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IWTG: Unlikely overtime hero Chris Tanev sends the Canucks to the playoffs

Canucks complete comeback to send Wild back to Minnesota in the qualifying round.
Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner
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graphic: Dan Toulgoet and Freepik

The 2019-20 Canucks are officially a playoff team.

That may seem confusing to some people that haven’t been closely following how the NHL has approached this pandemic-coterminous postseason. Weren’t the Canucks already in the playoffs in a series against the Minnesota Wild?

Well, no. But also yes, sort of. It’s complicated.

Technically, what the Canucks just won was a special best-of-5 qualifying round for the playoffs, but not itself a playoff round. Next round, they’ll face either the Dallas Stars or St. Louis Blues in the actual first round of the playoffs. 

At the same time, points scored in the qualifying round count as playoff points for individual scoring. That means that Chris Tanev officially scored a playoff overtime goal to win a non-playoff series. 

This bizarre postseason managed to take the unlikelihood of a Tanev overtime series-winning goal and make it even more unlikely. It’s a goal caught in quantum superposition: simultaneously a playoff series-winning goal and not a playoff series-winning goal. 

All of that, of course, is minutiae. What really matters for Canucks fans right now is one simple truth: the Canucks are going to the playoffs, where they’ll compete for the Stanley Cup. Are they likely to go all the way and win the first Cup in franchise history? Let’s face it, they’re still long shots and underdogs, but unlikelier things have happened.

For instance, I saw Chris Tanev score an overtime series-winning goal when I watched this game.

  • Tanev isn’t exactly known as a goal-scorer, but perhaps his overtime tally wasn’t quite as unlikely as it seemed. While the defensive stalwart doesn’t score often, he has a predilection for overtime winners. His first career NHL goal was an overtime winner, a perfectly-placed shot off a setup by both Sedins. Of his 23 career goals, five of them are overtime winners, 21.7% of his total. I can’t imagine any other NHLer has a higher percentage of their goals coming in overtime.
     
  • Before we get to Tanev’s shining moment, let’s take on the rest of the game, which got off to a rough start with yet another Tyler Myers penalty. The rangy defenceman got his penalty box loyalty card stamped repeatedly all series, finishing with a whopping 9 minor penalties in four games. One more and he gets a free Slurpee.
     
  • The Wild opened the scoring just ten seconds into the subsequent power play, with Luke Kunin jamming the puck past Jacob Markstrom when the Canucks goaltender couldn’t seal off the post with his pad. It was an uncharacteristic error for Markstrom, who looked shaky all game, giving up multiple ugly goals. Fatigue may be a factor, as he was playing his second game on back-to-backs and fourth game in six days.
     
  • One player for whom fatigue doesn’t seem to be a factor? Quinn Hughes. The rookie was dominant all series, but elevated his game even more in Game 4. He led the Canucks with over 27 minutes in ice time, tallied two points including his first NHL playoff goal, and was on the ice for all five Canucks goals in the game. Aside from a couple defensive miscues, he was the Canucks’ best player at the exact time they needed him to be.
     
  • “It means everything,” said Hughes about being entrusted with so many minutes in a crucial game. “I take a lot of pride in that, for sure, but I think Chris [Tanev], Eddie [Alex Edler], Mysie [Tyler Myers], I think us four played really well tonight and ate a lot of minutes. I think it’s a really good top-four.”
     
  • The goal and assist will get the attention, but my favourite play from Hughes was this zone exit from the first period. It looked like he was pinned against the end boards or was at least contained by the forecheckers, but he broke free with ease, then burst out of the Canucks’ zone, flew through the neutral zone, and gained the Wild blue line like it was nothing. He makes it look so easy, but it isn’t.
  • Tanev finished off the offence for the Canucks, but he also got it started, assisting on the Canucks’ first goal. He whipped a breakout pass to centre, where Bo Horvat tipped it through for Tanner Pearson on the left wing. Pearson picked up the puck, disabled the hyperdrive failsafes, and pulled off the Holdo Maneuver, blasting the puck through hyperspace right through Alex Stalock.
     
  • The Wild responded quicker than a guy who just got a text from his crush, as Eric Staal picked a corner over Markstrom’s shoulder from a tight angle to make it 2-1. Like Downton Abbey, there was too much room upstairs, as Markstrom, crouched low in his reverse-VH, couldn’t seal off the top of the net.
     
  • Olli Juolevi made his NHL debut in this game, a surprise addition to the lineup with Oscar Fantenberg a late scratch after taking the warmup. While he had only 6:16 in ice time, he looked surprisingly comfortable and confident, moving the puck effectively whenever he had the chance, and the Wild didn’t get a single shot on goal when he was on the ice. His best moment was this subtle fake at the point before sending the puck across to Elias Pettersson.
  • After Joel Eriksson Ek made it 3-1 on a rebound off a tipped point shot, the Canucks needed a quick response to turn the tide. They got it from an unlikely combination: Quinn Hughes and Brandon Sutter. Hughes made a slick turn in the offensive zone to create some space, then got a quick shot on net through traffic. The puck popped up into the air and landed behind Stalock, where Sutter jammed it home like The Allman Brothers Band on the last leg of a tour.
     
  • The moves on the assist were nice, but Hughes had something even better saved for the power play a minute later. He corralled a pass from J.T. Miller, then sent a laser of a shot off the post and in with an incredibly-satisfying “ping” sound that echoed throughout the empty arena. Stalock had no chance to even see the shot, as Brock Boeser took advantage of his opaqueness to set a perfect screen.
     
  • Before the end of the second period, however, the Wild regained the lead, scoring a deflating goal from an awful angle in the final minute. Markstrom was quick to take responsibility for his shaky play, saying after the game, “I want to thank all the players for scoring one more goal than I Iet in.”
     
  • It was a close call, however. The Wild are known for their sound defensive structure and didn’t give the Canucks much in the third, except for one major exception: with six minutes left, Tanner Pearson got to a puck on the endboards and protected it from Jared Spurgeon, then found Bo Horvat wide open in front of the net — Kevin Fiala got caught puck-watching and drifted away from Horvat in the most dangerous area of the ice. That one defensive blunder cost Minnesota the game.
  • Horvat had a superb game, playing primarily against the Wild’s top line of Kevin Fiala, Eric Staal, and Marcus Foligno and winning the battle. He had three points, including the tying goal, and was a force in the faceoff circle, going 10-for-16, including 6-for-7 in the defensive zone. It was a defining game for the young Canucks captain.
     
  • Overtime lasted just 11 seconds. Nico Sturm, who scored the 4-3 goal, made a weak clearing attempt that Chris Tanev collected and pulled into the middle. His point shot whistled towards the net just as J.T. Miller and Matt Dumba skated through Stalock’s eyeline and the goaltender didn’t pick up the puck until it was far too late.
     
  • The Canucks bench erupted in excitement and poured onto the ice to celebrate with Tanev, whose gap-toothed grin said it all. Tanev is one of just two Canucks remaining from the last time the Canucks won a playoff series, way back in 2011, and he’s been a warrior for the team for nearly a decade.
  • Tanev, clearly not used to being the centre of attention when it comes to post-game media, had the line of the night when asked how the team will celebrate within the quarantined bubble in Edmonton: “I'm sure we can think of a few things after we get undressed.”
     
  • Appropriately, Tanev’s goal song back when the Canucks had individualized goal songs in the arena, was “Hot in Herre” by Nelly. So take off all your clothes, the Canucks are going to the playoffs.