Tuesday November 27 - Los Angeles Kings 2 - Vancouver Canucks 1 (OT)
In a game that strongly mirrored Willie Desjardins' time as coach of the Vancouver Canucks, the record-setting 50/50 draw generated most of the night's excitement as the Vancouver Canucks opened their homestand by dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to Willie's new team, the Los Angeles Kings, on Tuesday.
Here are your highlights:
For the first time ever, I got in on the 50/50 action. I was tempted by the life-changing money attached to the promised million-dollar-plus jackpot after having regretted not being quick enough to get in on the action when the jackpot exploded to $1,014,555 at the Sedins' final game at the end of last season. Darn work!
Of course, the bigger the jackpot, the lower the odds. But it was nice to have something to feel excited about for two-and-three-quarter periods on Tuesday. And I did have the first two letters right on the winning number...
I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get my ticket from Jay Beagle, who was working another part of the press box like the veteran pro that he is.
The impetus behind the big money?
Tiffany Crawford of The Province reports that Ascend Fundraising Solutions, the company that provides the system that runs the 50/50 sales, donated $500,000 to get the ball rolling.
Though I heard talk that the online processing system was overwhelmed at times, word is that the winner, Gordon Schimpf from West Kelowna, did indeed buy his ticket online.
Very smart move by the organization to tap into this promotional idea after seeing how much excitement the draw generated in that final home game last season. I imagine we'll see more mega-jackpots on special occasions going forward. More chances to win!
Anyway, the game. In classic Willie fashion, his team got a 1-0 lead and tried to nurse it to the finish line. Cal Petersen was good in net for the Kings and was named the game's first star, Ilya Kovalchuk recorded two hits, two blocks and five shot attempts in 9:05 of ice time in his fourth-line role, and Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar each had two-point nights as the Kings ultimately prevailed thanks to Brown's overtime goal.
Back in action for the first time since November 2, Brock Boeser looked more like his old self on Tuesday. He finished the night with 10 shot attempts and two takeaways, and hit the post in the second period after Elias Pettersson dished a terrific feed to him despite being boxed in by nearly all of the Kings' skaters.
Hopefully Brock will find his rhythm again once he gets a little more game action under his belt.
Erik Gudbranson was a surprise scratch on Tuesday, which brought Troy Stecher back into the lineup.
It was Alex Biega who delivered all the drama on the right side, setting up Vancouver's only goal of the game as his third-period point shot beat Petersen after deflecting off Markus Granlund. But Biega also took two penalties and overcommitted on the play that led to the Kings' first goal.
Reid Boucher was the player who was re-assigned to Utica on Tuesday in order to make room for Boeser on the Canucks' roster. After his complicated Thanksgiving-weekend travels to join the Canucks in San Jose on Friday, Boucher logged just 5:28 against the Kings in L.A. on Saturday night before being re-assigned. At least he'll get five days' worth of pay at his NHL salary on his next cheque for his troubles: $725,000 instead of $300,000.
No matter what you think of the Canucks' 1-7-2 record in the team's last 10 games, I think it's safe to say that most fans are still relieved that the Desjardins era is in the rear-view mirror.
I heard more than a smattering of boos when Willie received his big-screen welcome, seven seconds into the first period. That's rare.
Pretty cheeky caption there, too!
Still resting up after a ton of travel, the Canucks are off on Wednesday. On Thursday, they'll host the surging Vegas Golden Knights, who extended their current winning streak to four games and set a franchise record for regular-season goals in their 8-3 win over Chicago on Tuesday. After that, it's another early weekend game: a 1 p.m. start against Dallas on Saturday.
If you need a Wednesday hockey fix, the Utica Comets will be looking to extend their winning streak to four games as they travel to Binghamton to face the Devils at 4:05 p.m. PT.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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