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Vancouver Canucks Game Review: Out of Gas in Cgy, Edler (and Tanev?) Hurt |
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Saturday February 14 - Calgary Flames 3 - Vancouver Canucks 2
After a busy week and two impressive wins over Chicago and Boston, the Vancouver Canucks came up just short when they dropped a 3-2 road decision to the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.
Here are your highlights:
When the Canucks were closing out their win over Boston on Friday, banging and crashing around, I worried a bit about their game management—wondering if they should try to ease up and save some gas for their game the next night.
They certainly came out flatter at the Saddledome, outshot but a wide margin in the early going, but they headed into the dressing room after the first period with a 1-0 lead thanks to Ronalds Kenins' third goal of the season. He has one offensive move, but it works—firing the puck through the goalie from the left faceoff circle. His career NHL shooting percentage is 21.4 percent!
Kenins contributed offensively and was one of the Canucks' more visible players, but he left the physical part of his game back in Vancouver—hitless on Saturday night.
The physical side of the game took its toll in another way, too. Alex Edler left the game at the 6:44 mark of the second period with what's being called an "upper-body injury," apparently after taking a hit from Lance Bouma.
The Hockey Night in Canada broadcast didn't give us a whole lot to go on—they showed Edler getting hit behind the net, but the play looked pretty innocuous.
For the record, the Flames scored their first goal of the game just four seconds after Edler left the ice for good, which could help to explain that defensive breakdown.
To make matters worse, as Chris Tanev hustled to get back, he got turned around and went butt-first into the net along with the puck, hitting his head hard on the post.
Tanev stayed in the game, allowing the Canucks to finish with five defensemen instead of four, but it has only been a week since he missed two games with a probable head injury.
There's nothing definite yet about Edler, either:
So, maybe no need to panic, but next week doesn't get any easier than this week. The Canucks play their last home game of the month on Monday against Minnesota, then head east to New York for five games.
In the end, the Flames simply wore down the undermanned Canucks. Lance Bouma's third-period goal proved to be the winner as a frantic late effort by the Canucks couldn't produce an equalizer.
Calgary's win pulls them even with the Canucks in the Pacific Division standings with 65 points, though Vancouver still holds third place thanks to its games in hand.
But the pressure is mounting from below. Minnesota is just two points back heading into Monday's contest, with the Los Angeles Kings one point behind them at 62.
On that cheery note, I'll leave it here for today. Heading out to do the Half Marathon.
Hope you have a great, relaxing Sunday!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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