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Vancouver Canucks Game 1: Same As It Ever Was |
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After the Vancouver Canucks' playoff sweep at the hands of the San Jose Sharks last spring, fans were promised big changes going forward.
On opening night, the team's playing style looked different but the end result was the same. The Sharks beat the Canucks for the 10th straight time, by a convincing 4-1 score.
Out of the gate, it looked like new coach John Tortorella had made the most of a week of practice. His coaching objectives weren't particularly apparent on the ice during the team's exhibition games, but Game 1 demonstrated the team's new commitment to collapsing in the defensive zone to protect the goaltender. Shots were also being blocked and Jason Garrison fired a cannon past Antti Niemi on the Canucks' first power play of the season—just like they drew it up.
The Canucks efficiently killed off two Sharks penalties in the first period—and yes, the Sedins took their turn in the PK rotation—while Roberto Luongo showed his best form, stopping everything he faced as his team was outshot 16-7.
Vancouver took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at the first intermission and Canucks fans saw a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Maybe it will be different this year!
Or maybe not.
The Sharks turned it up in the second period and the Canucks did their shot-blocking duty—for awhile. Unfortunately, the first puck that actually did reach Roberto Luongo got past him. Brent Burns tied the game at 5:53 of the second.
A defensive breakdown a couple of minutes later led to both Jason Garrison and Ryan Kesler taking penalties. The Canucks were stellar on the 5-on-3 kill, but that sequence may have destroyed the team's momentum for the rest of the game.
From that point forward, we saw a series of mistakes and missed opportunities. The Sharks, smelling blood, got stronger and the game looked more like what we saw last year between Vancouver and San Jose.
Before the end of the second period, Justin Braun scored his first goal in over a year when he floated a long snapshot past a screen and into the top corner. Luongo didn't see it till it was in the net. The Sharks led 2-1 after two.
The Canucks failed to muster much of an attack on two third-period power play opportunities. In fact, they had just five shots in the entire frame.
The Sharks finally drew their dagger at 14:37 when Logan Couture stripped the puck from Chris Higgins and got it to Patrick Marleau, who buried the clinching goal. Tommy Wingels tipped a puck past Luongo just a minute later to complete the scoring, and the Canucks head back to Vancouver wondering where they went wrong.
Quick Hits
- As a whole, the team looked adrenalized in the early going. Did they let down emotionally or show signs of fatigue as the game wore on?
- Yes, they blocked more shots than usual—22 in total. Chris Tanev led the way with five blocks, but that's nothing new for him. Remember, it was a block attempt that led to Tanev's season-ending injury last April. Alex Burrows was the only forward with more than one block—he had three.
- Roberto Luongo was good at times, but the new system clearly caused him some challenges. The goaltender and his defense are going to have to keep working at how they can protect him while still allowing him to see the puck.
- The Sedins were just fine on the penalty kill, ragging the puck and eating up valuable seconds. But was there really a reason to deploy them during the last two minutes, when the game was already out of reach?
- The defensive pairings changed as the game went on. Alex Edler ended up logging the most icetime of any Canuck, with 25:01, while newcomer Ryan Stanton played just 9:29. Both were minus-1 on the night. Ryan Kesler led the way for the forwards with 21:11 but was a minus-2.
- Only five Canucks didn't receive a minus rating for the night: Daniel and Henrik Sedin, David Booth (who was invisible in 12:19 of icetime) and fourth-liners Tom Sestito and Zac Dalpe, who each played just three minutes.
- Shot differential remains an issue. Vancouver was outshot in all three periods, with a 35-22 overall margin in favour of the Sharks. If the Canucks are going to score goals, they need to get pucks on net.
- Fiery John Tortorella seemed pretty placid in his debut behind the bench. After Patrick Roy defended his team's honour so aggressively in Denver on Wednesday night, I'd like to see our new coach find a way to demonstrate his commitment so visibly to his group.
What did you think? Was Game 1 something to build on, or can we expect more of the same from the Canucks this year?
Vancouver plays its first back-to-back this weekend, at home to Edmonton on Saturday, then at the Saddledome in Calgary on Sunday afternoon. I'll be back tomorrow with a preview of those matchups.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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