*Sung to the tune of the DuckTales theme song*
Out went Matthew Murray
In came Högberg
Sens had six whole power plays
It's a Hög-blur
Nate Schmidt scored early
His smile is pearly
NuckTales! Whoo-oo!
Every night they’re out they’re making NuckTales! Whoo-oo!
Braden Holtby’s back to stopping puck tales!
B-B-B-Boeser has a mind to
Put a wristshot right behind you
Hold onto your seat, you’re watching
NuckTales! Whoo-oo!
Erik Brannstrom fought with Hawryluk tales! Whoo-oo!
Tanner Pearson came through in the clutch tales! Whoo-oo!
Not brony tales or Keenan tales, no
NuckTales! Whoo-oo!
UPDATE: I was challenged to actually sing these lyrics and I rarely back down from a challenge. Well, actually, I back down from challenges all the time, but I didn't back down from this one. Enjoy.
Yes, I spent far too much time writing these parody lyrics (with an assist by Lachlan Irvine) entirely because Marcus Högberg’s last name sounds like an alternate universe Duckburg inhabited by anthropomorphic porcine people instead of waterfowl. I had no choice after I watched this game.
- This was an odd game. The Canucks were nursing a one-goal lead for most of the game, which has had the tendency to blow up in their faces, especially after the Canucks blew a chance to extend the lead on a two-minute 5-on-3 power play. Sure enough, the Senators tied the game on a bit of a lucky goal and it looked like the game was about to slip away, only for the $3.25 million man, Tanner Pearson, to come through with a clutch goal, his third in his last three games.
- Braden Holtby was again locked in, making 26 saves on 28 shots. He has a .935 save percentage in his three starts since the Canucks returned to play, night and day from his .894 save percentage before their COVID-19 outbreak. It’s a small sample size but it really does feel like he’s settled in and had time to fully absorb the changes asked of him by goaltending coach Ian Clark.
- Earlier in the season, Holtby talked about trying to do too much and failing to keep a tight stance and that no longer seems to be an issue. Instead, he’s reading the play well, getting set early, and reacting to shots from a more stable base, which means fewer pucks sneaking through a hole in his stance. Like “rest stop ahead” when you’ve had three cups of coffee on a road trip, it’s an encouraging sign.
- At the other end of the ice, Matt Murray has settled his game down as well. He had an .880 save percentage prior to an injury in March. Since returning, he has a .954 save percentage, including Thursday’s shutout against the Canucks. Perhaps it was the time away from the rink that helped him get rest or a change in goaltending coach prior to his return, but he’s looking a lot more like the goaltender the Senators were hoping for when they gave him a four-year deal worth $6.25 million per year.
- Perhaps that’s why J.T. Miller tried to get in Murray’s head early. Literally, he gave him a pretty good chuck on the chin when battling for space in front of the net and he was luckier than Brock Boeser not to get a penalty for it.
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- Nate Schmidt opened the scoring after a strong forecheck by Miller and a dreadful giveaway by Colin White. His attempted pass missed the mark and went wobbling out to Schmidt, who stepped into the puck like it was Jessie Ware’s life, blasting it past a hapless Murray.
- The lead didn’t last long. Jake Virtanen set a screen in front of Holtby instead of taking his man, who happened to be White. The Senators centre made up for his earlier gaffe by shoveling home the loose puck after it hit Virtanen, tying the game 1-1.
- Murray left the game in the second period. Virtanen set a screen in front of the right goaltender this time and, as he pursued a rebound, he got tangled up with Murray’s right arm. Murray got called for tripping Virtanen but got the worst of it, seeming to stretch something the wrong way, causing a lower-body injury. It was a tough break for Murray, who, as mentioned, has been excellent lately.
- Murray wasn’t even supposed to start this game, but his backup, Anton Forsberg, got injured during warm-up. That meant the backup to the backup, Marcus Högberg, had to come into the game.
- “Usually the situation is, the game is a three-goal difference or something when someone's getting pulled,” said Holtby about Högberg, “but he came in right in the middle of a tight game and he did an awesome job. All the credit to him, that's one where you can be proud of yourself after, that he battled through that and had success. Obviously, we'll take the win, but it was good on him.”
- The Senators had no other goaltenders available, so veteran centre Artem Anisimov donned goalie gear and was waiting in the wings just in case Högberg had to leave the game. Anisimov is on the Senators taxi squad and, with no emergency backup goaltenders available due to the NHL’s COVID protocol, nearly had to enter the game when Högberg was run over by his own defenceman, Nikita Zaitsev, while making his first save of the game.
- “We had Arty dressed and ready to go,” said Senators head coach DJ Smith. “We didn’t have anyone left.”
- The Canucks took advantage of the cold goaltender, scoring on their second shot on Högberg. To make it even more unfair, the shot came off the stick of Brock Boeser with Tanner Pearson setting a perfect screen in front on the power play. Like Barry at the end of the first episode of his eponymous TV show, Boeser was given way too much time by the killers.
- After taking the 2-1 lead, the Canucks got into penalty trouble, including a penalty shot from a Tyler Myers slash that Holtby casually turned aside. The Canucks gave the Senators six power plays — dangerous, after they lost their last game because of two power play goals — which meant the newly-returned Tyler Motte played a ton, with a team-leading 7:15 on the penalty kill alone.
- “It's nice to have Motter back, he's such a reliable player,” said Travis Green. “He just does all the little details, he does the hard plays, he's a fast skater. He's a guy you can really rely on in hard places, we use them at the end of the game with an empty net against us, obviously plays big penalty killing minutes, and he's got an offensive knack, he's got good hands too.”
- Motte took longer to return from COVID-19 than his teammates, as he faced some pretty serious symptoms. “I had a few more lingering effects cognitively than maybe some others. When it comes to anything with your head, you’ve got to be a bit more cautious at times,” said Motte after the morning skate. “I was basically suffering from concussion-like symptoms for quite a bit there, even after my other COVID symptoms had subsided.”
- The Canucks had a golden opportunity to take a two-goal lead on a two-man advantage for a full two minutes. Boeser came close, ripping a wrist shot off the post, but the Canucks ultimately got just one shot on goal for the entire two-minute 5-on-3. Who knew how badly NHL players need fans yelling, “Shoot!” in the arena?
- Shortly after, the Senators tied the game off the rush. Evgeni Dadanov’s stick hit Tyler Myers’ stick as he shot, causing the puck to flutter unexpectedly off his blade and up over Holtby’s shoulder, where he got a piece of the puck with his glove but not enough.
- Fortunately for the Canucks, Tanner Pearson has been feeling it since getting back from his injury. He and his linemates took advantage of bad Senators line change to move in 3-on-2, giving Pearson acres of room as the trailer. He kept moving to keep Högberg from ever getting set, then whipped a shot past his blocker.
- To seal the deal, Motte got in on the forecheck and stole the puck from Drake Batherson with the Senators net empty. His shot went wide but Horvat retrieved the puck and sent it back down low to Motte, who found Miller open in front for the easy tap-in. It’s hard not to feel good for Motte getting a point after what he went through.
