Thursday October 6 - Vancouver Canucks 4 - Calgary Flames 0
The Vancouver Canucks closed out their home preseason schedule on a positive note, beating an undermanned Calgary Flames team 4-0 on Thursday night at Rogers Arena.
Here are your highlights:
The Flames were on the second game of a back-to-back, and their last game of preseason, so they only dressed a few regulars. Sean Monahan played his first game after dealing with a back injury but coach Glen Gulutzan continued to look at his bubble players like Linden Vey, Chris Higgins, Hunter Shinkaruk, Lauri Korpikoski and Nicklas Grossmann. Backup Chad Johnson played the full game in net.
Still—it was pretty magical to see the Sedins and Loui Eriksson do their thing together for the first time in Canucks colours. At the rink last night, we were musing on the idea that Eriksson's the first real *star* right winger that the twins have ever played with.
I'd say Mikael Samuelsson is probably second on the list? He got 30 goals and 53 points in his first season in Vancouver in 2009-10, a career high for him, but by the second half of that season it was Alex Burrows who was riding shotgun, on his way to his career high 35 goals and 67 points.
Last night, our first taste of the new Tre Kronor line was outstanding. Eriksson delivered two goals—the first off his heel in front of the net and the second off a deflection from the end glass. Did Henrik do this on purpose?
Brandon Sutter opened the scoring on a first-period shorthanded goal that was almost identical to the one Tuomo Ruutu scored against the Sharks last week. Sutter and Jannik Hansen provided a massive boost to the Canucks' penalty kill, which has been burned plenty during preseason.
The other goal was scored by Jake Virtanen—a nice snipe while all alone in the slot after a pass out of the corner from Markus Granlund.
Virtanen's goal is all Sven. Drastic improvement in strength & puck protection to fend off defenders while maintaining possession. #Canuckspic.twitter.com/Jfnc0iTHvt
Jake has gathered a lot of support from the experts today. I'm seeing tweets saying that Pierre LeBrun, Tony Gallagher, Matt Sekeres and Jason Brough all think that Virtanen has shown enough that he deserves to start the year in the NHL.
Meanwhile, Andrey Pedan did clear waivers this morning, so he's comfortably ensconced in Utica. After a very brief training camp, the Comets open their regular-season schedule on Saturday against the Syracuse Crunch; not much time for Travis Green to get his systems in place.
Big weekend for Thatcher Demko!
FWIW: Thatcher Demko was first off the ice among goalies today. Team plays Syracuse tomorrow and Sunday
• Markus Granlund has moved himself out of the category of "bubble player." He didn't do much during his 16-game debut with the Canucks after he was acquired last season, but looks much improved so far during training camp. Granlund is noticeable on the ice, involved in the play, and showing more skill than I remember seeing last year.
Playing in all situations, including on that line with Baertschi and Virtanen, Granlund logged 16:21 last night, more than any forward other than the Sedins and Loui Eriksson.
• I know Troy Stecher is the fan favourite, but don't be too quick to dismiss Philip Larsen. The Dane meshed well with the Swedish forwards, especially on the power play. He walked the line well and picked up an assist on Eriksson's first goal, which came just after the end of a man advantage.
Sure, Calgary didn't bring its "A" Team last night, but any time the Canucks can deliver a shutout, I'm not going to be hard on any of the defensemen or on Ryan Miller. The shots on goal did favour the Flames, 35-26, after Calgary outshot Vancouver 19-7 in the third period.
• My assessment of Jack Skille? Great skater; good hustle; no finish. He gets chances, but he can't convert. Not sure the Canucks need to add that to their roster.
The Canucks will wrap up their preseason schedule on Saturday in Edmonton. Here's hoping they can concentrate on the game without being overly awed by the majesty of the new Rogers Place!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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