Sunday December 13 - Chicago Blackhawks 4 - Vancouver Canucks 0
Corey Crawford posted his second straight shutout and Patrick Kane's first-period assist extended his point streak to 26 games as the Vancouver Canucks opened their six-game road trip with a 4-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Here are your highlights:
The final score was not really reflective of the tone of the game, which was competitive for 59 minutes. Just after the Blackhawks made the score 2-0 midway through the third period, Henrik tipped a puck past the sizzling Corey Crawford, but it was ruled that the puck came to him off Daniel's glove—therefore, a hand pass.
It's the right call, but if that goal had somehow been allowed to count, we could have seen a whole different outcome.
Vancouver generated a decent amount of offense in the game: the final shots were 30-30. Patrick Kane may have generated the headlines, but Corey Crawford was named first star of the game—and the NHL's first star of the week—after posting his second consecutive shutout.
The Canucks have beaten themselves on many nights this year but in Chicago on Sunday, the outcome can be attributed almost entirely to a hot opposing goalie.
Oh—and faceoffs. This is another area where the team desperately misses Brandon Sutter, who was winning draws at a rate of 53.6 percent when he was injured.
After winning just 36 percent of their faceoffs on Sunday, the Canucks are solidly locked into last place in the NHL on draws with an overall win percentage of 46.6 percent. The overall league differential is remarkably small—Carolina is first overall at 54.4 percent, so the best team in the league wins about seven more faceoffs out of 100 than the worst.
That doesn't sound like much, but the data seems like it smooths out over time. The Canucks went 21-38 overall in the circle last night—that's a number that creates a challenge for the team on the low end.
The Canucks actually had the 'Hawks on the ropes a little bit at the beginning of the third period, when Chicago was whistled for icing three times in the first three minutes, then took a too-many-men penalty. Henrik won all three of the offensive-zone draws he took in that sequence leading up to the penalty, but Jared McCann and Adam Cracknell both got beat when they stepped in. And for all the opportunity, the Canucks generated just two shots on goal during what might have been their best sustained opportunity of the game.
With a light NHL schedule on Sunday, the Canucks remain in third place in the Pacific Division for the moment. By the end of tonight, they could be bumped down to fourth as the streaking Edmonton Oilers go for their sixth straight win in Boston against the Bruins.
Today's a blustery travel day, as the team moves on to Minnesota.
Here's a slice of infamy that the Canucks would probably rather do without. ESPN's witty Sean McIndoe highlights Vancouver's poor record but current playoff-worthiness in his latest column:
Though he insists that the Canucks are a bad team, he gives them credit for a good effort on Sunday and even suggests that they might be just bad enough to win a round in the playoffs this year.
I do expect the Canucks' fortunes to pick up in the second half, once the schedule gets back to being halfway human.
Brad Ziemer put together an insightful feature about life on the road in this weekend's
Vancouver Sun, pointing out that the Canucks will have been on the road for 33 of 48 days leading into the Christmas break, with just 15 days at home.
“It is a lot more challenging than I thought, coming out West,” says goalie Ryan Miller, who has spent most of his career playing for the Buffalo Sabres. “Especially with Vancouver being second or third on the list every year for most miles and most time away. I have kind of been surprised with the long stretches we have had to begin the season. It’s not just six or seven days, it’s 12 to 14 days. It’s not just once or twice, it’s three or four times already this year.”
This year, the Canucks have been really front-loaded with road games. If they're halfway close to being in the hunt after the All-Star Break, the playoffs remain a real possibility.
Jake Virtanen Joins Team Canada
The Canucks organization did get the better of one hot goalie on Sunday, as they shattered Jonathan Bernier's AHL shutout streak with a 5-4 overtime win over the Toronto Marlies. Alex Friesen and Jordan Subban led the way with two goals apiece, leading some to wonder whether or not Subban might be ready to get a look on Vancouver's depleted blue line—or Friesen down the middle.
Both players suffer from the same affliction: at 5'9", they don't have NHL size. But if Subban can run a power play from the point or Friesen's able to best some bigger men in the faceoff circle, their skills could be useful in Vancouver. I think it's more likely that Jim Benning tries to trade for blue line help before the holiday roster freeze on Saturday but if this road trip goes badly, maybe we'll see some new wrinkles after Christmas?
But I digress. I brought up the Comets/Marlies game because that's where Jake Virtanen played yesterday. He got two shots on goal but was pointless in the contest. His big win came after the game, when it was announced that he will indeed be joining Team Canada for the World Junior Championship in Finland.
There's some talk that Virtanen could be in line for the captaincy as a returning player from last year's gold medal squad. His Finnish heritage is also an interesting sidebar to his backstory this time around.
This is probably the longest interview I've seen with Virtanen all year:
Virtanen and the rest of the team got on the plane to Europe last night. Straight to work!
Though we heard last week that Jared McCann was definitely going to stay with the Canucks, that decision now seems to be back up in the air.
Something else to hold our attention for the rest of the week....
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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