In the final game of the preseason, fans finally got to see what was essentially the Vancouver Canucks’ opening night lineup face what was essentially the opening night lineup for another NHL team.
And it looked pretty good. The Canucks took a two-goal lead in the second period against the Calgary Flames and then, miracle of miracles, held the lead with some smothering, structured defence. In the end, the Canucks out-shot the Flames 31-to-18 and out-scored them 3-to-1 to finish off the preseason on a positive.
“I think it makes guys relax a little bit,” said head coach Rick Tocchet about the win. “We’re not ordering the rings or anything because we won a preseason game but I will say that we liked our effort.”
As much as it’s nice to end the preseason on a win, it’s ultimately meaningless if the confidence the Canucks gain from it doesn’t roll over into the regular season. The Canucks can’t afford the same lousy start that they had last season, when they dropped their first seven games and dug a hole from which they’d never fully emerge.
But that’s a worry for next week. For now, Canucks fans can feel good about beating the Flames because it’s always nice to beat the Flames, even in the preseason.
While trying not to look ahead to when these games will finally matter, I watched this game.
- Like Lan and Moiraine in the season two finale of Wheel of Time, the Canucks came flying out of the gate. Phil Di Giuseppe gained the blue line and held off a check to get the puck to J.T. Miller, who bumped the puck out to Tyler Myers. With Brock Boeser screening in front, Myers’ shot found its way past Jacob Markstrom to open the scoring.
- The Flames responded later in the first after Noah Juulsen and Carson Soucy failed to connect on a routine pass behind the net. Chaos ensued after the turnover, as the Canucks chased the puck like greyhounds after a rabbit, heedless of what was happening around them. A missed shot caromed off the boards to Jonathan Huberdeau, who couldn’t shove it in, but Nazem Kadri followed up to tie the game 1-1.
- Elias Pettersson looks ready for the season to start, not just with his slick offensive plays but with his savvy defensive plays. He had one sequence on the penalty kill where he perfectly read a pass into the slot and broke up the chance with a stick lift, then aggressively pressured the point and took away the shooting lane to block a shot. Pettersson is dialed in.
- The Canucks took a 2-1 lead after Quinn Hughes created a zone exit ex nihilo, bursting from below his own goal line to jump up the ice and send Teddy Blueger in alone on Markstrom. Blueger made a lovely move to his backhand to tuck the puck five-hole. Blueger should try out for Ru Paul’s Drag Race with a tuck that nice.
- There was no time to celebrate the goal because Jack Studnicka got shoved headfirst into the crossbar by Dryden Hunt, leading to a scrum and a Canucks power play. With a dirty play like that, Dryden really ought to change his name to Mike.
- Results don’t matter in the preseason but one result from this game definitely did: the end result of Carson Soucy getting his leg trapped under Yegor Sharangovich. Soucy twisted his knee awkwardly and left the game, which could have some major repercussions for the Canucks defence corps if he’s out to start the season.
- One of those repercussions might be that the burgeoning chemistry between Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek that we saw in this game might not get a chance to play out to start the regular season. If Soucy is out of the lineup, the Canucks might not be able to afford having Hughes and Hronek on the same pairing.
- The come-up continues for Phil Di Giuseppe, who had his second multi-point game of the preseason after his lovely flipped finish on the 3-1 goal. Pettersson made a great play to hold the blue line and fed Boeser, who deflected the puck to Di Giuseppe with his skate. The bearded Italian treated the puck like a spicy meatball and ate.
- “How did I see it?” said Di Giuseppe when asked to break down the play. “I saw it went in.”
- The trio of Boeser, Miller, and Di Giuseppe seems to have some legitimate chemistry, to the point that maybe Di Giuseppe really can be a top-six winger. He knows his role as a forechecker and wall-worker — call him a construction worker like his father — but he has enough skill to make some plays too.
- “They’re good players and they’re easy to read off of and I like to think I am too,” said Di Giuseppe, who was named the game’s first star. “We just try to make the game easy for each other. Hopefully, we can keep it up.”
- While he only faced 18 shots on goal, Thatcher Demko was very good when called upon. He made his best save of the game midway through the third, lunging across with his right pad to rob Nazem Kadri and keep the Canucks ahead by two. It helped that the skaters in front of him played with so much of that vaunted structure we’ve been hearing about, particularly on the penalty kill.
- “I think we have a good penalty kill system in place where everything’s really predictable,” said Demko. “I think that’s so important for obviously myself but everyone on the rink. When we all know what we’re doing, it’s a lot easier to play. I kinda get to be able to predict what my looks might be and obviously that helps.”
- Okay, enough preseason. Bring on the regular season. I’m ready. Hopefully, the Canucks are too.
