The Columbus Blue Jackets aren’t exactly the unstoppable behemoth that they were during their 16-game winning streak. Since the end of that streak, the Blue Jackets have been a thoroughly stoppable behemoth, with a 7-8-1 record in the 16 games heading into this game against the Canucks.
Still, the Blue Jackets are one of the best teams in the league, sitting fourth in the NHL in points and goal differential, while the Canucks have the third worst goal differential. The Blue Jackets have three players with 40+ points; the Canucks have none. The Blue Jackets have one of the best home records in the league, while the Canucks have just 8 wins in 26 road games.
So yeah, the Canucks looked like a bit of a longshot heading into this one.
But sometimes the little guy can stand up to the big guys and come through with a win. I saw the Canucks defeat the Blue Jackets by the same result as the federal court of appeals defeated Trump’s Muslim Ban when I watched this game.
- Not much happened in the first period, which is just the way the Canucks like it. Aside from a few stellar Miller saves, the highlight of the first period came after a whistle. When the puck went over the boards, Boone Jenner gave Nikita Tryamkin a late shove. Tryamkin responded by casually tossing Jenner down like a sack of potatoes, showcasing his muscle. Wait, muscle = meat. Meat and potatoes. Jim Benning is going to re-sign Tryamkin for $8 million, isn’t he…
- The Sedins started the game with a new winger: Markus Granlund, who got promoted to the top line last game after Sven Baertschi was “incidentally contacted” and suffered an incidental brain injury from having his brain incidentally sloshed around his skull. I might still be a little bitter about Cody McLeod avoiding supplemental discipline, not to mention fundamental discipline.
- Granlund is the Volkswagen Jetta of hockey players: largely featureless and bland, but for the most part competent. Everything about his game — his shot, skating, hands, vision — strike me as good, but not great. But he does tend to get to the front of the net. The Sedins looked at this Jetta of a man and said, “We can work with that.”
- The Canucks opened the scoring in the first minute of the second period off a great neutral zone play by Henrik, pushing Alexander Wennberg off the puck, then finding Daniel with a backhand pass. Defenceman Zach Werenski expected Wennberg to win that puck battle and was caught out of position as Granlund took the pass from Daniel, drove up the middle, and got a shot on goal. Seth Jones got caught puck-watching and failed to take Daniel’s stick on the rebound, and Daniel put it in the corner where nobody puts Baby.
- Reid Boucher finally got back into the lineup and was immediately noticeable, getting the Canucks best chance in the first period off a turnover, forcing some Bobrovski robbery. So, of course, he played all of two minutes in the second period and one minute in the third period. Come on, Willie, you’ve got to play him more or I’ll never get to call him The Mighty Boucher. Oh wait, I guess I just did. Never mind, then.
- With Baertschi out, Loui Eriksson finally made his way back to the first power play unit and immediately scored. It was the exact type of goal we envisioned Eriksson scoring with the Sedins: a tap-in after a great passing play from Henrik and Daniel. It was some old-school, long-distance-give-and-go, nasty Wizardous Sedinery and it gave me waves of nostalgia.
- Bo Horvat didn’t have his best game, but he had a great chance midway through the second period, undressing Ryan Murray with outside-inside move, but Bobrovsky got his glove on Horvat’s backhand to ensure the Canucks had the worst lead in hockey going into the third period: 2-0.
- Ryan Miller made his best save in the third period to keep the worst lead in hockey, denying the NHL’s fourth-leading goal scorer, Cam Atkinson, on a breakaway. His momentum on the save took him behind the goal line, but he managed to dive out and get his stick on Atkinson’s follow-up attempt. It was a stunning save, so it’s a good thing he made it. Failing a stunning save can really mess up an encounter.
- Columbus had a golden chance to get a goal back on a third period power play, but instead Brandon Saads tripped Luca Sbisa to prevent a shorthanded 2-on-1, because in this game Sbisa was a free-wheeling, offensive defenceman for some reason. Saad!
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The Canucks escaped the clutches of the worst lead in hockey by making it 3-0 right after Saad’s penalty ended. Troy Stecher sent Jayson Megna into the offensive zone with a gorgeous pass. Megna, with a step on his defender drove to the net and faked to his forehand, sliding Bobrovsky further right than the Tea Party sent the Republicans, then lifting a backhand into the net.
