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JT Miller shows leadership and net-front touch as Canucks sweep homestand |
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Tuesday October 15 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - Detroit Red Wings 1
After outscoring their opposition 15-5 and sweeping their first homestand of the season, the Vancouver Canucks have left their fans without much to be outraged about other than their new goal song following a 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena.
Here are your highlights:
When J.T. Miller talked about wanting to establish Rogers Arena as a tough place to play for opposing teams on Tuesday, I didn't think much of it. We've heard words like that before, without much action to back them up.
On Tuesday, it seemed like the Canucks actually executed on this idea, overcoming a tough start to build a dominating win and throwing their weight around along the way.
Miller's on-ice contributions through the first four games of the season already had me thinking that perhaps his high cost of acquisition was actually worth paying. Now, as I start to see his leadership qualities shine through and how he seems to be helping to raise the compete level of his teammates, I'm even more impressed.
Miller picked up two power-play goals on Tuesday as the Canucks finally broke through with the man advantage, going 3-for-5 against a Wings team that had killed 11 of 13 penalties in its first five games. Miller currently leads the Canucks with seven points — and continues to chip in when needed in the face-off circle. He went 3-for-5 on Tuesday and is now 20-for-31 for the year, which is a 64.5 percent win rate.
Jay Beagle went 11-for-13 on Tuesday, taking a bunch of key defensive-zone draws, and is at 59.6 percent for the year, while Bo Horvat continues to lead the Canucks with 101 draws taken and is at 52.5 percent after going 9-for-19 on Tuesday. After leading the NHL in faceoffs taken last season, Bo's currently sitting in 24th place this year. Mark Scheifele's in first, with 159 draws through eight games.
It could even be argued that Micheal Ferland's illness and slow start has delivered a silver lining, giving Miller the chance to move up and play with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. Both linemates had three-point nights on Tuesday, so Boeser now has six points in total and Pettersson has five.
Ferland is still struggling to find the score sheet — he has just one assist in his first five games. But his ice time ticked up a bit on Tuesday — to 11:36, after he played just 10:31 against Philadelphia last Saturday. He also logged four hits in a game that turned snarly in the third period, which I believe is his most physical performance to date. Hopefully, that's a sign that he's starting to get his strength back.
Ferland has always been a bit streaky. I am hopeful that if he keeps playing his game, he'll find his way back into an effective role.
Speaking of feisty, how great was this Tyler Myers takedown on Adam Erne?
With his size and strength, he makes it look so easy!
Because the Wings picked up Erne from Tampa Bay, I'd been thinking that Erne was another one of the Lightning's never-ending collection of undersized forwards. But he's actually listed at 6'1" and 214 pounds, which makes Myers' manhandling even more impressive.
Add in a couple of big hits, from Alex Edler...
...and Tim Schaller...
...and the crowd of 18,163 went home happy after a very satisfying performance from the home team.
That's a pretty solid attendance number, too, for a weeknight in October. Often, early-season attendance numbers take a dip in the weeks after opening night. Last year, the Canucks' third home game of the year, on a Monday night against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, drew just 17,227. While the Red Wings tend to draw well in Vancouver, Tuesday's attendance number should put a smile on the faces of the bean-counters at Rogers Arena.
Shoutout to Thatcher Demko, too, whose season started in the worst possible way when he was blitzed by Detroit's big line for a goal against on the first shot he faced, just 30 seconds into the game. Demko has been talking a lot about mental resilience and he executed on Tuesday, steady the rest of the way and making 26 saves to record his first win of the year.
After all the chat about the Canucks' roster moves yesterday, Oscar Fantenberg was indeed placed on injured reserve before the game.
With the move retroactive to October 12, he'll be available again on Saturday the 19th, when the Canucks play the Rangers.
The Canucks now hit the road for four games, starting Thursday against the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues, who are fresh off their visit to the White House on Tuesday. At 3-1-2 through their first six games, the Blues haven't shown many signs of a Stanley Cup hangover — and Jordan Binnington continues to look like he's the real deal.
Meanwhile, down on the farm, the 2-0-0 Utica Comets will play their sold-out home opener on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT, hosting the Syracuse Crunch.
With Zane McIntyre recalled to the Canucks, it looks like Mikey DiPietro will make his official pro debut in net.
With just three of the Canucks' next 12 games at home, I expect the goal-song debate should slide to the back burner over the next few weeks.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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