Thursday March 19 - Columbus Blue Jackets 6 - Vancouver Canucks 2
I took last night's game off due to other obligations. So did the Canucks, apparently.
Such as they are, here are the highlights from Vancouver's disheartening 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
I've become so conditioned to the idea of Vancouver giving up the first goal that I get more concerned when they dominate the early stages of the game but can't score, like they did last night. The season-record 20 shots in the first period were fun to watch, but when all 20 get stopped, I take it as a sign that 2013 Vezina Trophy-winner Sergei Bobrovsky is on his game. And that's not good.
As I mentioned yesterday, the current Columbus team bears a much stronger resemblance to the group that pushed the Pittsburgh Penguins hard in the first round of last year's playoffs than the injury-ravaged bunch that sunk to the bottom of the standings this season. The Jackets are now 5-1 in their last six games and 6-2 in their last eight, which makes them as hot as just about any team in the league.
Now, we have to hope that they keep that streak alive when they visit Calgary on Saturday night.
That being said, there was plenty of blame to go around for the Canucks last night. Once Vancouver got up 2-0, sloppy, disorganized defensive play became the order of the day for virtually the whole team—something that we haven't seen since the Buffalo game, and certainly not since the defense got healthy.
Eddie Lack got ventilated for five goals before being pulled midway through the third period in favour of Jacob Markstrom. Ever the Lack apologist, Jason Botchford says Eddie was under the weather last night—possibly with a dash of food poisoning.
“It was one of those nights where I felt a little slower out there reacting to everything,… said the Taco Whisperer. “Normally, I’m ‘pow, pow’ but tonight it took a tenth of a second extra.“It’s not good enough in this league.…
A tenth of a second quicker, he makes the save on Dano.
He wasn’t good enough. He owned it. This is a good thing.
Was this a goalie saying ‘Uncle’ to his head coach for too much playing time?
Not at all. What you saw was a goalie who was sick and ready to heave for most of the night.
He won’t say it. And he shouldn’t say it. Because when things go south you man up, you take responsibility and you don’t make excuses.
But just know, it was more flu than fatigue.
Though they are related, aren’t they?
#badtaconight
The silver lining, perhaps? Jacob Markstrom got 9:53 of garbage-time action in the third period. He was only called upon to make two saves, but by doubling his NHL ice time for the season, his stats have improved dramatically—to a .500 save percentage instead of .250 and a 10.00 goals-against instead of 22.50. Soon, he should be out of double-digits!
Botch also has the word from Kevin Bieksa on his night, which included a hard shot hitting his wrist early in the second period. This doesn't sound good at all:
“It’s the other hand. It would be nice if it was the same hand. At least I’d have one good hand.…He did gut his way through the game.
“Honestly I was just trying to hold my stick. I don’t know what happened.
“The second period was a blur to me. I was from the bench to the trainers’ room to the bench. I missed a lot. I’m not sure exactly what happened.…
Bieksa finished with just over 20 minutes of ice time and is present and accounted for at Friday morning's practice:
#Canucks practice: Lack (flu), Bieksa (hand) both on the ice. No Richardson
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) March 20, 2015A couple more bodies are missing as well:
No Burrows, Richardson or Dorsett at #Canucks practice
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) March 20, 2015The Canucks will head to L.A. after today's practice, in preparation for tomorrow's 1:00 start time in what could be the most important game of the season.
Vancouver can't get knocked out of the top three in the Pacific on Saturday: even if the Kings win and match Vancouver at 84 points, the Canucks will still hold the edge in the standings thanks to a game in hand—and way more regulation/overtime wins (36-32 at the moment). Still, the curse of the Kings has to end sooner or later, and Vancouver has done a good job of bouncing back from its embarrassing losses this season.
Here's the question on everybody's lips today:
Gino's Tribute Night
A couple other quick notes before I sign off today.
First—the Canucks announced on Thursday that they will be paying tribute to Gino Odjick during the final game of the season on April 11.
#Canucks to celebrate Gino Odjick on Fan Appreciation Night, April 11th. Release - http://t.co/dPa8BEUKFq pic.twitter.com/HojqHixyKO
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) March 20, 2015When Gino's ominous diagnosis was shared with the public last June, he was given "months, or even weeks" to live (from The Canadian Press), so we're fortunate to have the opportunity to pay tribute to one of the most popular Canucks of all time.
R.I.P Matthew Wuest
Sad news came across Twitter during last night's game, announcing that CapGeek founder Matthew Wuest had passed away due to colorectal cancer at the age of just 35.
James Mirtle from The Globe and Mail offers a touching tribute to the man who kept us all informed about contracts, salaries, waiver positions and so much more—and offers some insight as to why CapGeek simply went dark when Wuest shut it down due to his health issues earlier this year.
A few thoughts on Matthew Wuest tonight http://t.co/a1v2nGxxah
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 20, 2015And if you'd like to know more about Wuest's background:
A humble soul: Matthew Wuest, Metro sports reporter and @CapGeek founder, dies of cancer. http://t.co/kNnLbVPfsV pic.twitter.com/PRCMTnNtal
— Metro Halifax (@metrohalifax) March 20, 2015Wuest and his work are already deeply missed in the hockey community. My condolences to his family and loved ones.