Canucks struck hard by streaking Stars
These Stars are not those Stars.
The confounding club that came within a victory of advancing to the Western Conference final last spring — and then added Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry to get over that post-season hump — was immersed in an indifferent 1-7-1 funk to start this NHL season before going on an impressive 8-1-1 run.
And amid the annual navel-gazing in Dallas, which once again included calling out Jamie Benn (one goal) and Tyler Seguin (three goals) for snail-like starts, the club has reverted to form of frustrating the opposition defensively and being opportunistic offensively.
That’s what teams hoping to play in June do in November.
“They don’t give up a lot,” said Canucks coach Travis Green. “You have to work for everything you get. With some teams, you just know it’s going to be a working night.”
Here’s what we learned as the Canucks dug a two-goal hole in the opening 25 minutes. They then drew even before Seguin snapped the draw in the third period and Alexander Radulov added the insurance marker as the Stars claimed a 4-2 win Thursday at Rogers Arena:
NO POP IN POWER PLAY
There’s so much potential in the power play to be a consistent threat, that other teams are taking away tendencies. When Elias Pettersson went to the wall as a multi-dimensional weapon on the first unit, he was closely marked. When Brock Boeser got to his sweet shooting spot, he had company. And getting pucks through shot-blockers was even harder and it all reflected on what the Canucks are going to see on a more regular basis against better clubs.
They went 0-for-3 with the man advantage and had just four shots. This came after going 3-for-3 against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and had a lot to do with the second unit getting more than just mop-up looks against the Stars.
“Teams are dialing in on those young guys,” said Green. “They’re not going to get any easy nights. That’s something they’ll learn as they go and they have to be dialed in. We’ve had power plays where we were ready but not sharp and caught them by surprise, just the way that they caught some teams by surprise. There are harder adjustments that have to be made and it will take time. We’re going to see some really good things out of that (first) group and there are going to be nights where they struggle.”
CENTRE OF ATTENTION
There was obvious concern with centres Brandon Sutter (groin strain) and Jay Beagle (lower body) sidelined because it was going to make it harder for younger pivots like Pettersson and Adam Gaudette to handle matchups. It’s why J.T. Miller was shifted to Gaudette’s line with Sven Baertschi to provide faceoff options and bring the trio some stiffness in the offensive zone. However, Gaudette didn’t look like he needed much help. He had a first-period sequence in which he was strong on the puck, spun in the slot to get a shot away and then went to his knees to battle for a loose puck at the top of the crease.
BENN THERE, DONE THAT
Jordie Benn was jacked to face his brother.
The Canucks defenceman obviously wanted to make an impression before family and friends who packed a ferry from Victoria to take in the sibling showdown. And he didn’t wait long.
After launching Nick Camaano into the sideboards in the opening three minutes, he had to answer to Denis Gurianov and scored a fight decision. He then drew an assist on Stecher’s goal to make it 2-2.