RESURRECTION KOOL-AID
Beating Leafs made Canucks believers
Prior to Thursday night’s meeting with the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks sat 12th in the West, seven points back of the eighth and final playoff spot with three teams sitting between them and a berth in the postseason.
It is, in complete candour, not a position that inspires a great deal of optimism, but say this for the Canucks: they don’t discourage easily.
“You never know in the West,” said defenceman Troy Stecher, one of the heroes in the Canucks’ 3-2 overtime win over Toronto on Wednesday night. “It’s wide open. I’m sure people are counting us out, but you win a couple in a row and teams might see that and tighten up.”
Yes, fear the Whale.
“Our guys aren’t giving up yet,” said head coach Travis Green. “They’re not looking to just play out the last 15. I know a lot of media members think we’re done and we can’t come back. (The players) know the odds are against them, but they’re not done yet.”
That’s what one win can do for a team. Now, if the Canucks can only string together 10 more like Wednesday night’s effort, they might make believers out of their critics.
With the stench of a dismal three-game road swing still hanging over the team, co-mingled with a three-wins-in-15-games stretch that all but killed their playoff ambitions, the Canucks bounced back with one of their more memorable performances of the season against the Leafs.
Alex Edler’s overtime gamewinner capped a comeback from a 2-0 third-period deficit and featured a number of encouraging storylines for a home team that felt like it was playing an away game in front of the largely pro-Leafs crowd.
Now, the question is, can they sustain that momentum beyond Thursday night’s meeting with the Oilers?
The Canucks, of course, were drinking deeply from the resurrection Kool-Aid following the win over the Leafs, and for everything this team has been through, you can understand why they would attach such significance to one win. But are they dreaming in technicolour if they believe they can still factor in the playoff race?
Of course they are. But they have a hot goalie in Jacob Markstrom, a seemingly rejuvenated Edler, an emerging Stecher on the blue-line and a schedule in which they play 10 of their final 14 games at Rogers Arena.
That, apparently, is enough to fuel an audacious dream.
“The season’s not over yet, so we’re not going to play like it is,” said Adam Gaudette, who assisted on both third-period goals for the Canucks. “We’re going to play hard every night.”
So was Wednesday night the start of a glorious stretch drive for the locals? Green thinks so. Then again, it’s his job to think so.
“You hope it reiterates what we always talk about, how we need to play, having a lot of passion to play the game,” the coach said. “We believe in that. If you don’t have passion, it’s hard to play in the league at this time of year. We want players who hate losing and love winning, and they played like it tonight.”
That showed up most visibly in Edler and Stecher, who both played more than 27 minutes in helping contain one of the NHL’s most dynamic offences. In addition to scoring the game-winner, Edler had six shots on goal, nine blasts directed at the Leafs’ net, and was credited with four hits. Stecher, for his part, played a lead role in shutting down the John Tavares line.
Thursday night, that pair was likely to see a lot of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton. Come Saturday night, the Vegas Golden Knights, the team that schooled the Canucks in the final game of the aforementioned road trip, are in town. It doesn’t exactly get easier, which means the Sony Walkman has a better chance of coming back than the Canucks.
But that’s not the point. The larger challenge for this team is reclaiming the territory it lost in a dismal February, reinforcing the message that this is a changed franchise that’s pointing in the right direction.
One win doesn’t do that. But a string of similar efforts over the next month does.
“You know our team doesn’t quit,” said Green. “We’ve shown that all year.”
Now if they can only show it for 15 more games.
AND ANOTHER THING …
Rikard Gronborg, head coach of the Swedish national team, took in Wednesday night’s game and could be seen talking to Elias Pettersson following the contest.
“We’re just touching base with the guys,” Gronborg said. “It’s not really a scouting trip or a recruiting trip. It’s more like, “Here we are, how are things going?’ And we take it from here.”
Gronborg steered away from specifics when asked about the player he’s targeting for the upcoming world championships, but Markstrom, who’s enjoying a breakthrough season, is definitely on his radar. Henrik Lundqvist has traditionally been the Swedish goalie of choice in big international tournaments.
It’s conceivable the torch is being passed to Markstrom, who out-duelled the Leafs’ Freddie Andersen on Wednesday night.
“He’s taken a step here and he’s having a tremendous season,” Gronborg said of Markstrom.