Tuesday November 8 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - New York Rangers 3
Going into Tuesday night's game at Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers were scoring five goals for every two goals scored by the Vancouver Canucks.
That ratio was almost perfectly reversed as the Canucks skated off with their first road win of the year, riding four third-period goals to a 5-3 victory.
Here are your highlights:
For the Canucks, it was a night when offensive slumps were finally bumped. Loui Eriksson, Alex Burrows and Sven Baertschi all got their first goals of the year—and Burrows added his second after Alain Vigneault pulled his goalie with his team down by two and more than three minutes to play.
Loui showed off his $6 million hands as he got Vancouver onto the board in the late stages of the second period.
For perhaps the first time this year, the Canucks were able to capitalize on an unexpected twist in the game. As the Canucks nursed a 2-1 lead at the 4:27 mark of the third period, Markus Granlund was penalized for crashing into Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta—and the Rangers scored on the ensuing power play, tying the game.
Shortly thereafter, the new independent concussion spotter checked in.
11:33 left. Raanta off, Lundqvist in. Raanta looked like he was shaken up when hit by Markus Granlund.
Henrik Lundqvist is not used to having to step in as a reliever, and it showed. He played 6:19 and gave up two goals on six shots—to Burrows and Baertschi, before Raanta returned after being checked out by the medical team.
#NYR goalie Antti Raanta said he knew he was okay because he had "way different symptoms" when he suffered a concussion last season.
The way this season has been going, it was a breath of fresh air to see the Canucks be able to capitalize on a situation that they could turn in their favour. And New York's goalie switch certainly wasn't the only reason why the team's winning streak was halted at five games.
The League pulling Raanta had an impact, but that was not the difference in this game. #NYR played poorly, and did not execute.
Burrows made the most of his new deployment on Tuesday, playing with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. That's not going to make it any easier for Jake Virtanen to get himself back into the lineup!
Canucks also get style points for riding a strong third period in the second game of a back-to-back, as we reach the late stages of the team's longest road trip of the year.
Now, on to Detroit to wrap things up on Thursday, followed by a four-game homestand in Vancouver.
I was interested to hear Bob McKenzie weigh in on the state of the Canucks organization before Tuesday's win.
McKenzie also says that Willie's job security could still be on the line if the Canucks keep losing. But would the team get the bump it needs to get back on the playoff track if the car keys are handed over to Green? He's a coach with no NHL experience, and has been biding his time with the hope of jumping into a good opportunity when he does finally reach the big leagues. Not so sure he'd be eager to make the leap in-season, especially if the Canucks look like they may not be able to turn things around.
I'm growing more enamoured with the idea of trying to recruit Ralph Krueger back to the NHL. Krueger currently has a very good job, as chairman of Southampton FC in England, but hockey's in his blood, right? Surely with the right offer he'd consider a chance to come back to the NHL—to avenge how he was fired by the Edmonton Oilers after one lockout-shortened season and to prove that his masterful coaching job with Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey was no fluke??
It might take a little time to put together a pitch that Krueger can't refuse. If he stepped behind the Canucks' bench, I feel like he'd get some better results out of this group of players. He'd also be the symbol of a shift in organizational thinking that could help put some bodies back into the empty seats at Rogers Arena and create some excitement and a positive buzz around the Canucks brand.
If I was ownership, I'd reach out and see if there's a deal to be made.
For now, stay the course and hope that Tuesday's win marks a shift in the team's puck luck, where their hard work will start earning them some points in the standings once again. Vancouver jumped over Calgary and Colorado on Tuesday and the team is now just two points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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