Tuesday January 7: Pittsburgh Penguins 5 - Vancouver Canucks 4 (S/O)
It's award season down in Hollywood right now. The People's Choice Awards are tonight; the Golden Globes this weekend. The Oscars will run March 2 this year—the day of our Heritage Classic—a week after the end of the Olympics.
I bring this up because last night's game against Pittsburgh reminded me of one of those sweeping epics we sometimes see from Hollywood—an emotional roller coaster featuring thrills and spills galore. I laughed; I cried; then the hero rode in on his white stallion to save the day.
The Canucks have become masters of blowing leads late in games, but we don't see too many games like Tuesday's over here in the defensively-responsible Western Conference. It was a spectacle to be sure.
If you missed it, here are your highlights:
There are so many storylines swirling, I'm going to take a different approach today, focusing on some of the night's key characters.
David Booth and Dale Weise:
Healthy scratches. Torts was pretty forthright that they were in the press box because they haven't been showing enough effort. Booth had a great game against Philadelphia last week but has disappeared since then, while Weise has been on a downward slope since stringing together some strong games back in late November.
Torts was non-committal after the game about whether they'd draw back in against St. Louis on Friday, but did say that he'd keep using players from Utica if he didn't like what he was seeing from the big squad.
Zack Kassian:
An unlikely starter after getting accidentally clobbered by Tom Sestito in Anaheim, Kassian played his best game of the year on Tuesday. He played a season-high 18:03 and finished plus-1, with an assist and a beautiful goal to show for his efforts. He also led the Canucks with six hits and spoke passionately after the game about defensive commitment and learning from mistakes. "The Project" seemed to be showing real progress on Tuesday. Can he keep it up?
Chris Higgins:
Also played a good game after missing Sunday's contest against the Ducks. Higgins was tied for the team lead with four shots on goal and potted the go-ahead marker in the third period on a great shot. He was on the ice for every goal in the third—all three for the Canucks and the two for the Penguins, so he finished with a plus-1.
Higgins was interviewed by TEAM1040 after the game. When asked if he'd ever been on a team that went through a stretch like this, he laughed and said it had happened lots of times. Higgins says every team goes through this crisis of confidence a few times a year; the key is to just keep playing your game till it sorts itself out.
Henrik Sedin:
Is thought to have a hand injury. It's bad enough that he took no faceoffs on Tuesday—even Daniel was pressed into action four times, winning just one draw. The ironman will play through it but Henrik's stat line was very quiet on Tuesday—he had just one shot and two takeaways.
Benn Ferreiro and Darren Archibald:
Invisible. The only time I noticed either of them was when Archie got flattened by Taylor Pyatt on an interference penalty. (When did Pyatt start hitting like that?) Ferriero played 3:34 and Archibald managed to record five hits in his 4:56, but was also a minus-1: on the ice for Malkin's goal in the second period.
Sidney Crosby:
Talk about a complete player! Crosby has an entry in every column of the stat sheet except penalties. Malkin actually played 40 seconds more than Sid, and Crosby was quiet for much of the game, but he delivered when his team needed it.
Near the end of the second period, he had an impressive near miss when he bobbled the puck out of the air near the side of the net to try to create a scoring chance. His puck control looked like something out of a TV commercial—even those who watch him all the time were impressed:
Of course, Sid's best moments of all came when he engineered his team's last-minute comeback. No wing-and-a-prayer for the Penguins. They have set plays to use in 6-on-5 situations and executed with lethal precision. Yeah, Letang's goal bounced in off Kesler, but that was all part of the setup to watch Crosby tuck in the tying marker on the open side from the right of the crease—almost like it was the gold medal game all over again.
The Fans:
I mentioned this last week as well: the fan atmosphere in Rogers Arena has dwindled to almost nothing. Even a dramatic game featuring one of the biggest stars in the world barely drew any reaction from the crowd. The seats were a little fuller than we've seen in awhile, and the crowd seemed to look up from their phones and pay some attention when Higgins and Kassian gave Vancouver its third-period lead, but the energy in the building was still a fraction of what it could have been.
When the shootout began, one hardy soul over in the club seats started imploring people to get on their feet and show some emotion. It was a tough sell—maybe because we're predisposed to disaster in shootouts? He had some success, but it made me realize that these things should be second nature. Fans should be MUCH more engaged.
Other than a couple of weak "Go Canucks Go" chants during gameplay, the crowd was virtually silent all night. No goalie-chirping; nothing. I'm not even sure if Fin was in the house?
I know the issue is complex. With more tickets than ever owned by corporate entities, lots of casual fans attend games and might not be as committed to making noise and hanging on every play. A spotty home record doesn't help, either—obviously, it's harder to cheer when things go badly.
But I also think Game Presentation needs to bear some responsibility. They do a lot of things well, but I get frustrated when the Canucks are behind and could use a boost. In Anaheim the other night, their DJ spurred on his undefeated-at-home team when it was trailing in the third period with a steady diet of driving, classic heavy metal—Metallica, Motorhead and the like. And it worked!
In Vancouver, when the team falls behind, the music gets mild.
This is my DJ self talking—I'd like to see the folks at Rogers Arena try to use the music to boost the team and the crowd rather than being reactive and taking their cues from what's already happened. We don't need more taped messages like "Everybody clap your hands." We need real energy.
More Olympic Thoughts:
I found a chart yesterday that broke down the number of players from each team to make the Olympics, but I've noticed they forgot to include Malkin for the Penguins, so I won't quote their untrustworthy numbers here.
The Canucks placed seven Olympians—that's a third of the regular roster, and mostly on top teams. What's even more impressive to me is that every Canuck who was up for consideration made his team. Remember back to the question marks in the summer, particularly about Kesler and Luongo and whether they'd have strong enough seasons to warrant consideration? By the time the announcements were made, they were shoo-ins—and deserve credit for playing well enough to make that happen.
There's no outrage in Canuck-land for a player that was unjustly passed over—our guys are getting all the credit that they deserve. When I think back on the early years of this franchise, when the Canucks got no respect at all, to me it's another impressive sign that, even though the team may be facing some challenges on the ice, it has evolved into one of the more respected squads in the NHL.
Of course, the one guy who will be on the outside in February is John Tortorella. He was an assistant for Team USA in 2010 and also coached the World Championships in 2008.
Word is that he was passed over for the 2014 gig because of his acrimonious relationship with the media leading to his firing in New York last spring.
I'm sure he'd never talk about it, but Torts must be feeling a bit of a void, especially when Team USA coach Dan Bylsma was in the house on Tuesday. Everyone but him has been invited to the party.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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