WHO’S SMILING NOW?
Rookie Nicklas Jensen has given Canucks’ top line a spark.
Agame that was supposed to be about the return of the Florida Panthers’ No. 1 goalie instead was about the return of the Vancouver Canucks’ No. 1 line. Suddenly, that line matters again, which is excellent for a team still clinging to the National Hockey League playoff race.
The emergence of minor- league callup Nicklas Jensen has re- energized struggling Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows, and the top trio generated all three goals for the Canucks against the Panthers. Then Jensen, the 21- year- old Dane who until 10 days ago was taking entry- level classes with the Utica Comets, scored in a shootout as Vancouver won 4- 3 against former Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.
“I wish he would have been called up when I was playing there,” Luongo, whose stunning trade back to Florida on March 5 preceded Jensen’s promotion to the NHL, said after the game. “We could have used a few more goals this year while I was there.”
Same old Luongo, easing tension with his dry and irreverent wit.
For a change, it was the same old Canucks first line, too, except with Jensen filling in for injured winger Daniel Sedin.
There was much satellite time and newsprint devoted ahead of the game to Luongo facing the Canucks, for whom he starred the last seven and a half years and helped push to heights never seen by the franchise. But Hank Sedin, Jensen and Burrows got in the way of a good story Sunday.
And thank goodness there was a good story to salvage from the often- tedious, grindfest between two teams unlikely to play in the Stanley Cup tournament this spring. “Listen, it was no Picasso, that’s for sure,” Canucks coach John Tortorella said. More like Madonna — and we mean the singer — on velvet. While Luongo and his successor in Vancouver, Eddie Lack, were just ordinary — making 29 and 26 saves, respectively — Jensen, Burrows and Henrik made a difference.
Burrows and Sedin drew assists on goals by Dan Hamhuis and Jensen before Burrows put the Canucks ahead 3- 2 in the third period by stuffing the rebound from Alex Edler’s power play point shot past Luongo’s left pad.
It was the second straight game Jensen scored, and gave Burrows six points in three games since the line was formed. Sedin has three points in four games.
And while this production won’t make anyone forget the heyday of the West Coast Express or the consecutive seasons the Sedins split NHL scoring titles, consider: Burrows didn’t score a goal in his first 35 games this season and had just five points the first five months of the season, while Henrik was pointless in his previous 12 games. When he was injured on March 2, Daniel had gone 22 games without a goal.
If you want to blame someone other than Tortorella and general manager Mike Gillis for the Canucks’ crisis, blame the first- line players who generated almost no offence for two months. Vancouver was a none- line team. With Jensen, they’ve got their first line back. The team scoring has returned, too. The Canucks have 12 goals in their last four games, matching their output from the previous 10 games.
“They’re helping Jensen,” Tortorella said of Hank and Burrows. “( But) I think Jensen’s helping them with his enthusiasm. He’s not afraid to make a play. He’s on the puck. His skating ... is much better than I thought. Travis and the boys down there have done a fantastic job. This guy has come in ... and we didn’t expect this.”
Travis Green coaches the Comets, the Canucks’ American Hockey League farm team, and worked extensively with Jensen.
Jensen didn’t get to enjoy his first NHL goal on Friday because the Canucks allowed a late winner in a 4- 3 loss to the Washington Capitals. But he was smiling a lot in the dressing room on Sunday. So were most of the Canucks.
“Playing with two great players, it’s tough not to like it,” Jensen said. “I feel like our connection is getting better. We know where each other is and we’re creating a lot in the offensive zone. Every time I step on the ice, I feel better and better. The nerves — I feel more calm.”
Henrik said: “Anytime you get a young guy like that, he brings a lot of jump. He’s going to make mistakes, going to turn the puck over sometimes. But he tries to make plays and he makes this a lot of fun.
“Personally, I’m playing a lot better than before. I’m feeling good. I want to have the puck, want to bring the puck up the ice on the power play. It’s nice to have that feeling back.”
Jensen beat Luongo from the high slot after Canucks defenceman Ryan Stanton forced a turnover, while the goalie left Burrows with two chances on his rebound goal.
“It was kind of weird a little bit in warm- ups, seeing him on the other side,” Burrows said of Luongo. “First play of the game, I gave him a pitchfork and I told him I was going to be there all night. He was a good friend and good teammate for a long time. I asked him to let me score a goal and he did; that shows you how good of a guy he is.”
It seems like Burrows is making a new friend in Jensen, whose forehand went crossbar- and- in in the shootout.
“I sit beside him in the locker- room and he’s asking a lot of questions,” Burrows said. “He wants to learn about the game, wants to get better. He’s coming in and wants to soak everything in. Everything is new for him and everything is exciting and everything is fun and cool. It’s fun to be a part of it.”
Burrows went for a walk Saturday with Jensen along Miami Beach, home of Cuban food and the thong bikini. “He liked it,” Burrows said. Sunday turned out pretty good, too.