Sunday March 16: Vancouver Canucks 4 - Florida Panthers 3 (shootout)
Is Nicklas Jensen going to single-handedly save some jobs in Vancouver? The rookie did it all as the Canucks beat Florida on Sunday afternoon. Here are your highlights:
It wasn't a pretty game, but it had some special moments. Kevin Bieksa's game-saving soccer-style skate stop on the goal line is getting a lot of play, but Jensen got the Haida hat after the win. He was on the ice for all three Vancouver goals, scored the second, and was the only player to score in the shootout, securing the win for Vancouver.
The most striking moment of the game for me came right after Jensen's goal. The TV cameras caught him on the bench, patting his linemates Alex Burrows and Henrik Sedin on the back for helping to set up the play.
It seemed so backwards! Why is the raw rookie with seven games of NHL experience pumping up his veteran linemates, including his team captain? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
I suppose one could argue that Jensen was showing respect. His youthful enthusiasm and his good hockey sense seem to be having a positive effect on his linemates, who are starting to show signs of once again contributing like the top-line players we're accustomed to seeing. It just struck me as strange that the motivation had to come from the new kid, from outside, rather than from within the existing core of the group.
It's definitely early days, but if Jensen can keep this up, it changes a lot of the conventional wisdom about this team.
Suddenly, the Canucks have a recent first-round draft pick making a real contribution in their lineup. Their scouting doesn't look quite so bad. And, we're dealing with a player who has improved by leaps and bounds in the past year. Maybe the Canucks' plan to buy their own AHL team will start to pay some real dividends?
After a horrendous start in their inaugural season, the Comets have fought back to a .500 record—27-27-3 in 61 games. They're still eight points out of a playoff spot, but they've moved up to 11th place in the 15-team Western Conference. That's some significant progress.
If Jensen can keep it up, he'll become the face of the youth movement that management will tout to sell the future of the franchise to the fans and season-ticket holders this summer.
Dallas lost on Sunday, so the Canucks continue to sit just three points back of the Stars and Coyotes for that final playoff spot. The win improved Vancouver's prospects slightly, but because of those games-in-hand, Vancouver's odds of squeaking into the postseason are still just 2.9 percent.
Goalies:
In the end, it seemed appropriate that Sunday's battle between Luongo and Lack would come down to a shootout. And it seemed appropriate that Luongo would come out on the losing end. Shootouts were never his thing—and it turns out that Eddie Lack is remarkably good at them.
As Jason Botchford
reports in his Provies from Florida, Lack's shootout numbers are quietly becoming very impressive:
It’s not just that he’s making stops, it’s that on most of them he’s not close to getting beat. He’s now made saves on 25 of 29 chances which is the best save percentage (.840) in the NHL, among goalies who have faced at least 15 shootout attempts.
Maybe losing Luongo won't turn out so badly after all?
The Canucks' improved play over the past week gives me a bit more hope that Lack's psyche won't be permanently damaged by everything he's gone through. His situation is certainly pushing him out of "raw rookie" status in a hurry, but I've liked most of what I've seen from Lack this year. Still hoping that he's a gem and the Canucks won't need to go after Jaroslav Halak this summer, as Botchford also suggests.
Here's why he says Jacob Markstrom isn't getting any playing time:
The Canucks believe Markstrom needs some significant work with his technical game, and have been planning to start Lack until they are mathematically eliminated from the post-season.
Not only do the Canucks believe Lack is more prepared for this, and therefore their best chance to win, they also want to see how he responds with a heavy workload as the team’s undisputed No. 1 goalie.
Needless to say, Eddie Lack will get the start for Monday's game in Tampa Bay.
Monday March 17 - Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning - 4:30 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sun Sports, RDS2
Vancouver Canucks - 31-29-10 72 points - 10th in Western Conference
Tampa Bay Lightning - 36-24-7 79 points - 5th in Western Conference
Today's game will be an interesting challenge. Not only are the Canucks playing back-to-backs, they'll be trying to string together their first two-game winning streak since January 21. And they're doing it against the toughest opponent they've played in awhile: Tampa Bay is the first playoff team that Vancouver has faced since the 6-1 loss to Dallas back on March 6.
The Lightning beat Vancouver handily when they visited Vancouver on New Year's Day, thanks in large part to stellar goaltending from Ben Bishop. He's expected back in net tonight, and of course Steven Stamkos has returned to the lineup and will add some scoring punch.
The Lightning have spent the weekend celebrating the 10th anniversary of their 2004 Stanley Cup win, which of course happened with John Tortorella behind the bench.
Sounds like Torts is making an exception to his rule of never thinking about the other team:
Can the Canucks translate all those good vibes into another win, or will they advance the cause of #TankNation one step further?
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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