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Vancouver Canucks: Flat Tire in Motor City; Feb. 4 Game Day vs. Boston

February 4, 2014, 12:15 PM ET [575 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Monday February 3: Detroit Red Wings 2 - Vancouver Canucks 0

The Vancouver Canucks did not get much of a lift from the return of either John Tortorella or Henrik Sedin. They were shut out 2-0 by Detroit on Monday night.

I'm not posting highlights of this game, because there weren't many at all. Like the Red Wings' visit to Vancouver back in October, much of the game was played in the neutral zone with limited chances for either team.

Based on Detroit's play against Vancouver, it appears they play stifling defense: they limited the Canucks to just three shots in the third period of what was a 1-0 game. But how does that explain their game in Washington just one day before? The Caps have had their issues as well, but scored six goals against Detroit on Sunday.

Eddie Lack was a bright spot, making some great saves in the late stages to give his team a chance to get back in the game. I can only put so much responsibility on a goalie when the team in front of him doesn't score at all, but Justin Abdelkader's game-winner early in the second period was no prize: Lacker should've had that one.

Henrik Sedin played over 21 minutes, but did not look right. He was 0-4 in the face-off circle and finished the night with only one missed shot to show for his efforts. I did notice him working hard to direct the power play, but once again they went 0-for-5 with the man advantage. The Canucks are now down to 29th in the league on the power play, with a conversion rate of just 13.6 percent.

Torts' postgame comments were brief, and brimming with frustration. Two weeks away from the team doesn't seem to have given him any ideas on how to fix this funk. Interesting that he gives props to David Booth—who had a high-energy game in his hometown, though he couldn't have fired his penalty-shot attempt any closer to the bullseye of Jimmy Howard's winged wheel.



Torts may have dropped the gauntlet when he suggested that "different people" could be needed to "change the complexion of our team." If that's not a message to Mike Gillis to keep working the phones, I don't know what is.

Diaz to Debut:

New acquisition Raphael Diaz didn't make it to Detroit in time to play on Monday night. Bad weather remains an issue on the east coast—Sportsnet play-by-play guy John Shorthouse didn't get to the game either. Considering Joey Kenward was thrown into duty with limited time for preparation, I thought he did a decent job. It would have been tough for anybody to make that game seem exciting; he might even have been grateful that there wasn't too much action to worry about.

Diaz should join the team for tonight's game in Boston. Yann Sauve was competent in his 12 minutes on Monday, but if Diaz contributes to his potential, he could provide a bit of an offensive spark on the back end.

Like Dale Weise, it seems that Diaz has been on the market for awhile. He got knocked out of the lineup with the flu in mid-January, but didn't draw back in when he got healthy after losing his spot to 21-year-old Nathan Beaulieu. Diaz missed nearly two months last season with a concussion; some Montrealers say he hasn't been the same player since he came back.

My expectations here aren't huge. With the holes in our banged-up defense, especially on the right side, Diaz is an inexpensive stop-gap solution right now. If he turns out to be anything more, it'll be a bonus.

Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins - Tuesday February 4 - 4:00 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, NESN

The road to the Olympic break won't get any easier for the Canucks when they visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Boston's sitting comfortably atop the Atlantic Division and has gone 7-2-1 in its last 10 games. The Canucks, in case you forgot, are 3-7-0 and tied with the Kings for the longest current losing streak in the league.

Emotions usually run high on the rare nights when the Canucks and Bruins cross paths, and there was plenty of fallout from Vancouver's 6-2 win over Boston at Rogers Arena in December. At this point, our club looks so shattered that I'm not sure they'll be able to find the intensity to make the sparks fly.

The Bruins haven't played since Saturday, so they're well-rested and have been answering questions about Vancouver for several days already. Even their fire seems to be faded a bit—Milan Lucic was complimentary towards Roberto Luongo!




Expect to see Luongo and Tuukka Rask in net tonight.

More player personnel moves on Vancouver's side, as centre Pascal Pelletier has been recalled from Utica. Who's the latest fallen soldier?




Higgins played right to the end of the game last night. His 18 minutes were right around his season average, so I'm not sure what's up there. Did anybody notice anything during Monday's game?

I'd also think there's a chance that Pelletier could be coming in to help sub for Brad Richardson. He didn't play Monday and is listed as "questionable" for tonight on the TSN website.

We'll likely have to wait till the pre-game warmup to get much more information on how the troops will be deployed tonight.

Quick Hit:

A little note of levity to finish off today. John Tortorella's "Don't Push Me" song is a pretty catchy little number:

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