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Chris Tanev is injured as Vancouver Canucks shoot blanks against the Ducks |
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Wednesday February 13 - Anaheim Ducks 1 - Vancouver Canucks 0
On April 7, 2014, the Vancouver Canucks were shut out by the Anaheim Ducks in the first career NHL game for 20-year-old John Gibson.
On February 13, 2019, the Vancouver Canucks were shut out by the Anaheim Ducks in the first career NHL start for 26-year-old Kevin Boyle.
Here are your highlights:
The Canucks got off to a strong start, outshooting the Ducks 15-6 in the first period and 35-22 on the night. They also hit two crossbars in the opening frame, off shot attempts from Erik Gudbranson and Elias Pettersson.
But the only goal of the game came from Jakob Silfverberg just 6:30 in, with Jacob Markstrom playing without his stick after Bo Horvat failed on his clearing attempt. Gudbranson failed to contain Silfverberg as he drove to the net.
Not surprisingly, in Anaheim general manager Bob Murray's first game as head coach, the veteran Ducks showed their feisty side. Ryan Kesler and Josh Leivo took fighting majors at the 7:55 mark of the first after getting tangled up in front of the benches, and Gudbranson went after Ryan Getzlaf in the second after the Anaheim captain levelled Jake Virtanen with an accidentally-on-purpose high hit at centre ice late in the first—a revenge play itself, after Jake had taken down Corey Perry.
Virtanen did leave the game for a bit, but returned midway through the second period. He saw plenty of ice time in the first period on a line with Horvat and Antoine Roussel, but the steady stream of penalties to both teams limited his minutes the rest of the way.
Deployment on the back end also needed to be adjusted in the third, after Chris Tanev got tangled up with Getzlaf early in the third.
Is his left ankle the problem? Tanev seems to think he's OK as he skates away from the corner before his leg buckles underneath him in front of the net.
After going to the dressing room, Tanev did come back for one more shift before calling it a night.
In his absence, Troy Stecher played 11:25 in the third period and 29:04 for the night—a career high for him. It's also his fifth-straight game of 20-plus minutes. I wonder how much he'll have in the tank for the second game of the back-to-back in Los Angeles on Thursday?
One thing I did enjoy: the Ducks' throwback jerseys, on their Mighty Ducks movie celebration night. Maybe the Canucks could have beaten Kevin Boyle if they'll deployed the Flying V?
After delivering Anaheim's first win since before the All-Star break, Boyle will probably get a chance to run with the net for the foreseeable future. I wonder if he's got it in him to pull a Jordan Binnington and fuel a surge up the standings? For all their recent troubles, the Ducks are now once again just six points out of a playoff spot.
Thursday February 14 - Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings - 7:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 58 GP, 25-26-7, 57 pts, fourth in Pacific Division
Los Angeles Kings: 56 GP, 23-28-5, 51 pts, eighth in Pacific Division
With just two games on the NHL schedule on Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks held their position in the Western Conference playoff race despite recording their second-straight loss.
That could change if they don't beat the Kings on Thursday. Arizona, Colorado and Chicago are all just two points back, and all in action. If the Canucks win, they can tie Minnesota in points, but the Wild would still hold the second-wild card spot because they've played fewer games. If the Canucks lose, they could drop as low as 12th in the conference—which could theoretically put Jim Benning in "sell" mode before the trade deadline, except that all his best trade assets are now injured.
Though there's no travel to speak of between Anaheim and Los Angeles, there's no morning skate today, so we'll have to wait till closer to game time to get an official update on Chris Tanev's status. My guess is that it'll be Brisebois time tonight—not the way I wanted to see him get into the lineup, but hopefully some fresh legs will be helpful.
And even though the Kings have wildly underperformed this season and are already firmly in "sell" mode themselves after dealing away Jake Muzzin and, this week, Nate Thompson, their record over their last 10 games is actually better than Vancouver's. Willie Desjardins' team is 5-3-2 over that stretch and just collected seven out of 12 points on a six-game Eastern road trip, averaging 3.5 goals a game along the way. The Canucks are 4-5-1 in their last 10, have dropped back below .500 for the first time since January 12 and have averaged just 1.83 goals a game over their last six. That 5-1 win over Colorado out of the All-Star break already seems like a distant memory, even though it was just 12 days ago.
Marek Mazanec did make it to Anaheim in time to back up Jacob Markstrom on Wednesday, and I'd expect he'll back up again tonight. Here's a quick introduction to the Canucks' newest netminder:
After seeing a raw first-timer on Wednesday, the Canucks will face a familiar foe on Thursday, as Jonathan Quick is expected to get the start for the Kings. He's 11-14-4 for the season, now with an .899 save percentage and 3.10 GAA for the year after a couple of rough outings in his last two games—giving up five goals in Boston and six in Washington to close out that road trip.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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