Thursday November 17 - Vancouver Canucks 3 - Arizona Coyotes 2 (OT)
A penalty shot goal by Ben Hutton in overtime helped keep the Vancouver Canucks out of the NHL basement as the team beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Thursday night at Rogers Arena.
Here are your highlights:
As I left the arena after the game, I heard a fan down the street shout out "Ben. Hutton. WHOO!!" I might even have heard a car honk with jubilation. It was a basement battle in the Pacific Division in the middle of November, but there was a decent-sized crowd on hand (by this year's standards), and they enjoyed yet another comeback win by the Canucks.
On a night when a loss might have meant the end of the road for coach Willie Desjardins, there was no quit at all in his players. Once again, the Canucks outshot their opponents, this time by a 42-36 margin, and they improved their overtime record to a perfect 4-0.
The Canucks actually did score first, too. But Michael Chaput's first as a Canuck, which would have been the third goal of his NHL career, was overturned on a coach's challenge for goaltender interference.
In the second period, Arizona got goals from Brad Richardson and Anthony DeAngelo, on the power play, before Brandon Sutter got the Canucks on the board late in the middle frame for the second straight game.
Richardson's goal was the fifth of the season, but may end up being his last of the year. The one-time Canuck was stretchered off the ice less than a minute after the DeAngelo goal after getting awkwardly tangled up with big Nikita Tryamkin.
Just saw the replay there, Tryamkin guilty of being only tall on the play.. Richardson just got caught under him.
I won't embed the replay cuz it make me feel squirmy. It was announced during that game that Richardson had been taken to hospital, and the followup news is not good.
Broken tibia and fibula for ARI forward Brad Richardson, who is undergoing surgery this morning.
Richardson, known as John Tortorella's "whiskey drinker," was a solid player for the Canucks during his time here. I wish him a speedy recovery!
Earlier in the game, I noticed Martin Hanzal, who's listed at 6'6", come nose-to-nose with the 6'7" Tryamkin. Hanzal's a guy who's used to getting his way when it comes to the physical side of the game. As the pair pushed and shoved a bit away from the puck, his body language seemed to say, "Where did *you* come from?"
The Richardson injury was just bad luck. With every passing game, it becomes clearer that Tryamkin is a good guy to have around.
He seems like a great teammate, too. Check this out:
Brendan Sutter gets hurt blocking a shot, Nikita Tryamkin helps him toward the bench. pic.twitter.com/81tMAGnrAv
There's no definite word yet on Dorsett's prognosis, but he did miss four games with a shoulder problem back in October.
In Dorsett's absence, Jack Skille was first moved up to play with Loui Eriksson and Markus Granlund, but by the third period Skille had been replaced by Michael Chaput. The trio had some decent shifts, so my expectation is that if Dorsett can't play on Saturday, Willie Desjardins will probably leave that line together and insert the now-healthy Jayson Megna onto the fourth line with Skille and Brendan Gaunce.
In other words—no, I don't expect to see Jake Virtanen back in Vancouver anytime soon. I hope he gets a good run in Utica, polishing his game and getting his confidence back.
The Canucks may start slow, but other than against the Rangers on Tuesday, they finish strong on home ice. Taking advantage of a Coyotes team on the second half of a back-to-back, Vancouver tied the game before the end of the second period on a power-play beauty by Daniel Sedin, then outshot Arizona 13-7 in the third period, earning a point and forcing overtime.
Shots were 2-2 in the extra frame, so the keepaway wasn't quite as dominant as we've seen in past games. And it wasn't until rookie Dylan Strome laid the hook on Ben Hutton during a breakaway chance that the stage was set for the first-ever OT penalty-shot winner in franchise history.
Hutton cherished every second of his skate around the ice after he was named the game's third star.
“That’s a move I use in practice but have never used in a game,” he told Ben Kuzma of The Province. “I was a little nervous going into it and there was a lot going through my mind because I knew we needed this win. My last one (penalty shot) was my freshman year in college.
“It’s definitely a relief. I haven’t been playing my best to start the season and hopefully a goal will help me to start rolling.”
For now, everybody gets to take a breath and get ready for the surging Chicago Blackhawks to roll into town on Saturday night.
Jim Benning joined the TSN1040 morning show on Friday, running down all the subjects inquiring minds want to know.
Dreger emphasizes that a deal might not happen soon, if at all. But it remains a possibility.
For today, enjoy the win. I'm surprised the wattage from what I'm guessing is a perma-smile on Hutton today hasn't been enough to burn off the grey clouds hanging over the city of Vancouver!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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