Saturday December 3 - Vancouver Canucks 3 - Toronto Maple Leafs 2 (S/O)
The Department of Player Safety kept a close eye on the proceedings. The dirty stuff was kept to a minimum and Ryan Miller was spectacular as the Vancouver Canucks hung on to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in the shootout at Rogers Arena on Saturday night.
Here are your highlights:
In a penalty-free first period, the Canucks got out to an early lead when a long slapper by Daniel Sedin beat Freddie Andersen at the 13:03 mark.
The moment felt very WWE-like with the music playing all the way through the fight. And do the dudes in the front row on the other side of the glass look like they're enjoying the moment or what?
I suspect Erik Gudbranson and Matt Martin were both glad to get the fight out of the way and move on. Guddy's dad certainly approved!
Good job @Guddy44 dealing w journeyman Martin who took on smaller rookie Stecher earlier. Erik showed teammanship & character. @Canucks
Not sure I've ever seen the word "teammanship" before, but it fits in this context.
Gudbranson hasn't had an easy go of things since arriving in Vancouver. His trade raised eyebrows as a result of his poor advanced stat numbers and in that sense, he has remained true to form. He now has the worst plus-minus on the team at minus-13 and his partner Ben Hutton is second worst among defensemen at minus-11.
But even with the impressive play by Troy Stecher and Nikita Tryamkin this season, where would the Canucks' defense be right now with Edler and Tanev out of the lineup, if Gudbranson wasn't here? The big blueliner definitely brought more fans into his corner last night with his willingness to step up and exact a measure of revenge for Martin's mistreatment of Troy Stecher a month ago in Toronto.
It has also been said this week that now-deposed Gerard Gallant was very sad to see him leave Florida last summer while he was still the coach, and Don Cherry stuck up for him on Coach's Corner last night as well.
Ed Willes could be right on the money here.
I think Gudbrandson suffers from the Clarke Gillies syndrome. A nice guy at heart who's expected to play mean and doesn't relish the role
Fourth liner Jayson Megna played just 4:14 in the game. Midway through the second, he used one of his rare shifts to crash awkwardly into Andersen, setting up a Toronto power play that needed just 14 seconds to click. James van Riemsdyk cut the Vancouver lead to one after 40 minutes.
To start the third, Vancouver hit the ice looking like they were content just to ice the puck endlessly in an effort to wind the clock down, eight seconds at a time. The Leafs pushed the Canucks back on their heels and Auston Matthews evened the game at the 1:56 mark with his 11th of the season.
The Canucks continued to play for the tie, barely gaining the zone for the first half of the period. Even a power play off a Morgan Rielly tripping penalty at 7:13 failed to generate a shot. Andersen's first save of the third came at the 13:26 mark, off the stick of Markus Granlund. In total, Vancouver was outshot 11-4 in the third period and 7-1 in overtime before getting their chance to grab that second point in the shootout.
Once again, Troy Stecher was at the centre of the action. He finished the night with a team-high six shot attempts, though only two made it through to the net. Stecher also paid back Ryan Miller for coming to his aid when he got jumped by Martin back in Toronto with this game-saving play on the goal line.
Never thought I'd say this, but the Canucks are now money in the shootout. Thank Markus Granlund, who's 2-for-2 this season, Bo Horvat, who's 1-for-1 and got the game-winner on Saturday, and Ryan Miller.
The Canucks are now 3-1 this season in the skills competition, with their only loss back on October 22 against Los Angeles.
And y'know what? Though fans have been open to the idea of a Ryan Miller trade since his first season with the Canucks, there's a rumbling that just the opposite could happen—he might sign another contract in Vancouver!
From the Luke Fox interview that went up on the Sportsnet site on Saturday, here's what Trevor Linden had to say when asked if Jacob Markstrom was the No. 1 goalie of the future:
We definitely feel he has a chance. The succession plan: Ryan [Miller] may be back next year. We’re not sure. He’s a free agent. Jacob, we feel can be a No. 1 goalie, and we got Demko in Utica. It depends on his development. Goaltenders take a little more time.
Markstrom was drafted in 2008. He'll be 27 in January and through 25 games, he has gotten 11 starts—and that's with Miller out of the lineup due to illness on two separate occasions.
Is Trevor just making nice here, keeping his top guy happy? Or is Miller's tenure as a Canuck due to continue?
Next up for the Canucks—a five-game Eastern Conference road trip. First stop, New Jersey, to take on the Devils on Tuesday, then it's a run through the old Southeast Division—Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington and Carolina.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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