Tuesday marked the first night of Vancouver’s lethal new defensive combinations. Alex Edler was confirmed to be out for at least 4-6 weeks, and Chris Tanev wasn't yet ready to return. That left them with Luca Sbisa and Erik Gudbranson as their most experienced defenders. And that, as it turned out, would be a problem.
Fortunately, the Minnesota Wild brought balance to the Force by playing their backup goaltender, Darcy Kuemper. Vancouver was able to score five goals for just the third time this season. But still, this matchup was anything but smooth sailing. On a night when all scoring lines were clicking, when Vancouver had all the momentum in the world, when the Canucks had just scored four unanswered goals to take the lead, what could possibly have gone wrong? (If you didn’t just hear dramatic build-up music play in your head, I’m not doing my job right.)
I watched Erik Gudbranson cause dramatic build-up music while I watched this game.
- Just five minutes into the game, Nino Niederreiter caught Luca Sbisa standing still at the blue line as he tried to stick down a pass. He missed, and Jason Pominville was in the right place at the right time, with the right puck, against the right defender. But did he have the right stuff? Yup, he had it. By the time Pominville had popped in Niederreiter’s rebound, two other Minnesota forecheckers were right in front of the crease. It’s almost like that’s how you score lots of goals or something.
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Bait-and-switch blues: shortly after Pominville’s goal, Brandon Sutter carried the puck over the line, then handed it to Ben Hutton who dished a quick shot on net, leaving a fat rebound for Henrik Sedin to pop up and over Darcy Kuemper. Bruce Boudreau issued a coach's challenge, citing goaltender interference by Sutter. As any responsible internet user knows, you have to check those citations. So the NHL Snopes’d the goal and decided that, despite there being no definitive evidence of contact or interference, Vancouver’s first tally was a myth.
For a league trying to find ways to increase scoring, overturning goals on marginal calls like that makes about as much sense as a waterproof towel. - Early in the second period, Jason Pominville made like a high school bully, snapping Vancouver’s glasses and kicking dust in their face for good measure. Erik Haula sent him a crisp pass after a rush into Vancouver’s zone, which Pominville lasered into the net. Ryan Miller wasn’t happy. He had a clear view and it wasn’t a fast play, so he probably should’ve made the stop. But then I probably should have saved my money instead of buying those moon shoes, so I can hardly judge. Things don’t always go the way they probably should.
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Troy Stecher is the saddest penalty taker ever. Look at this photo. He had just been called for a high stick. How could anyone be mad at that face? Heck, here, have a present.
@passittobulis Here he is. Poor fella. I'm not mad anymore. Have a biscuit. pic.twitter.com/o1iomTIZEG
— Pass it to Bulis (@passittobulis) November 30, 2016 -
Halfway through the second period, Mathew “One Irksome T” Dumba took an interference penalty, putting the Canucks on their first power play. In the late stretches, Brandon Sutter carried the puck across the line and fed it to Henrik, who sent it to Daniel, then back to Henrik, in patented “Hypno-Sedin” fashion.
With their opponents now fully under Sedin mind control, Henrik sent the puck to a waiting Troy Stecher at the blue line, who knew that the puck, unlike Gerard Gallant, deserved to get fired. It was tipped five-hole by Brandon Sutter and into the net past Kuemper. - Mere moments later, Sven Baertschi drew a penalty, and Ben Hutton knotted the score. Man, let me tell you about this goal! You know those stunners that Connor McDavid regularly scores on the rush? The ones where he beats defenders, cuts in on net and roofs the puck over a frozen goaltender? Yeah, this goal was nothing like that. But it was a goal that existed, and as Cyndi Lauper says, if that’s good enough for you, Ben, then that’s good enough for me. Hutton dug free a loose puck that Kuemper couldn’t cover up and flipped home his third marker of the season to tie the game.
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Less than two minutes into the third period, the other other Canucks scoring line decided to hit the score sheet. A group effort by the line of Michael Chaput, Markus Granlund and Loui Eriksson left Kuemper dazed and confused and Eriksson was able to pop one past him for the Canucks first lead of the period. Chaput looked pretty good on the line, forming unexpected chemistry with Granlund and Eriksson and contributing to several scoring opportunities.
As for Eriksson, he’s had an impressive month. I don’t want this to be my last opportunity to make Movember puns, so I mustache Loui to keep his face furniture, it looks fan-tache-tic on him, and he clearly scores mo goals with it in place. - Seconds later, Luca Sbisa atoned for his first-period gaffe, wristing a hard shot on net which was tipped in. There is conflicting information about who actually tipped it, and after several replays I can’t quite tell whether it was Bo Horvat or Sven Baertschi who should get the credit, so I’ll opt for journalistic vagueness on this bullet point. Ahem. That one popular Vancouver player (you know the one) put the Canucks up 4-2, and increased their season point total to either 11 or 16 points.
- Don’t let those endorphins overwhelm your senses just yet. One minute later, Erik Gudbranson inexplicably shot a puck right into Jason Zucker, who was immediately sprung on a breakaway, deked, and scored against the flow of the game, robbing Vancouver of all that momentum. I wish I could say Gudbranson was just Zuckered on that play, but it was a dumb move, plain and simple. It was really Badbranson, and this deflating goal definitely made everyone in Rogers Arena Madbranson.
- In case Vancouver fans needed further reminding that they’re missing two top defencemen, Minnesota jogged their memory, humiliating-comeback-style. Ryan Suter spoiled the party late in the third, blasting a puck which deflected off of Gudbranson’s skate and past Miller to tie the game at four goals apiece.
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With just two-and-a-half minutes to play, Stecher fired a shot on goal that Sven Baertschi redirected at a sharp angle from at least twenty feet out. The tricky shot beat Kuemper and Vancouver retook the lead, for keeps this time.
It was a strange final marker to a fast-paced game. To quote the peerless Daniel Wagner, “That was the weirdest bank job since the Beagle Boys stole Scrooge McDuck’s entire vault.” Well said, sir. Strange or not, it was Baertschi’s hottest tip since a friend convinced him to sell all his Lehman Brothers stock in late 2007.
Stecher deserves lots of credit. He had a great game with two primary assists, a breakaway, a scoring chance, and at least two partridges in a pear tree. - Minnesota registered 40 shots on net, making like diners at Bland & Sons Steakhouse and peppering like crazy. Fortunately, Ryan Miller relived his college frat days at Michigan State University and managed to remain steady in the face of a heavy shot count. Miller may want a few of those goals back, but he held the line when it counted late in the third period.
- The Granlund parents were in attendance to watch brothers Markus and Mikael face off. Markus had a pretty good game, though he took a penalty in the third period with Vancouver leading by just one goal. His folks weren’t mad about it, just disappointed.
- I’m not used to seeing a fast, dynamic Minnesota hockey team. Games against the Wild were once akin to watching a group of sloths swim across the La Brea tar pits. Bruce Boudreau has clearly made his mark.
- Your Sedin renaissance report: Henrik and Daniel Sedin regained their passing magic Tuesday night, and those totals could’ve been even higher if Henrik’s first period goal had not been disallowed. Perhaps they’d finally gotten wind of office rumours that Bo Horvat was gunning for their first line job. They promptly filed all their TPS reports and sent Bo a memo to cool it or they’d knock him back to middle management.
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Your rookie debut of the game: Making his first NHL start for the Wild tonight, Lastname had a fantastic showing, scoring two goals and registering six shots. Not bad for a guy who's yet to make a name for himself.
