Saturday February 6 - Calgary Flames 4 - Vancouver Canucks 1
So, who ya got in today's big game?
I'm not really a football fan, but I think I'd rather talk Super Bowl than get into what happened at last night's Canucks game. That loss to Calgary might be enough to put the playoffs out of reach.
Burrows said #Canucks need to go 21-9 rest of the way to make playoffs. Need a major run but haven't won more than two in a row all year.
A brief highlight package has returned to Canucks.com as the transition to the NHL's new website continues, but this more complete version comes from the YouTube channel:
There actually were a few positive takeaways on Saturday night. In his return from injury, Dan Hamhuis played a great game, with three shots on goal, a block and a takeaway in 18:51 of ice time. He was as dangerous offensively as he has been in probably two seasons and looked very much like a guy who wanted to single-handedly ensure that he's not going to be asked to waive his no-trade clause.
Henrik Sedin also looked a little more like his usual self than he did on Thursday against Columbus. For me, his faceoff stats are usually a pretty good indicator of whether he's playing hurt. On Saturday, he was a solid 5-5 when I checked at one point during the game, though he finished the night 7-11 for 39 percent. That was still better than Brandon Sutter (30 percent) and Bo Horvat (22 perecent). Linden Vey won the night, if you can call it that, at 42 percent.
Henrik did manage to fire three shots on goal and his line, altogether, had nine shots. Much better than Thursday.
Alex Edler played his second good game in a row with 10 shot attempts and another one of his patented goal-line saves after the puck got through Ryan Miller. He also led the Canucks with four hits and was taking the extra shot every chance he got, especially on Calgary's talented youngsters Sam Bennett and Johnny Gaudreau.
On Saturday afternoon, I saw quite a few couples wandering around downtown in their hockey gear—typically, one person in a Flames jersey and the other in Canucks garb. This was hours before puck drop, which made me think that quite a few folks had taken advantage of the Family Day long weekend to come in from out of town to see a game that promised to be packed with emotion after last spring's hard-fought playoff series.
That vibe was alive in the first period as Micheal Ferland started taking the body, especially against the Sedins. I saw Henrik do a quick spin to get out of the way of the incoming train, but he connected with Daniel.
Luca Sbisa stepped up the next time the twins and Ferland were on the ice—reluctant, I think, to do much punching after all the hand injuries he has endured this year but still wanting to push back against Ferland—something that didn't happen enough in last year's playoffs.
Sbisa may not have won the fight, but Ferland did settle down after that. It also drained a good amount of the emotion out of the game, which became much more perfunctory the rest of the way.
So—even though the Canucks played what was, in many ways, a pretty good game, they were never in it, even though the Flames had come into Saturday's game as one of six teams tied for last place in the league with 47 points.
Now healthy and rested, the Canucks have had their hands full this week against two bottom-feeders, Calgary and Columbus. Remember how throughly they were outplayed by No. 1 Washington on their last road trip before the All-Star break? I'm afraid we're going to see more similar beatdowns when the Canucks face contenders during these last two months of the season.
With just one point in their last four games, the Canucks are now starting to slide down the standings.
The Canucks are equidistant from the last playoff spot and first draft pick. Hmmm.
That distance is five points. This morning, they're 24th overall—though still the best Canadian team in the Western Conference...for now.
The three California teams now occupy the three playoff spots in the Pacific. This week's Canucks haven't shown anything to make me think they can get on another hot streak—and they'd need to leapfrog Arizona *and* knock out either San Jose or Anaheim if they wanted to claim a berth.
If they're going to turn their season around, it has to happen next week, when they play three games that should be winnable—against the inconsistent Colorado Avalanche, the slumping Coyotes and...well...the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Canucks are off today. They'll practice Monday morning at Rogers Arena before hopping on their flight to Denver.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»