In what was one of their most complete games of the year, it seems like the Canucks have been finding their identity over the course of the road trip. The difference an inch or so makes in a tight game like last night’s, as the Canucks lost in OT seconds after Boeser hit the post and the puck sprung the other way. If you want to see the highlights:
For a team beset by injuries and Vancouver media speculation, the Canucks seem to be coming together. They look more like the team from last year than they did to start the season. That’s a positive trend! Taking their final game of a long road trip to the first-place Minnesota Wild, you’d be understanding if the game was something of a let down. Turns out, the Canucks stepped up. In what was a tight, somewhat thorny affair, the Canucks scored first (shock!), built a lead, blew a third period lead (not a shock), and came oh-so-close in OT to closing it out. However, going 4-1-1 over the trip is fantastic. Tocc was pleased:
“Great game,” Tocchet said. “Guys played really hard tonight. It's a helluva road trip. Guys should feel good about themselves. Everybody was scrappy tonight.
“We just played a solid, solid game. I mean, the guys are doing a good job blocking out noise, and we're just… moving along every game. I like the attitude.”
Petey was too, though he held himself accountable for not getting the W either:
“I really liked our battle,” he said. “We did enough to win but a few mistakes. I missed a block and screened Lankinen. Small details to improve.”
The attitude is improving, the team is gelling. Petey is stepping up his game with 10 points on the road trip, DeBrusk is up to 11 goals on the season after potting 8 on the road trip, Lankinen and Hughes continue to carry the co-team-MVP awards, Sherwood is up to 150 hits on the season (which is 43 more than the next player), and the new-look defense pairings are settling in so far with the Soucy-Juulsen pairing playing extremely well last night. Overall, pretty alright.
Speaking of attitude, it was a scrappy game, but apparently fun. The Wild’s Jake Middleton thought so anyways:
“Both of the teams were kind of assho**s out there, but it was good. Like that was a fun hockey game. Xcel Energy (Center) rockin’ on a Tuesday night. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I know we did.”
It’s encouraging to see the Canucks hold their own against the current top team in the league. Of course there’s room for improvement, but the team is getting there… and hopefully soon will have some reinforcements coming back with Demko and Miller.
The Canucks head back home to start a homestand against the Blue Jackets on Friday night. They need to start taking some of this road mentality to their own barn, because they’ve been pretty disappointing on home ice, sporting a solid 10-2-1 away from Rogers, but a 3-5-3 record in front of all of you.
Hopefully a few days at home to relax will inject some more urgency into their game.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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