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Comeback Canucks overcome slow start, begin road trip with 4th-straight win |
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Wednesday January 29 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - San Jose Sharks 2
Jacob Markstrom loves to be busy. He extended his record this season to a perfect 6-0-0 when he faces 40 shots or more as he backstopped the Vancouver Canucks to a fourth-straight win to kick off their road trip.
Here are your highlights:
The game looked very different from Vancouver's last meeting with San Jose, when the Sharks barely registered a pulse as they recorded just 18 shots on Thatcher Demko on their way to a 4-1 loss right before the All-Star break.
On Wednesday, it was the Canucks who struggled to generate any offensive pressure for the first 40 minutes, when they were outshot 28-13 and outscored 2-1.
The Sharks were buzzing early — leading 6-1 on the shot clock when Tomas Hertl opened the scoring, just 4:15 into the first period. GameFlow on the NHL app showed a huge blob of teal in the early going.
But the Canucks got out of the first in a 1-1 tie, thanks to perhaps Quinn Hughes' most impressive goal so far. Whaddaya say?
Huggy added an assist in the third period, which puts him up to 36 points for the year. After a relatively quiet December, in which he collected just six points in 13 games, he wraps up January with eight points in 11 games, including three goals. That puts him just one point behind Cale Makar for the rookie scoring lead, although the race remains tight — Makar put up eight points in January, in just nine games.
He also missed those eight games in December with an injury, so his points-per-game are higher — and he has an impressive four game-winning goals. But Hughes logs nearly a minute more ice time per game than Makar, leading all rookies, and also leads everybody with 18 power-play points.
I feel like Hughes' appearance as the only rookie at All-Star weekend also helped boost his profile with the hockey media — and he's also a year younger than Makar. When interviewed, Quinn also keeps emphasizing how he feels like he's proving that he can be an effective matchup defender, which is perhaps where it was assumed he'd be weaker, due to his stature. Smart of him to keep selling that point whenever he gets the opportunity.
Chicago's Dominik Kubalik scored 10 goals in 10 games in January and now has 21 for the year — and 32 points, not far behind Hughes and Makar. If he keeps up that torrid pace, and the Blackhawks make a late push for the playoffs, he could also emerge as a serious Calder contender.
One thing's for sure — Hughes' otherworldly status in the history of Canucks' defensemen is already secure. His 36 points are already the most for a Vancouver blueliner since the 2011-12 Presidents' Trophy year and he's on pace for 59 points for the year. That would be good enough to rank him third all time and within spitting distance of Doug Lidster's franchise record of 63 points, set in 1986-87.
Back to the game.
The second period was pretty grim. Brent Burns gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead on a slapper from the blue line that found its way through traffic, and both Jay Beagle and Tyler Motte left the game after being injured by Erik Karlsson — Beagle, with a shot block off his wrist; Motte, when he was ridden heavily into the end boards as he fought for a shorthanded scoring opportunity.
I suspect Karlsson was feeling especially frustrated after Motte had nearly picked his pocket on the penalty kill a few seconds before. Still — an ugly play that knocked Motte out of the game and has sent him home to Vancouver for further evaluation.
...and whether it's coincidence or not, the Canucks' current hot streak actually coincides with Motte's return to the team after he missed 23 games with his broken foot. He got back into the lineup on December 15 — and the Canucks have gone 13-5-0 since then. All told, Motte has missed 27 of Vancouver's 51 games this season. The team is 17-6-1 when he's in the lineup — and 12-12-3 when he's not.
Beagle, thankfully, did return for the third period, when the Canucks came out with some energy. Tyler Myers tied the game at 2:37 with his fifth of the year, then Jake Virtanen matched his career high with his 15th goal of the year as the Canucks capitalized on a four-minute power play after Marc-Edouard Vlasic inadvertently caught Oscar Fantenberg in the mouth with his stick.
That goal also proved to be the game winner — Jake's second in the last four games and sixth of the year, which moved him past Elias Pettersson into the team lead.
It was impressive to see the Canucks step up and take control of the game in the third period — and I wondered if part of their edge came from San Jose being short at centre after Tomas Hertl was injured in the first period?
The collision looked innocent enough until we saw the look on the face of happy-go-lucky Hertl.
Turns out, the injury is very serious. What a blow for the already-struggling Sharks.
Looking at the replay again, I can now see how Tanev slides in hard on Hertl's knee.
Hertl has had serious knee problems before, but I believe those were all on his right side. He's such a great personality — and I really do think he was robbed of the MVP at the All-Star Game. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery!
I wonder, too, what this means for the Sharks' trade deadline plans. Dan Murphy had former Canucks and current San Jose broadcaster Bret Hedican on as his intermission guest on Wednesday night, and Hedican said he would expect the organization to make moves if players like Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau indicate that they'd like a chance to "chase a Cup" with a trade-deadline deal.
After everything Marleau went through to get back to San Jose, I'd be surprised if he moves. But Jumbo will be an interesting figure to watch.
The Canucks closed out the scoring with a scrambly net-front effort that was credited to Brandon Sutter, followed by Tanner Pearson's fifth empty-netter of the year. That ties him with Sebastian Aho for the league lead in that category.
All's well that ends well. And I can't help thinking that the comeback would never have been possible it it hadn't been for this incredible stop by Markstrom, with the Sharks up 2-1 in the second period.
That wasn't for show, either — he needed every inch of that extension!
The Canucks' next game is Saturday morning in Brooklyn, so Thursday is the travel day. Being back out east, that does make things easier in terms of call-ups from Utica.
The team re-assigned Zack MacEwen to the Comets at the beginning of the bye week, and has been carrying a roster of 22 players. So there's room for MacEwen to return and for an extra body to be added if Motte is going to be on the shelf for any period of time.
Could Justin Bailey be that offensive winger the Canucks have said they're seeking at the trade deadline? He has cooled off since getting those three hat tricks in four games earlier in January, but is now riding a seven-game point streak, has scored in each of his last two games, and is tied with Reid Boucher for second overall in AHL scoring, with 24 goals in 45 games — 12 of which have come in January.
Bailey isn't a kid, either. He's 24, was drafted as a second-rounder — a good skater with great size at 6'4" and 214 pounds. Bailey has 63 games of NHL experience, where he has five goals and nine points, but has never been used as more than a role player. In his 11 games with the Flyers last season, he averaged just 5:44 of ice time.
It'd really be something if it turns out that he can contribute to the Canucks when if he's called up.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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