Saturday October 5 - Calgary Flames 3 - Vancouver Canucks 0
If you're looking to feel good about the future of the Vancouver Canucks, I sure hope you caught the Utica Comets' 4-3 win over the Binghamton Devils on Saturday afternoon as part of AHL TV's free opening-weekend preview.
I'll get back to the Comets in a moment, because there sure isn't much good stuff I can pull out of the big club's shutout loss to the Calgary Flames from Hockey Night in Canada.
To see what I mean, take a peek at these highlights:
Just as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaiti were the difference in Vancouver's opening-night loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary's best players were the best players in the game on Saturday. The three members of the Flames' top line — Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau — were the three goal-scorers in the game. Gaudreau finished the night with three points, but was pushed down to second-star status thanks to the shutout performance of David Rittich in net.
Lindholm even bested Pettersson in Hockey Night in Canada's
Elias-vs-Elias quiz that ran in the second intermission — and Petey looked pretty annoyed to have lost at that, too.
Lindholm had instant chemistry when he joined up with Gaudreau and Monahan after coming over from Carolina last season. That's not what we've seen on Vancouver's top line with the man he was once traded for, Micheal Ferland, who joined the Canucks after a year with the Hurricanes.
Between Brock Boeser's contract holdout, then Ferland's illness, then Boeser's concussion, the Canucks' new-look top line didn't get a chance to play together at all during preseason. That could be part of the reason why they haven't quite clicked yet.
I wonder, too, if Ferland's still not 100 percent. On the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast on Saturday, they mentioned that he lost 10 pounds while he was sick, and how that may have sapped his energy — but that he's also trying to play a little lighter this year than his usual 215 pounds.
They also ran a surprisingly testy clip of Ferland downplaying the significance of coming back to Calgary on the other side of the Canucks/Flames rivalry. Instead of saying that he was pumped to be a difference maker, he talked about how that 2015 playoff series happened a long time ago and he wished people would stop talking about it.
But after a night in which he finished with just one shot, one hit and 12:41 of ice time after getting benched in the third period, Ferland was much more accountable in his postgame comments.
“We need to be better and we haven’t been good last few games and it’s frustrating. But … I need to be better myself I need to, you know, be hard on the forecheck,” he told
Patrick Johnston of The Province. “You’ve got to kind of find a happy medium and make plays, be physical, be hard on the forecheck,” he continued.
Though horseback riding and team-building time in beautiful Banff failed to light a fire under the Canucks on Saturday night, hopefully a few more days of practice time can help the Ferland-Pettersson-Boeser line find some chemistry before they host the Los Angeles Kings in their home opener on Wednesday.
The power play is another area that needs work — now a surprising 0-for-10 over two games. While a lot of people have been calling for Quinn Hughes to get a look on PP1, I was OK with the deployment as it was initially drawn up, especially since Alex Edler was so prolific in preseason. And while we don't necessarily want to get too reactive after only two games, I'd be okay with seeing Newell Brown try a different look this week, while the schedule is still light and there's time to experiment. Even a minute-long 5-on-3 in the third period generated only two shots on goal from Brock Boeser — neither particularly dangerous.
Tyler Myers' ugly net-front giveaway led to what turned out to be the winning goal, late in the first period.
Other than that, he had a pretty good game.
I remain impressed by his mobility — he gets around the ice in a hurry for such a big guy, and isn't afraid to jump into the play, offensively. Myers finished the night with a team-high 10 shot attempts, six of them on goal.
I also like how he addressed this question about what Jacob Markstrom said to him after that opening goal.
“Marky was trying to say he should have squeezed it but you know, that’s on me that’s not on him,” Myers told Patrick Johnston. “I’ve found out pretty quick here he’s a pretty nice guy. He’s gonna say things like that. But you know, looking back, I should just toss it the wall.”
“That’s what he is. He’s a good teammate … in the short time I’ve been here, he says a lot of things like that to a lot of guys to try and take the heat but you know, that one set on him.”
I also spotted Markstrom rolling down the bench right after the anthems, trying to pump up the troops before the opening puck drop. He hasn't been at fault for either of the losses so far, and I get the impression that his leadership role on the team has continued to evolve.
After Travis Green started juggling his lines in the third period, he did get a better effort from his group. Eighteen of the team's 34 shots came in the final frame, and Green praised both Adam Gaudette and Jake Virtanen for their solid efforts.
Sundays are often days of rest for the Canucks — but not after that start. The team is hitting the ice at Rogers Arena at noon with an eye toward icing a better product for that all-important 50th anniversary home-opening on Wednesday.
The Buffalo Sabres are 2-0 to start their 50th-anniversary "Golden Season," and crushed New Jersey 7-2 in their home opener on Saturday. No pressure.
Staying in New York state, here's that rundown of the Utica Comets' season-opening win on Saturday:
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Comets took control of the game with a four-goal second period. The scorers were Carter Camper, Reid Boucher, Justin Bailey and Guillaume Brisebois. Kole Lind picked up three assists and was named the game's second star, showing off the feisty playing style that made him successful in junior with the Kelowna Rockets. Boucher earned first-star honours with a goal and an assist.
Defenseman Brogan Rafferty earned effusive praise for his confidence with the puck in his first career AHL game, continuing his smooth transition to pro after coming out of college last year. Olli Juolevi also had a strong game, with a beautiful assist on the first goal, and got plenty of ice time playing on both the penalty kill and the power play, as well as at 5-on-5. I guess the knee is feeling OK!
With a big lead, the Comets got a little looser in the third period, but were able to buckle down to preserve the win after the Devils made the score 4-3 with 1:40 left on the clock. The game also had a physical component, and Comets players were not afraid to throw the body. Final shots were 36-22 for Utica and you can see on the new
shot map available on AHL.com's game page that plenty of Utica chances came from close-in high-danger areas, while they were able to limit those types of opportunities for their opponent.
The Comets will now have a week to practice before their next game, on the road against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins next Saturday. They'll play their home opener on Wednesday, Octobeer 16 against the Syracuse Crunch as the first game of a four-game homestand.
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