a line with Bo Horvat and Josh Leivo while Zack MacEwen moved to Eriksson’s spot with Jay Beagle and Tyler Motte. At least that’s the way the game started. By the second period, Green was using the mixmaster freely.
The Canucks’ second goal, for example, was produced by a line consisting of Gaudette, Boeser and Antoine Roussel.
Elsewhere, Guillaume Brisebois, with his first NHL start, and Nikolay Goldobin were pressed into the lineup for Tanev and Virtanen respectively. Brisebois is the third player to suit up for the Canucks who was in the minors a week ago, joining Gaudette and MacEwen with the parent club.
PLAYOFFS STILL IN PLAY
Coming out of the all-star break two weeks ago, the Canucks had a full complement of players for the first time this season. In their first game back, they throttled the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 and looked poised to take a serious run at a playoff spot.
Remember those days. It will ease the pain.
Tanev and Virtanen joined Alex Edler, Sven Baertschi, Brandon Sutter and Thatcher Demko in the Canucks’ infirmary. Two weeks ago the Canucks were contemplating a playoff drive with a healthy lineup. They’re now hanging on for dear life in the congested Western Conference, trying to stay relevant with a skeleton lineup.
“I’ve talked about it before,” Green said. “There are no excuses. Other guys step up.
“You’ve got five guys out of the lineup and, obviously, it’s not the ideal situation. But it’s a good opportunity for other guys. Certain parts of the year, you have to go through this. Hopefully your team can raise their game.”
INJURY COMPLICATIONS
The injuries are bad enough. But the complicating factor is their severity. Demko might be back in a week and that will likely make him the first man back. Sutter is out for at least two more weeks with a groin issue. There’s no word on Edler or Baertschi, who are both dealing with concussions. Virtanen escaped a concussion but he also had an MRI on Thursday. Tanev, who flew back to Vancouver on Thursday, could be eligible to return in a week, but don’t bet on it.
OLD SCHOOL HOCKEY
Hockey has changed a lot in the last 10 years.
According to Erik Gudbranson, it hasn’t changed that much.
Early in the second period of the Canucks’ 1-0 loss to Anaheim on Wednesday night, Gudbranson challenged Ducks centre Ryan Getzlaf to a fight after Getzlaf laid out Virtanen late in the first period. What followed was a heavyweight bout that was notable because of its rarity in today’s game, but the fight did act as a pressure valve on a game that had been running hot.
Before the scrap, Kesler fought Leivo and a scrum erupted behind the Canucks’ net when Devin Shore tripped Gudbranson into the boards. After the fight, both teams settled down and played hockey.
“You don’t like seeing your buddy laying on the ice,” Gudbranson said.
“I always think there’s going to be a place for that in the game,” he continued. “I’m glad it happens less and I’m glad the refs are stepping in quicker when helmets come off. But I think it’s important for us to police each other.”
Gudbranson, in fact, described the fight as “old school,” and lauded Getzlaf for accepting his challenge.
“He’s always been an honourable guy,” Gudbranson said. “I skated up to him and not so nicely asked him to fight. He was good about it. He just said, ‘OK,’ and that was that. I’m glad that’s still part of the game.”
The game, in turn, has seen a dramatic reduction in fighting over the years, but Gudbranson said there’s still a place for this kind of scrap.
“You don’t want to come to a hockey game and it’s like a UFC card where you see 10 fights for no reason. If there’s a valid reason behind it, by all means. It’s a tough sport and you don’t want to take that out of it.”