Tuesday January 2 - Anaheim Ducks 5 - Vancouver Canucks 0
I was fully engaged in the World Junior quarterfinals on Tuesday. Since I started my hockey viewing at 9 a.m. and watched the better part of all four games, I have to admit I was a little burnt out by the time I got to Rogers Arena last night to see the Canucks host the Anaheim Ducks.
No idea if the home team was suffering from the same symptoms, but even though the Canucks outshot their opponents 31-27, they put together one of their most lacklustre performances of the season in their shutout loss to Ryan Miller and company.
Here are your highlights:
The Canucks are certainly bogged down by injuries but they have no reason to complain about their schedule, which has seen them play just one road game in their last nine and no back-to-backs since November 21-22 in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Travis Green has been able to ride his goaltenders as he sees fit, and while the team has struggled defensively as a whole, Jacob Markstrom has been a more reliable option than Anders Nilsson.
So—I was surprised to see Nilsson get the nod on Tuesday, two weeks after he was torched for six goals against Montreal. He had another tough outing—putting the Canucks in an early hole off a bad-angle shot from Adam Henrique just 56 seconds into the third period—though it was not Anaheim's first shot on goal; it was the third.
That was the game winner, of course. We all could have packed up and gone home right then.
Nilsson was yanked for the second time this season when he gave up his fourth goal of the night to Antoine Vermette at the 20 second mark of the third, leaving Jacob Markstrom to mop up. Nilsson started the season 6-2-1 with a 2.68 goals-against average and .922 save percentage, but since his last win in Nashville back on November 30, he has given up 21 goals on on 151 shots in about 240 minutes of action—for an .861 save percentage and a GAA of about 5.25.
When Nilsson was signed, there was a lot of talk about his strong performance as a backup in Buffalo last season, but his pattern this year seems to align more closely with what happened to him in Edmonton the season before, in 2015-16.
Remember when he played 10 games in November of 2015, stealing the net from Edmonton's new acquisition Cam Talbot?
According to NHL.com, Nilsson had a 2.39 goals against and .915 save percentage that November, which dropped to 3.23 and .903 in nine appearances in December, then 4.36 and .852 in two games in January and 7.64 and .826 in just 32 minutes over two games in February before he was finally placed on waivers, then dealt to the St. Louis Blues for spare parts at the 2016 trade deadline.
I'm not saying history is definitely destined to repeat itself—last year, January was Nilsson's best and busiest month in Buffalo, where he went .920 and 2.78 in eight appearances. But right now, he's not gettin' it done.
By comparison, Jacob Markstrom ended the month of November with a 6-8-3 record, a .909 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average. In December, he went 4-5-1—which is actually pretty decent when you consider the overall tailspin that has enveloped the team. His GAA has risen, to 2.79, and his save percentage has dipped a bit, to .906. Those numbers are pretty much on par for his time in Vancouver (.909, 2.74) and his entire NHL career (.906, 2.88). This is probably who Markstrom really is.
I wonder if Thatcher Demko will make his NHL debut sometime this season? I wouldn't call him up while Horvat and Sutter are still out of the lineup but if the Canucks can get healthier in January and start to rediscover that defensive structure that served them well at the beginning of the season, it might be time to give the affable 22-year-old his first taste of the big time.
Though the Comets are even more injured than the Canucks and struggling to score goals, Demko has continued to improve in his second pro season. In 22 appearances this year, he's 11-6-3 with a .924 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against average—sixth in the AHL in save percentage, tied for seventh in wins and 12th in GAA. His development is progressing as well as we could have hoped.
Of course, the Canucks' current goaltending issues came into even sharper focus on Tuesday thanks to the man at the other end of the ice. Ryan Miller saluted a warm reception from the crowd when a Welcome Back message was posted on the Jumbotron just before the opening faceoff, and also came out to do a twirl when he was named the game's first star. Though the Canucks didn't generate many quality scoring chances, he stopped every puck that came his way—reminding us of all those nights that he was the best player on the ice as the Canucks slid down the standings during his last two seasons in Vancouver.
One other goaltending note—if you missed it, former Canucks goalie Eddie Lack might have earned himself a chance to get out of AHL purgatory when he was traded from the Calgary Flames to the New Jersey Devils on December 30. The move reunites Lack with his old goaltending coach from Vancouver, Rollie Melanson, who got the best out of him—and who has helped guide Cory Schneider to a bounce-back season.
Lack has been assigned to the Binghamton Devils but has not yet seen action. After incumbent Mackenzie Blackwood gave up five goals for the fourth straight game in a New Year's Eve loss to Syracuse, he was assigned to the ECHL, so it looks like Lack will get the chance to rediscover his game.
This morning, the Canucks are on the ice at Rogers Arena for their last home practice before leaving town for most of the month.
Jake Virtanen is back skating after missing Tuesday's game with an illness, and Sven Baertschi is skating with a little less facial protection—looking closer to getting back into action.
The Canucks don't play again until Saturday in Toronto, which will give us the opportunity to turn our full attention to the last two days of World Junior action.
Despite playing his best game of the tournament, Olli Juolevi and the Finns were eliminated by the Czech Republic in a quarterfinal shootout on Tuesday, while Jonah Gadjovich and Elias Pettersson play on.
Both semifinal games should be competitive—the best possible outcome for Canucks fans would be to see a Canada-Sweden final!
Sweden takes to the ice against the host U.S. team on Thursday at 1 p.m. PT, while Canada plays the Czechs at 5 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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