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After Demko shuts out the Jets, Canucks tap Holtby to finish back-to-back |
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For the first time in years, the Vancouver Canucks have found the 'win' in Winnipeg.
After putting up an impressive 4-1 win at Bell MTS Centre at the end of January, the Canucks picked up another solid victory on Monday. Thatcher Demko made 27 saves for his first career regular-season shutout as the Canucks beat the Jets 4-0.
The Canucks came into the season with a record of just 5-11-1 in Winnipeg since the Jets relocated from Atlanta back in 2011. And their road record so far this season is a grim 4-8-0. So those two wins in Winnipeg really stand out.
They won't have to wait for their chance to improve to 3-0. It's right back to work on Tuesday night, with Laurent Brossoit taking over for Connor Hellebuyck in net.
Even though Hellebuyck is the reigning Vezina Trophy holder, Brossoit is not exactly a downgrade. He has played just four games so far this year, but boasts a 2.24 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. But maybe he's rusty? He hasn't seen game action since he shut out the Canucks at Rogers Arena on Feb. 19.
At the other end of the ice, Green hasn't gone to the same goalie for back-to-backs yet this season, but he did it with Jacob Markstrom at times in the past. And he has been leaning more heavily on Demko over the last three weeks or so. Since Holtby got two consecutive starts in Toronto back on Feb. 6 and Feb. 8, Demko has played seven of nine. And while he had a few rough outings after being named the NHL's First Star of the Week at the end of January, Monday's shutout bumps his save percentage for the season back to a pretty respectable .907 while his GAA is the lowest it's been all year, at 3.06.
Green told the media Tuesday morning that he will be giving Holtby the start.
Also worth noting: the Jets are a resilient bunch this season. They came into Monday's game riding a four-game winning streak, and with a 13-7-1 record for the season, they haven't lost two in a row in regulation yet this year.
With the win, the Canucks narrowed the gap ever-so-slightly on struggling Calgary and Montreal. With 20 points in 25 games, they're two points back of the Flames (23 games) and three behind the Canadiens (20 games). Montreal hosts Ottawa on Tuesday while the Flames will also see the Senators for their next game, Thursday night back in Calgary.
And games against the Senators are no longer a guaranteed two points. Ottawa has won four of its last five and seven of its last nine, and is lurking just three points behind Vancouver in the North Division standings.
It sure was nice to see the Canucks finally get some puck luck on Monday β especially Nate Schmidt, who has had as tough a go of it as anybody. He got things started midway through the first period with a long shot that appeared to deflect past Hellebuyck off the stick of Winnipeg's Andrew Copp. Just 18 seconds later, J.T. Miller got his stick on another Schmidt shot to quickly made it 2-0. Then, Nils Hoglander rounded out the scoring on a rare goal for the PP2 crew at 14:56 of the first, executing a tip of his own off a long shot by Tyler Myers.
Hoglander's goal was his fourth of the year β but his first since Jan. 30, the last time the Canucks were in Winnipeg. Though he has remained one of the most fun Vancouver players to watch through this dark patch, bringing effort and enthusiasm every night, he tallied just three assists in 13 games in February, leaving him well outside the rookie-of-the-month conversation.
Maybe March will be his month? He's off to a good start. And he must have been feeling confident to take a crack at his patented lacrosse goal on Monday night. Trevor Zegras made a failed attempt in Anaheim on Monday as well, so now the race is on. Who will be the first rookie to connect?
To close today, a quick look at what's happening with Canucks players outside the NHL.
With the KHL playoffs starting Tuesday, Vasily Podkolzin is back in the lineup for SKA after suffering a concussion a couple of weeks ago. And he's on the scoresheet!
SKA took Game 1 of their first-round series against Dinamo Minsk by a score of 4-2.
And down in the AHL β if you missed it, Jack Rathbone officially started his pro career with a bang, putting up three assists in Utica's 7-2 win over Rochester last Friday.
He added one more assist on Saturday, as the Comets beat the Syracuse Crunch 4-2.
After a solid showing at Canucks training camp, Rathbone started the season on the taxi squad. To get him some game action, he was assigned to the Comets on Feb. 18 βΒ just in time for an eight-day break in Utica's schedule.
The Comets have just one game this week, too. They'll be in Rochester on Wednesday.
With a 5-1-0-1 record in February, the Comets start this month in first place by points percentage in the AHL North Division standings.
Offense has been a team effort: Jonah Gadjovich, Kole Lind and Lukas Jasek each have seven points in seven games to lead the team.
I was surprised to read that Comets coach Trent Cull has moved Lind from wing to centre. It's more typical to see that move go the other way, but once again, the Comets are thin down the middle.
One of their centre options, Tyler Graovac, has been stashed with the Manitoba Moose β so he can join the Canucks without having to quarantine if they ever get into deep injury or Covid trouble. Graovac has also started well. He has nine points in nine games and is a plus-10 for the Moose, who are 4-5-0 for fourth place so far in the Canadian Division.
Nineteen-year-old Canucks goaltending prospect Arturs Silovs also made his pro debut last weekend. He gave up just two goals on 25 shots and was named the game's third star as the Moose fell 2-1 to the division-leading Laval Rocket. Defenseman Ashton Sautner also started the AHL season with the Moose. He played in two games before being called up to take Rathbone's spot on the taxi squad on Feb. 18.
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