Saturday January 6 - Toronto Maple Leafs 3 - Vancouver Canucks 2 (S/O)
The Vancouver Canucks played well and Brock Boeser strutted his stuff on hockey's biggest stage, but in the end they had to settle for a single point after surrendering a two-goal third period lead and being defeated in the shootout by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Here are your highlights:
Back for just his second game after suffering a groin injury in mid-December and playing in his hometown of Toronto, Chris Tanev lasted just four shifts before leaving the game after taking a puck to the mouth.
It was ugly. Michael Del Zotto picked up four of his teeth off the ice after he went to the dressing room, and that's not all.
Though he gets hurt often, he always wants to play. Last night was no different.
He won't play tonight in Montreal, but hopes to be back in the lineup on Tuesday in Washington. Warrior!
Tanev left the game just 3:22 into the first period, leaving the Canucks to soldier on with five defensemen—on a back-to-back—for what turned out to be a 65-minute game. Alex Edler and Troy Stecher both turned in season highs in ice time, with 29:54 and 24:56 respectively.
Midway through the first period, Erik Gudbranson laid a big hit on Nazem Kadri that got Don Cherry drooling.
If you missed it:
That set off some cheers among Canuck Nation. Even I would trade Gudbranson for Mitch Marner!
But the guy who pulls the trigger on trades, general manager Jim Benning, is off the grid. His future has been at the centre of team discussion all week, but
Jason Botchford mentioned in Saturday's Provies that "Benning has left the team and wasn’t at the World Juniors, coping with a family situation back home."
I would assume that he must be dealing with something pretty serious if it would pull him away from the chance to scout top draft prospects like Rasmus Dahlin at World Juniors.
Not only does that mean that Jim's not working the phones, he's also in no position to be involved in discussions about his role with the team at the moment.
This is a new wrinkle in the saga, which could turn out to be very significant if Benning is away from the team for any period of time. Something to watch.
Anyway—back to the game.
Brock Boeser finally opened the scoring early in the second period with one of his best goals so far:
Boeser did more than just snipe pucks on Saturday. Matched up primarily against Auston Matthews' line, I saw him carrying the puck down the boards more than I've ever seen before, making all sorts of creative plays. Once again, he led all forwards in ice time with 19:10, though that was just a few seconds more than Markus Granlund and Sam Gagner (both 19:06).
It was Gagner who boosted the lead to 2-0 on a third-period 5-on-3 before the Leafs pushed back with two great plays to force overtime.
Brock being Brock, of course he thought he scored in the extra frame to end the game. He misses so rarely, but this time it was a double post.
Saturday was the Canucks' third shootout of the year—and the third loss. Sam Gagner beat Frederik Andersen while Boeser and Vanek were denied. Auston Matthews and Tyler Bozak converted for the Leafs.
Let's give Corey Hirsch the last word before moving on to today's contest:
Sunday January 7 - Vancouver Canucks at Montreal Canadiens - 4 p.m. - Sportsnet, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 41 GP, 16-19-6, 38 pts, seventh in Pacific Division
Montreal Canadiens: 41 GP, 17-20-4, 38 pts, sixth in Atlantic Division
Tied in the NHL standings, the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens meet at Bell Centre on Sunday, less than three weeks after that insane 7-5 win for the Habs at Rogers Arena back on December 19th.
Since that time, the Canucks have gone 1-3-2, while the struggling Habs are 2-5-0. Pretty grim on both sides, though Montreal is coming into tonight's game after a 2-1 win over the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
However—the Habs may be without their best player tonight. Carey Price missed practice on Saturday due to the flu and is questionable for tonight. We should get an update when Montreal GM Marc Bergevin speaks to the media at 2:15 p.m. PT, a couple of hours before puck drop.
If Price can't go tonight, the Canucks will face Antti Niemi, who is still looking for his first win in a Montreal uniform. Since being picked up on waivers from Florida in mid-November, Niemi has appeared in four games and started two. He has an 0-1-1 record but his numbers in Montreal aren't terrible—a .918 saver percentage and 2.79 goals-against average.
Defenseman Shea Weber is also still out of action with that foot injury. He has now missed eight straight games and is not expected to play until after the All-Star Break.
One final note to wrap up:
I assume this means that Sven Baertschi will return tonight, which should lead to some lineup shuffling. I also expect Ben Hutton will be back with Tanev on the sidelines.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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