With a break in NHL playoff action tonight, Canucks fans have every reason to turn their attention to the Utica Comets, who resume their playoff series with the Grand Rapids Griffins in Game 3 tonight—the first of three games in three nights in Grand Rapids.
Game time is 4 p.m. PT, with radio coverage available
from this link.
This series is knotted at 1-1 and has been pretty even so far, but the Manchester Monarchs just swept the Hartford Wolf Pack in the Eastern Conference Final. They're now awaiting whichever team emerges from the west.
Game 2 was one of the rougher outings of the playoffs for the Comets. Youngster Dylan Larkin scored two early goals for Grand Rapids as his team built a 4-0 lead and chased Jacob Markstrom from the net before Utica rebounded with a couple of late power-play tallies to end the game at 4-2.
Markstrom has bounced back extremely well after losses, according to the
Comets website. Not only is he 5-0, he has shut the door with an 0.95 goals-against average and .964 save percentage in games following losses in these playoffs.
Utica forward Brandon DeFazio has been suspended to two games for this open-ice hit on the Griffins' Tomas Nosek:
Don't get too excited about the prospect of Jared McCann drawing in. Mark Caswell Jr. suggests in the game notes that Will Acton is more likely to see his first action of the playoffs. Acton has been out since March 21 with a leg injury.
Cam Tucker has an interview with Comets coach Travis Green in
Metro, talking about Jake Virtanen's solid first four games in the Utica lineup.
Tucker points out that Virtanen has already been impressive enough to move up to a top-six role with Sven Baertschi and Alex Friesen.
“He has a knack for finding hits. You can’t always teach that,” said Green. “He hasn’t shied away from physical confrontation.
“He’s a force to be reckoned with when he’s skating (and) hunting down pucks.”
Despite his youth, so far it looks like Virtanen has been able to play his game at the pro level. A very good sign!
Ehrhoff Interested in Vancouver
Just found this tweet from News1130, who spoke to Christian Ehrhoff's agent Rich Curran this morning.
Ehrhoff has certainly had some ups and downs since leaving Vancouver to sign his $40-million contract with Buffalo after the 2011 playoffs.
He made it through just three years of that contract before being bought out. The big red flag now is the two concussions that the 32-year-old suffered last season. He missed 33 regular-season games in total and all of the playoffs during his time with Pittsburgh last year.
When he was in the lineup with the Penguins, he was terrific. And it's hard not to fondly remember his role as quarterback on the Canucks' then-No. 1 power-play in the league. He scored 14 goals in both his seasons in Vancouver.
Ehrhoff was considered a bargain when he signed for $4 million with Pittsburgh on July 1 last year. I would think, with his health issues, that his price tag might go down.
We don't know how many other markets Ehrhoff and his agent might be considering but the best hockey experience of his life came here in Vancouver. Perhaps he's willing to keep his asking price reasonable to come back to the west coast.
Rich Curran is also the agent for Zack Kassian, and gives us this update on Kassian's health.
One other note from News1130—agent Mike Liut also says his client, Ryan Miller, is recovering well from his knee injury.
Liut says he considered the injury to be a five to six month issue. I seem to remember Miller saying much the same thing when he played that last game of the regular season against Edmonton and didn't quite look like himself.
Some are wondering, then, why Miller played in the Canucks' disastrous Game 6 against Calgary. I won't bother second-guessing that decision—players play hurt all the time in the NHL and Miller looked good when he stepped in for Lack in the tail-end of Game 4 and in Game 5.
Worth noting—Liut certainly seems to be talking as if he expects Miller to be back in Vancouver next season. Though I can certainly see the appeal of moving him from a salary-cap point of view, given Jim Benning's long-term loyalty to his old pal from Buffalo, I'd be very surprised if Miller ends up being the goalie that's traded by Vancouver this summer.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»