Friday October 25 - Washington Capitals 6 - Vancouver Canucks 5 (S/O)
With my feet on the ground here in Regina ahead of the Heritage Classic, I forgot to account for being an hour ahead while I kept my eye on the Canucks/Capitals game at Rogers Arena on Friday night.
When I saw the Canucks up 5-1 at 9:30 p.m. local time, I thought Vancouver had secured a rare home win against Washington. Imagine my surprise when I looked up at the TVs at our media reception 45 minutes later and saw a 5-5 score!
The third-period collapse against a travelling team that had played the night before didn't really fit the Canucks' M.O. through the early part of the 2019-20 season. But in the end, the Canucks settled for a single point after the Caps delivered a shootout win.
Here are your highlights:
Tim Schaller's two-goal night seems like it has been overshadowed by the collapse. After scoring just three times through his 47 games played with the Canucks last season, Schaller has matched that in his last two games this year.
Now that he's rolling, how far do you think he can go on Vancouver's fourth line this season, with another round of unrestricted free agency waiting for him at the end of the year?
The Caps did score first on Friday, with Evgeny Kuztnetsov notching his fourth of the year just 3:18 into the first period. But a power-play goal by Brock Boeser and a shorty from Schaller gave the home team a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
The Canucks added three more goals in the second before a Kuznetsov wrist shot cut the lead to 5-2 with just one second left to play in the middle frame. A shorthanded goal by Lars Eller made it 5-3 early in the third, then defenseman Michal Kempny scored twice in just his fifth game back after the hamstring injury that took him out last March, forcing him to miss the playoffs after being such an important part of Washington's Stanley Cup run in 2018.
On Friday, Kempny picked up the slack for John Carlson on Washington's blue line. Carlson went pointless and was a minus-three after his torrid start to the new season.
Though Jacob Markstrom was hard on himself after the game, after the Canucks gave up more than three goals for the first time this season, the Vancouver netminder stopped seven Caps shots in overtime to force the shootout. Elias Pettersson scored for Vancouver, but both T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom connected for the Caps, giving Washington the win.
The general feeling in Nucks nation seems to be that the home team may have deserved a better fate on Friday, so there's no panic yet among the fanbase. Always the worrier, I think back to last season's late-game collapse on the road against Buffalo on November 10th, where the Canucks salvaged a single point to conclude a six-game streak where they went 4-0-2 — right before dropping into a seven-game losing skid.
Without any early-season injuries depleting the lineup (knock on wood), let's assume for now that the collapse is a one-off that the team can learn from going forward. Maybe a little bit of overconfidence playing against a tired Washington squad? But also maybe sitting back a bit, like they did last week at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, while their opponent decides to dig deep in the third to see if points can still be salvaged?
The Canucks are off on Saturday, and will get back on the ice Sunday to prepare to host the Florida Panthers on Monday night.
Down on the farm on Friday, the outcome was a little more straightforward. The Utica Comets stretched their season-opening winning streak to 6-0 with their second win of the year over the Binghamton Devils. Vincent Arseneau scored twice, with Carter Bancks, Kole Lind, and Reid Boucher also chipping in, while Zane McIntyre continues to look like a strong addition in net after notching his fourth-straight win in a Utica uniform.
With the NCAA season underway, I also spotted a couple of highlights from the Canucks' college prospects from Friday night:
Here in Regina, the Pats are hosting the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium for the Prairie Classic, one day after the NHL leaves town. My flight time won't allow me to stay for the whole game, but I am planning to stop by so I can catch a peek of Canucks prospects Jett Woo and Carson Focht in WHL action.
On Friday, I was super impressed to really feel the impact that the NHL is making on Regina and the entire prairie region by bringing the Heritage Classic to a neutral site for the first time in the history of their outdoor games. With the economic benefit that the region is receiving from the game and the sense of celebration that encompasses Saskatchewan's rich hockey history and will help enhance its future, I think Gary Bettman and the league have now been forgiven for not moving the St. Louis Blues to Saskatoon back in 1983.
On Friday, it was chilly in the morning but the temperature soared to 16 degrees celcius in the afternoon. In the hours ahead of Saturday's game, we've got a few snowflakes here and there, and wind gusts of up to 70 km/h.
I have a seat in the indoor press box and am excited by the preparations that I've been seeing at Mosaic. Looking forward to seeing how it all rolls out!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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