Tuesday January 17 - Vancouver Canucks 1 - Nashville Predators 0
A no-goal call in the first period kept the Vancouver Canucks in the game, and Henrik Sedin's 999th career point proved to be the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 1-0 shutout win over the Nashville Predators.
Here are your highlights:
The big news came before the opening puck drop, when it was revealed that Jayson Megna was scratched due to the flu. With Anton Rodin now officially in rest-and-rehab mode for his injured knee, that opened the door for Reid Boucher to play his first game as a Vancouver Canuck.
I saw—and heard—Boucher make a hit on his first shift of the game, when he was in Megna's spot on the line with Brandon Sutter and Markus Granlund, but he wasn't credited for it on the official stat sheet.
Boucher played 3:16 over six shifts in the first period, then got moved down to the fourth line in a swap with Jack Skille to start the second. He played five shifts on the fourth line for 2:08 in the middle frame, then took just one 40-second shift in the third, when Willie shortened his bench. After the Canucks took the lead with 7:32 left on the clock, Michael Chaput subbed in for Skille on the Sutter line; Brendan Gaunce also played just one shift in the third.
Boucher's only entry into the game's stat line was a third-period hit on 20-year-old defenseman Alex Carrier, who was playing his first-ever NHL game. Here's what Willie had to say about him after the game:
Willie Desjardins on Reid Boucher: "Kinda liked him. He can get a little faster and his conditioning. He's strong on the puck." #Canucks
Like every other player—especially the younger ones—it sounds like it'll take some time before Boucher fully earns Willie's trust.
Troy Stecher was the other player who saw limited minutes on Tuesday. He was the low man on defense at just 11:30 and didn't take a shift after the Canucks got the lead.
According to Jason Botchford in The Provies, Stecher was also suffering from the same flu that sidelined Megna.
“I had no energy,” Stecher said. “My whole routine was off because I couldn’t warmup because I felt like I was going to puke.
“I would go into the corner, get hit and I felt like I was going to throw up.
“I didn’t have anything, food wise, nutrition wise because I threw it all up before the game.
“I just felt like I was dead out there. I tried to keep it simple. Kept short shifts.”
Did Willie know how bad it was? I mean he did have Pedan as an option.
“Oh ya, he knew right away. Before the game. And we came up with a plan. When he got up 1-0, with about eight minutes left in the game, I knew my night was done unless they scored.”
Credit to Stecher for toughing it out. His stat line shows four shot attempts and one giveaway for the night—not bad, all things considered.
His illness also created extra ice time for the rest of the D-corps, especially Nikita Tryamkin. The big guy took his usual shifts with Alex Biega as well as playing a bit on the right side with Luca Sbisa, and he thrived with the extra ice time. His physical play amped up as the game wore on and I also liked seeing him wind up deep in the defensive zone a couple of times.
Tryamkin sees he has no outlet on the boards so he turns around and rushes the puck out of the zone,makes outlet pass.
I feel like, at some point, we're going to see a Pavel Bure-esque end-to-end rush from this guy, where he swats away checkers as he gains speed and momentum, barrelling down the ice. It might not be this season, but it's coming—just like the idea of using him net-front on the power play, Chara-styles.
I can't wait to hear his goal song!
For now, enjoy these greatest hits. I like what Tryamkin brings to the ice in nearly every game but he was especially terrific last night.
With his size, skating and hockey smarts, Tryamkin is proving to be a very special player. It's always tough for defensive defensemen to get noticed as rookie-of-the-year candidates, and this year's Calder race is especially competitive. If the Canucks continue to push for a playoff spot, do you think his name will gain momentum as the voting window draws closer?
A couple of other quick notes:
Ryan Miller was as heated as I've ever seen him about this play, which was originally called a goal on the ice for Nashville and would have been the first-ever NHL goal for Derek Grant—an Abbotsford native who had been claimed off waivers by the Predators on January 11.
With the win, the Canucks took three points from this mini-series against the Preds, compared to two for Nashville. And that's enough to move them one point ahead of the Predators in the Western Conference standings. With 48 points, Vancouver is now tied with Los Angeles, but the Kings still sit in the second wild-card spot because they've played two less games—and have four more regulation/overtime wins.
It has now been three weeks since the Canucks got back to work after the Christmas break—and it has been quite a run!
With the flu working its way through the room, the Canucks are taking another day off today. They'll get back on the ice on Thursday to prepare for Roberto Luongo and the Panthers—setting the stage for Henrik to hit that thousand-point mark before the team hits the road for three games ahead of the All-Star Break.
"It would be a big deal for me to hit 1,000 points at home here Friday. Especially against Lu!" - Henrik Sedin
The Canucks will be catching the Panthers at the end of their Western Canadian swing. Florida fell 5-2 to Calgary on Tuesday night with Luongo in net and will face off against the Oilers in Edmonton tonight.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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