Carol Schram: Vancouver Canucks beat Oilers 3-2 in Travis Green's NHL coaching debut In an entertaining, emotional game, the Vancouver Canucks kicked off their 2017-18 season and the beginning of the Travis Green era with a 3-2 win over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

Thank you Carol!!

Today @ 2:33 PM ET
Sedin played 13:30 while Horvat played 18:50- Green is a God
- CanuckDon


The change in what is happening is real

For next game against Sens let's see how that continues. Either TG goes with traditional method of rewarding winning line up with same deployment or is bold and changes things up to better match his opponent.

Thanks Carol
Dorsett was great last night. Tanev is so silently smooth. Elder also had a very strong game. This game was enjoyable too watch, love the tempo.

Man, that game was a lot more fun to watch than I expected.


Gotta give credit to Green for having the balls to use Granlund-Sutter-Dorsett as a shutdown line against McJesus. Entire line played great. Gonna be interesting to see if they can actually form a decent shutdown line. Gotta think teams are going to continue to be in McDavid's face knowing that he gets frustrated by it.

Horvat doing Horvat things. Didn't really like Eriksson and Sven though.

Virtanen looked great. Looks like the real 4th line is Virtanen - Burmi - Gagner since they get limited 5v5 minutes. Burmi and Gagner were OK. Still think Gagner would be much better off used on the 2nd PP unit.

Sedins were solid in limited minutes, I like how Green used them, mainly giving them PP time and basically as a the 2nd/3rd line at 5v5. Still don't like Vanek with them at 5v5.


Edler - Tanev were fantastic defensively. Oilers top guns were contained nicely when they were on the ice against each other. They were too good defensively for the non-1st line Oiler lines.

Del Zotto played great, I thought carried the 2nd pairing. Really good at beating the forecheck and exiting his own zone with a good pass or by skating with the puck. Held his own defensively. If he can keep this up, he was a really solid signing. Gudbranson had some bad gap control, especially early on. Gotta love the hit on Lucic, but otherwise a meh game. Oilers got a lot of scoring chances on his side of the ice, but he made a couple of decent plays.

Hutton and Stecher were OK, not bad and not great. Hutton does look more comfortable away from Gudbranson. Stecher doesn't look as good away from Edler though. We'll see how it plays out.


Markstrom was fantastic.

DD is Core

The most likely scenario is that this team is still on the wrong side of .500 at the end of the year, but from the sounds of it the game was more entertaining, and some of the future was on display. No disrespect meant to H. Sedin, but he should pass on the C to Horvat now.

Thanks for the article Carol - I was at the Utica game and they honestly had about 10 penalties & hit about 6 posts, they really dominated the Marlies, but the score suggested otherwise. Goldy had a beautiful goal, but like most games, I notice he rarely touches the puck but the few times he does, he tends to make something happen. Boucher should've had about 3 goals, but got robbed every time. Subban & Chatfield made some great outlet passes and Holm and Brisebois looked solid. I was bummed that, Rodin, McEwen, Laplante and Weircoich didnt play, hopefully they'll draw in today as I'm going again.

Man, that game was a lot more fun to watch than I expected.


Gotta give credit to Green for having the balls to use Granlund-Sutter-Dorsett as a shutdown line against McJesus. Entire line played great. Gonna be interesting to see if they can actually form a decent shutdown line. Gotta think teams are going to continue to be in McDavid's face knowing that he gets frustrated by it.

Horvat doing Horvat things. Didn't really like Eriksson and Sven though.

Virtanen looked great. Looks like the real 4th line is Virtanen - Burmi - Gagner since they get limited 5v5 minutes. Burmi and Gagner were OK. Still think Gagner would be much better off used on the 2nd PP unit.

Sedins were solid in limited minutes, I like how Green used them, mainly giving them PP time and basically as a the 2nd/3rd line at 5v5. Still don't like Vanek with them at 5v5.


Edler - Tanev were fantastic defensively. Oilers top guns were contained nicely when they were on the ice against each other. They were too good defensively for the non-1st line Oiler lines.

Del Zotto played great, I thought carried the 2nd pairing. Really good at beating the forecheck and exiting his own zone with a good pass or by skating with the puck. Held his own defensively. If he can keep this up, he was a really solid signing. Gudbranson had some bad gap control, especially early on. Gotta love the hit on Lucic, but otherwise a meh game. Oilers got a lot of scoring chances on his side of the ice, but he made a couple of decent plays.

Hutton and Stecher were OK, not bad and not great. Hutton does look more comfortable away from Gudbranson. Stecher doesn't look as good away from Edler though. We'll see how it plays out.


Markstrom was fantastic.
- Nucker101

Better finish on the breakaways would be nice.

The most likely scenario is that this team is still on the wrong side of .500 at the end of the year, but from the sounds of it the game was more entertaining, and some of the future was on display. No disrespect meant to H. Sedin, but he should pass on the C to Horvat now.
- 1970vintage

Would be pretty bizarre to do after game 1 of the season.

The C is only a letter, Bo can still lead.

Better finish on the breakaways would be nice.
- 1970vintage

Don't get greedy.

Would be pretty bizarre to do after game 1 of the season.

The C is only a letter, Bo can still lead.
- Nucker101

It's not about the 1 game, I thought he should have done it before the season started. I just think Sedin should pass it on, instead of having it taken away.

Don't get greedy.
- Nucker101

I didn't get to watch the whole game, but the shot clock would indicate that the play was tilted a little towards the Canucks end (score effects maybe a bit too?). Point being, this isn't the most talented offensive team, so when you get chances you need to make good. A Grandlund or 🐻🧀 goal would have really put it away.

It's not about the 1 game, I thought he should have done it before the season started. I just think Sedin should pass it on, instead of having it taken away.
- 1970vintage

I don't think one year sooner of Bo upgrading from an "A" to a "C" is going to make a difference in the long run.

It's just a letter. Teams have multiple leaders and the Sedins will still be considered part of the leadership group as long as they're here.

I didn't get to watch the whole game, but the shot clock would indicate that the play was tilted a little towards the Canucks end (score effects maybe a bit too?). Point being, this isn't the most talented offensive team, so when you get chances you need to make good. A Grandlund or 🐻🧀 goal would have really put it away.
- 1970vintage

Yeha, this team isn't that good. 1 game shouldn't change that. They'll definitely have to be be more efficient(getting higher quality shots and giving up lower quality shots) and have good special teams to make up for likely getting out shot at 5v5 on most nights.

Thanks Carol

For me it doesn't matter win or lose it's all about the entertainment factor and the last couple of years there has been nothing entertaining about this team, last night was a nice surprise.

Yeha, this team isn't that good. 1 game shouldn't change that. They'll definitely have to be be more efficient(getting higher quality shots and giving up lower quality shots) and have good special teams to make up for likely getting out shot at 5v5 on most nights.
- Nucker101

The offence had a lot to do with the game plan against more talented Oilers. Plus the game flow with lead. So don't read too much into shot totals.

Even with results can't say Canucks played over their heads or players had their best games. Except for DD. Lots of room for improvement and effectiveness. Especially for PP.

Thanks Carol

For me it doesn't matter win or lose it's all about the entertainment factor and the last couple of years there has been nothing entertaining about this team, last night was a nice surprise.
- A_SteamingLombardi

^ Well said

Bo and Dorsett played well, PP was awful. Gagner was unimpressive.

Our D looked pretty focused last night. No Bieksa clones anywhere...

Del Zotto was a surprise. Seemed more aggressive on the puck carrier than I remember him... faster too... very active defensively.

I liked Guddy's game. He had a few mistakes but he played mean in front of the net before and after the whistle... no other D plays that way for us. Big hit on Milan which turned Milan's attention the rest of the night on Guddy instead of our forwards... drew in Maroon's attention as well... playing physical will do that. We need so much more of this... I'll gratefully accept his mistakes for this role providing he doesn't play as poorly as he did last season. Hope he stays healthy.

Markstrom was a beast last night. I'm really confident that him and Nil will both play solid this year and any slippage by one will be supported by the other. I doubt it will translate into enough wins though.... but if we can stay in games most nights.... this season should be a hell of a lot more entertainment than the previous two.

Bo and Dorsett played well, PP was awful. Gagner was unimpressive.
- Crazybagoham

But were you entertained?

^ Well said
- Codes1087

I was just BSing

Man, that game was a lot more fun to watch than I expected.


Gotta give credit to Green for having the balls to use Granlund-Sutter-Dorsett as a shutdown line against McJesus. Entire line played great. Gonna be interesting to see if they can actually form a decent shutdown line. Gotta think teams are going to continue to be in McDavid's face knowing that he gets frustrated by it.

Horvat doing Horvat things. Didn't really like Eriksson and Sven though.

Virtanen looked great. Looks like the real 4th line is Virtanen - Burmi - Gagner since they get limited 5v5 minutes. Burmi and Gagner were OK. Still think Gagner would be much better off used on the 2nd PP unit.

Sedins were solid in limited minutes, I like how Green used them, mainly giving them PP time and basically as a the 2nd/3rd line at 5v5. Still don't like Vanek with them at 5v5.


Edler - Tanev were fantastic defensively. Oilers top guns were contained nicely when they were on the ice against each other. They were too good defensively for the non-1st line Oiler lines.

Del Zotto played great, I thought carried the 2nd pairing. Really good at beating the forecheck and exiting his own zone with a good pass or by skating with the puck. Held his own defensively. If he can keep this up, he was a really solid signing. Gudbranson had some bad gap control, especially early on. Gotta love the hit on Lucic, but otherwise a meh game. Oilers got a lot of scoring chances on his side of the ice, but he made a couple of decent plays.

Hutton and Stecher were OK, not bad and not great. Hutton does look more comfortable away from Gudbranson. Stecher doesn't look as good away from Edler though. We'll see how it plays out.


Markstrom was fantastic.
- Nucker101

Nice Blog

Nice Blog

- VanHockeyGuy

thanks, Nucker101!

Thanks for the article Carol - I was at the Utica game and they honestly had about 10 penalties & hit about 6 posts, they really dominated the Marlies, but the score suggested otherwise. Goldy had a beautiful goal, but like most games, I notice he rarely touches the puck but the few times he does, he tends to make something happen. Boucher should've had about 3 goals, but got robbed every time. Subban & Chatfield made some great outlet passes and Holm and Brisebois looked solid. I was bummed that, Rodin, McEwen, Laplante and Weircoich didnt play, hopefully they'll draw in today as I'm going again.
- Brooks_Light

Thanks for this. Nice to hear that the Comets did play well, I know the Marlies have been a tough opponent for them.

I haven't seen anything yet on scratches - just that Bachman's starting today in net as they split goaltending duties.