Yesterday (Feb. 25) ended up being a pretty eventful day for the Vancouver Canucks. They of course acquired former top prospect Vitali Kravtsov from the New York Rangers, and then played an entertaining game against the league-best Boston Bruins. In this piece, I will discuss my reaction to the trade and provide a brief recap of the game.

In short – I like the Kravtsov deal for Vancouver. In my opinion, it is a classic low-risk, high-reward kind of move. The 23-year-old winger has the tools to potentially blossom into an effective top-six forward, but that was just not happening in New York. The Rangers' strong forward depth certainly played a role in this, as the 2018 ninth-overall pick received limited minutes. With that, he spent a large portion of his tenure there unhappy because of it, so a fresh start was much-needed. Now, he is getting just that with the Canucks.

I am aware that Kravtsov has struggled to find his footing in the NHL, but this change of scenery could be exactly the jolt he needs to take that next step. When noting that they only needed to part ways with William Lockwood and a 2026 seventh-round pick to acquire him, it is hard to complain about this move on Vancouver's end.

Now, let's briefly discuss the Canucks' contest against the Bruins.

Heading into this game, the Bruins were expected to win, and it is easy to comprehend why. They have the best record in the NHL by a big margin, while the Canucks are near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

The first period made it seem that a blowout was coming, as the Bruins had a 2-0 lead by the end of it and outshot the Canucks 20-7. Yet, Vancouver picked up their play as the game progressed and turned it into a very close one in the process.

The Canucks slowed down the Bruins during the second and third periods and were starting to create more scoring chances. Although they did not score in the second, trade target Brock Boeser finally broke the ice and made it a 2-1 game.

From there, the Canucks gained momentum, and it seemed that they were on the verge of tying it up. However, Ullmark ended up playing the hero by scoring a rare goalie goal to put the Bruins up 3-1. This, of course, ended up being the final score.

Although the Canucks lost, they put up a strong fight against the heavily-favored Bruins. They kept it close when it seemed things were getting out of hand early, so they deserve credit for that.

Nevertheless, I'll end this one with a few questions for you readers. Feel free to let me know in the comments.

Do you like the Kravtsov trade?
Who do you think the Canucks will trade before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline passes?
What was your response to seeing Ullmark's goal?

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.

Join the Discussion: » 1554 Comments » Post New Comment

» Nikita Zadorov is a Canuck!

» Canucks Trade Beauvillier to Blackhawks, Free Up Cap Space

» Canucks Looking to End Losing Streak vs. Sharks

» Canucks Notes: Pettersson, Soucy, Myers & Studnicka

» Canucks Looking to Bounce Back vs. Habs