Thursday January 8 - Florida Panthers 3 - Vancouver Canucks 1
It was a memorable night at Rogers Arena on Thursday, but not for the game play of the Vancouver Canucks.
Here are the highlights of Florida's 3-1 victory:
The Canucks got off to a decent start and took the early lead on Daniel Sedin's ninth goal of the year, but they lost their mojo as the game wore on.
During the game, my impression was that we were seeing a very well-coached Panthers club. Gerard Gallant is doing an excellent job of getting the most out of his players, from 2013 Calder Trophy winner Jonathan Huberdeau down to checking centre Derek MacKenzie. Even Shane O'Brien played an effective 11 minutes.
Were the Canucks deflated because the night turned into The Luongo Show? Maybe.
The Canucks aren't completely unaccustomed to facing rival cheers in their own building. It happens every time the Leafs and Habs come to town. But they did get their only goal before Luongo's video tribute ran during the first commercial break in the first period, and the "Looooo"-ing throughout the game might have felt a bit disheartening.
The video has been everywhere by now, but just in case you missed it:
Luongo admitted to Dan Murphy after the game that he tried not to watch as it ran, for fear of getting too emotional. But he did raise his mask and acknowledge the crowd as he drank in the standing ovation—and played great for the rest of the night.
I had no doubt that he'd be warmly welcomed back, but I was hopeful that the current Canucks would be able to exploit his current weaknesses for the win. They didn't quite get that "goal on the first shot" that I was hoping for; Daniel's goal was Shot No. 2 at the 3:39 mark, just after Florida's first penalty had expired. But there was no grabbing one of those deflating late goals as the clock wound down in the third. The Canucks had to settle for their second loss of 2015, and Luongo got his first win over the only team in the league that he hadn't previously defeated.
After being named first star, Luongo took one more spin around the ice and handed off his goal stick to a lucky fan. And the reunion was complete:
Thank you for an unforgettable night Vancouver!!!
— Strombone (@strombone1) January 9, 2015I spent some time during the game thinking about how things might have been different here in Vancouver if Mike Gillis hadn't been so quick to anoint Cory Schneider as the new No. 1 after exactly one playoff win in three appearances back in 2012. The talk this week was about Luongo not getting the start in the Heritage Classic, but if Gillis had let the goaltending situation settle over the summer after the surprise loss to the Kings, he may never have set this whole course of events in motion.
It's funny that Lou's now in a pretty good place and poor Schneider is stuck in NHL purgatory in New Jersey.
As for the rest of the team, I'm wondering if Linden Vey is sabotaging his teammates water bottles or something to keep his spot in the lineup. After Radim Vrbata was a late scratch due to illness on Tuesday, Chris Higgins was the victim on Thursday.
This time, things didn't work out so well for Vey, though. He finished the night with a minus-one, no points, and two shots on goal. After Florida's second goal in the middle of the second period, Willie started mixing up his forward lines. The defense pairings got the same treatment for awhile after the third goal.
There was no magic from the Vey-Bonino-Vrbata combination, and nothing else looked much better on this night, either.
The D-juggling might be in preparation for the return of a certain Dan Hamhuis, who's taking another step forward at practice today:
Dan Hamhuis is taking part in full #Canucks practice.
— TSN Radio Vancouver (@TSN1040) January 9, 2015Here's the good news for the Canucks: the Sharks and Kings also both lost last night, so second place is still safe for now. And the Flames will be hosting Florida tonight at the Saddledome before flying in for Saturday's contest against Vancouver, so the Canucks will be on the positive side of the ledger with respect to the schedule.
The NHL is rumoured to be announcing the rest of the selections for this year's All-Star Game on Saturday. The teams will be arranged by schoolyard pick once again, with the groups coached by last year's Stanley Cup champ, Darryl Sutter, and the coach with the best winning percentage through the halfway point of this season—Nashville's Peter Laviolette.
Do you think any Canucks will make the list? Daniel Sedin's currently 26th in league scoring with 36 points in 39 games, while Henrik is one point back in 31st. They should be chosen, I think. Anybody else? Edler? Vrbata?
I'll finish today with a link to the most insightful interview I've seen to date with Willie Desjardins. Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo's Puck Daddy covers the bases across from Willie's dining and entertainment habits to his impressions as a first-year NHL head coach. It's a good read.