Wednesday February 27 - Colorado Avalanche 3 - Vancouver Canucks 2 (S/O)
I kind of wish for the old Northwest Division days, when the Vancouver Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche would play each other six or seven times a year.
All three games between these two teams this year were tasty treats, even if the Canucks did go down in Denver in the sixth round of the shootout on Wednesday.
Here are your highlights:
It was a heckuva game for Jacob Markstrom, especially when he was under siege in the first period. With their confidence on high once again, the Avs outshot Vancouver 17-8 in the opening frame and 45-32 in the game, and their big boys got both goals in regulation—a howitzer from Nathan MacKinnon for his 33rd of the year, and Mikko Rantanen's 26th on the power play after a too-casual clearing attempt from Markus Granlund.
The Canucks were lucky to escape that opening frame down by just one goal, thanks to another Alex Biega point shot that snuck through—this time, tipped by Antoine Roussel in front of the net to evade the detection of a dialled-in Semyon Varlamov.
The game settled down somewhat after the frantic first, turning into a goaltenders' duel. But Josh Leivo played the hero with 3:02 left in regulation, forcing overtime by converting a passing play after a won draw by Bo Horvat in the offensive zone.
Ryan Spooner drew the primary assist on the play—his second point in as many games.
In his first game in a Vancouver uniform, Tanner Pearson had a solid performance with four shot attempts, two hits and a takeaway in 14:31 of ice time. Not acting like a timid new guy at all, he dove right in. I liked his intensity—he brought plenty of emotion and wasn't afraid to mix it up in the corners.
If he can keep that up, he could be a real asset. The Canucks still have a tendency to play passively and let the opposition dictate the tone.
Also—was Pearson deprived of an overtime game-winner? There was a long delay and a call from the Situation Room in Toronto after Pearson got the puck past Varlamov and over the goal line but in the end, the call on the ice stood as no goal. Whistle blew? Kicked in? Contact with the goalie? Take your pick, but there's no denying that Pearson drove hard to the net—another characteristic that's generally lacking on the Canucks.
Nikolay Goldobin was held off the scoresheet but had another good game, tied with Horvat and Leivo for the team high with five shots on goal and with 19:38 of ice time—including 4:41 on the power play, three shifts in overtime and a chance in the shootout.
In the end, Brock Boeser was the only Canuck who was able to beat the wily Varlamov, who was showing the shooters his five-hole before taking it away. Rantanen and Carl Soderberg replied for the Avs, who are now 6-1-1 in their last eight games and back in the second wild-card spot with 68 points.
By moving up, Colorado keeps the Canucks five points back; Vancouver also dropped one place in the overall standings after the Chicago Blackhawks picked up a last-minute regulation win in Anaheim thanks to Patrick Kane's 40th goal of the year.
Thursday February 28 - Vancouver Canucks at Arizona Coyotes - 6 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 64 GP, 27-28-9, 63 pts, fifth in Pacific Division Arizona Coyotes: 63 GP, 30-28-5, 65 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
On Thursday, it's on to another key four-pointer in the playoff race. With a regulation win in Arizona, the Canucks could jump back over the Blackhawks, catch the Coyotes, and narrow that playoff-spot gap to three points.
The bad news: the Canucks are 0-1-2 against the Coyotes this season, and Arizona is coming into the game riding a four-game winning streak. Since taking care of the Canucks in overtime a week ago, the Coyotes have beaten Winnipeg 4-1, then knocked off Florida in a shootout—off yet another game-winner from Alex Galchenyuk.
The Coyotes were relatively quiet at the trade deadline, only acquiring our old pal Michael Chaput from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jordan Weal. Chaput was in the minors at the time, and has been assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners.
Arizona also inked tenacious Conor Garland to a two-year contract extension on Wednesday. The 22-year-old rookie will get a slight raise from the $680,000 cap hit on his entry-level deal to a reported $775,000 per season starting next year.
I reviewed the Coyotes' impressive recent surge just last week before they played in Vancouver, so there isn't much to add on that front. Despite swooning after their bye week, they're now 7-2-0 in their last nine games while the Canucks have lurched through February with a record of 4-6-3 to date—not enough to keep pace with their strongest Western Conference competition.
No official word yet on who gets the start in goal. Would you stay with the hot hand in Markstrom, despite his heavy workload at altitude on Wednesday, or would you give Thatcher Demko his first start since January 18?
IMAC on Markstrom : If they can't wake him up because of the robust workout he had last night, that's one way Demko will get in. He is 2-2 in back to backs this year and has shown he can handle the work load. If he is ready, I think the Canucks have to start him.
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) February 28, 2019
Either way, the stakes are high. Enjoy the game!