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Vancouver Canucks Game Review: Clipped by Chicago, Sven Baertschi Recalled |
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Thursday April 2 - Chicago Blackhawks 3 - Vancouver Canucks 1
Already guaranteed at least a .500 outcome on their final road trip of the year thanks to wins in St. Louis and Nashville, the Vancouver Canucks came up on the short end of the stick when they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday at the United Center. Here are your highlights:
I had a feeling that the Canucks would sag after Tuesday's emotional win in Nashville. It turned out to be a rare night where Vancouver's fourth line was bested by their counterparts, with Bo Horvat, Jannik Hansen and Ronalds Kenins all minus-two thanks to goals from Chicago's Teuvo Teravainen in the first period and Marcus Kruger in the third.
High-profile acquisition Antoine Vermette might not be doing much—he has just three points in 14 games since joining Chicago and was a minus-one on Thursday—but grinder Andrew Desjardins has proven to be a good fit on that fourth line with Kruger and a steadily-improving Teravainen.
Even without Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks are finding their groove as the playoffs draw near and will be a team to contend with. Flirting with the wild card just a week ago, they're now one point behind St. Louis and three points behind Nashville. With a game in hand on the Preds, they have a chance to push for top spot in the Central over their last five games.
On top of the Canucks' loss, the out-of-town scoreboard didn't fall in our favour on Thursday, either. The Flames dropped a 4-1 decision to the Blues while the Kings trounced Edmonton by a score of 8-2 to move into the second wild card at the expense of the floundering Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets, of course, are Vancouver's next opponent. I am not a believer in trying to manipulate outcomes for the sake of the standings—it's flat-out bad karma. But for the sake of all the teams that would like to see Los Angeles miss the playoffs, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Winnipeg picked up a point or two on Saturday.
One other quick note before I leave Friday's game in the rearview mirror: the Sedins have gone abruptly chilly over the last week. Henrik is pointless in his last four games, while Daniel has just two assists in his last five. Daniel's still tied for 13th in NHL scoring with 68 points, and it's great to see that the Canucks have been able to score goals without big contributions from the top line, but the twins need to be doing their part as the team fine-tunes for playoffs.
Sven Baertschi Recalled From Utica
Now that the Utica Comets have clinched their playoff berth, the Canucks have recalled sniper Sven Baertschi from the farm team after he posted 13 points in 12 games since being acquired from Calgary at the trade deadline—and scored twice on Wednesday with his bosses in the house.
The Canucks are practicing today in Winnipeg but there's no word yet on whether Baertschi will slot into the lineup immediately on Saturday. The team could be dealing with injuries that we don't know about, or the management team might just want to get a look at what Baertschi can do with the big club before playoffs begin. Maybe he could kick-start the twins or add an extra boost to the power play?
With the balance and versatility that the Canucks have been showing through their lineup in recent weeks, Willie Desjardins should have plenty of options.
Channeling the spirit of Josef Beranek, Baertschi's wearing No. 42 as he hits the ice in Winnipeg today:
Baertschi's arrival has stolen the thunder from the Canucks' other big news of the day. New father Ryan Miller flew out from Vancouver to Winnipeg to join his team at practice today:
Word is that the timetable for Miller's return hasn't changed, but it looks like the team will try to get him into some game action before the playoffs begin.
I feel comforted to know that we can play our usual game of "Who should start in the playoffs?" as the regular season winds down. You can bet that Miller's looking to redeem himself after flaming out in St. Louis last year.
Don't forget—Saturday's game starts at noon. I'll have a preview for you tomorrow morning.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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