There was a lot of hype heading into this game about Jake Virtanen playing on the top line with the Sedins. There was so much hype, in fact, that it took until puck drop for me to realize that he would be playing with the Sedins. Plural.
Yes, Henrik Sedin was back in the lineup for this game, even if it was clear that he’s half the man he used to be and really should take time with a wounded hand because it likes to heal.
This I feel as the dawn, it fades to grey when I watched this game.
- Half a minute into his first shift with the Sedins, Virtanen abruptly ended his shift with a boarding minor and a fight. I’d complain about it being pointless, but he hit the Predators’ second leading scorer, Mike Ribeiro, and fought their leading scorer, Filip Forsberg. Fans and his teammates may credit Virtanen for pumping up the Canucks, but taking Forsberg off the ice for 5 minutes probably had more to do with the Canucks’ strong start than the primal blood rush of witnessing punches.
- The Canucks were so good in the first period that they managed to convince fans they were just as good in the second and third period. No, this was not the best game the Canucks have played this season, but that first 20 minutes felt like a full 60 minute effort. Heck, it took over 15 minutes for the Predators to even get two shots. It was beautiful.
- That’s not to say the Canucks were bad in the second and third period. They just weren’t as good as in the first and relied on some brilliant goaltending by Ryan Miller to hold the lead. I could have sworn his diving stop on Craig Smith in the second period was as good as Miller could possibly be, but then he made a toe stop on James Neal in the third period that out-did it in every way. Those were both candidates for save of the season and are, frankly, better candidates for President than any of the frontrunners in the Republican party.
- Oh dang, edgy political humour in a hockey blog, this is cutting edge internetting, folks.
- Sven Baertschi got a lot of attention for out-battling Shea Weber to open the scoring, but I’m more interested in how Ben Hutton had so much room at the top of the offensive zone to shoot the puck. There wasn’t a Predator within 30 feet of him when he took his one-timer that caromed off the boards to Baertschi. It was the worst coverage since the Washington Post on Bernie Sanders.
- And I’m done. That’s all the politics I can muster.
- Derek Dorsett put the Canucks up by two, finishing off a fantastic crystal ball pass from Bo Horvat. It was a crystal ball pass because it gave fans a glimpse of the future. Only a glimpse, because it was to Dorsett, who is a big reminder of the present.
- Radim Vrbata looked eminently tradable in this game, winning puck battles and creating space, ultimately finishing with two assists and four shots on goal. His line with Markus Granlund and Sven Baertschi was dominant at times, though I’m still not entirely sure what Granlund does or is good at. If the Canucks are Girl Guide Cookies, he’s the Cranberry Citrus Crisps.
- Most of the Canucks played pretty well in this game. Matt Bartkowski was a trainwreck. The Canucks got out-shot 12-2 when he was on the ice. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nikita Tryamkin takes his spot in the lineu...who am I kidding, it’ll definitely be Yannick Weber coming out.
- The Predators scored their first goal when Bartkowski and Luca Sbisa were on the ice together, WHICH MUST NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. Sbisa gave the puck away, leading to a long shift in the defensive zone and Bartkowski failed to check Mike Fisher’s stick in front of the net, which is basically the platonic form of each of them.
- The Canucks replied back immediately, as Weber rushed up the right wing, threw the puck towards the goal hoping for a rebound, while Bo Horvat rushed up the middle, also hoping for a rebound. Unlike Barack Obama, Pekka Rinne delivered on that hope, sending a rebound off Horvat’s shin and into the net.
- Okay, that was the last terrible political joke, I promise.
- Virtanen’s time on the top line was a mixed bag: he had some good moments on the forecheck and backcheck, but didn’t do much in-between. The Canucks were out-shot 7-2 with Virtanen on the ice and one of those shots went in, as he got lazy on one backcheck, expecting either Daniel Sedin or Alex Biega to cover his man. Instead, his man scored. If you’re a wingman, that’s a good thing; if you’re a winger, not so good.
- Finally, Alex Burrows had a big game, picking up two assists and laying his body on the line in the final minutes to block a Shea Weber slapshot. For those who think he’s overpaid, you’d have to pay me $4.5 million to block just one Shea Weber slapshot. Burrow does other stuff too. If anything, he’s underpaid.
