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Vancouver Canucks Game Review: Canucks Win 2 in a Row, Henrik Hurt |
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Sunday March 23: Vancouver Canucks 4 - Buffalo Sabres 2
It was looking like a win for #TankNation in the first four minutes of Sunday's game against the Sabres, but Zack Kassian had a career night against his old team. After Buffalo took an early 2-0 lead, Kassian assisted on all four Vancouver goals as the Canucks came back for the win.
Here are your highlights:
The Canucks have played plenty of non-playoff teams over the past few weeks but despite their hot start on Sunday, the Sabres really showed why they're alone at the very bottom of the NHL standings. This is a team that has been divesting expensive veterans for a couple of years. Word on the street is that the team is improving since Ted Nolan became head coach, but there was little evidence on the ice on Sunday night.
Maybe they were having a particularly bad night at the end of a western road trip, but the state of the Sabres sent chills down my spine when I wondered if this is what the future holds for the Canucks if they undertake a full rebuild. Not pretty.
After Buffalo's Tyler Ennis scored on the first shot of the game, then Ryan Stanton added yet another own-goal, the Sabres went to sleep. Vancouver spent most of the remainder of the first period in the offensive zone, and raw rookie Nathan Lieuwen saw 15 shots by the end of the frame. It was clear early on that even the hapless Canucks should have no trouble scoring and sure enough, the game was tied at two by the end of the first.
By the end of the second, it was also clear that the Canucks shouldn't have much trouble defending, either. The shots were 27-10 in Vancouver's favour after 40 minutes, before Buffalo started a late push in the third.
Even a late timeout and and extra attacker wasn't enough to change their fortunes. For all the crazy things that have happened this year, even the Canucks couldn't find a way to throw away these two points.
The win puts Vancouver one point behind Dallas and three points behind Phoenix, who sit in eighth place in the West. Both the Coyotes and Stars play back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday before the Canucks' next game on Wednesday, so their fortunes will factor into the Canucks' playoff hopes, which have now risen to a gaudy 2.8 percent.
By comparison, SportsClubStats.com now pegs Dallas' chances at 48.1 percent, while Phoenix's are 54.9. Not exactly comparable.
Henrik Celebrated, then Injured
As I said yesterday, I don't think I was going to be satisfied with Henrik's 1,000-game ceremony unless they rolled out a boat or something equally enormous. The occasion felt a bit muted but had some nice moments.
The star of the show may well have been Henrik's youngest son Harry, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. When Kevin Bieksa and Daniel unveiled Henrik's portrait, he showed it to Harry who pointed as if to say, "Is that you?" Fair question—it could have been Daniel.
Here's the ceremony in its entirety, if you missed it.
Henrik's gifts included a couple of trinkets, a charity donation in his name, and a trip to Royal Ascot in England this summer, a nod to his interest in horses. Apparently the Ascot trip was a hit.
Henrik played 11:58 on Sunday before leaving the game with some sort of leg injury. He did take questions from reporters afterwards, which leads me to think it shouldn't be that serious.
What's With Weber?
Here's a quirky fact that probably only matters to me when I'm doing stats.
For the second straight game, the Canucks faced a team with a player named Weber who wears No. 6. Last night, it was Mike Weber for Buffalo; on Wednesday, it was Shea Weber for Nashville. Considering the Canucks' No. 6 is Yannick Weber, it makes for plenty of confusion for me when I'm making sure that plays are assigned to the right team.
Wednesday made my head explode a little bit; last night, I couldn't believe it was happening again.
They're the only three Webers in the league. Did the younger players choose the number so they could Be Like Shea?
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