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Bruce Boudreau ties record as Canucks go to 7-0 with OT win over the Ducks |
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Wednesday, December 29 - Vancouver Canucks 2, Anaheim Ducks 1 (OT)
Thursday, December 30 - Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings - 7:30 p.m. PT
The magic continues.
J.T. Miller's overtime goal gave the Vancouver Canucks their seventh straight win, as they defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in their return to action on Wednesday night.
Nashville lost to Washington on Wednesday, ending their seven-game winning streak. So the Canucks now have the longest active winning streak in the league, and are a league-leading 9-1-0 in their last 10 games.
As of Thursday morning, they're still just one spot out of last place in the Pacific Division, but they could do some damage over the next few days.
They're just one point behind the Los Angeles Kings as they head up the I-5 to what is now known as Crypto.com arena, for Thursday's game. Then, they'll close out their road trip on Saturday in Seattle.
After that, my guess is that the schedule is 'fluid,' as they say. The NHL has now come out and said what I had been suspecting for awhile — that it's reluctant to mount games in Canadian arenas where they're limited by attendance, food and beverage restrictions, and such.
When Manitoba announced capacity limits of just 250 fans a few days ago, that effectively kiboshed the Jets' home games for the time being. I imagine that's why the Abbotsford Canucks aren't playing the Manitoba Moose over the next couple of days, too.
Upcoming home games for the Flames, Senators, Maple Leafs and Canadiens have also been postponed. And Edmonton's out of their arena for another week or so because of the World Juniors schedule, even though the tournament has now been cancelled.
As things stand on Thursday morning, the next scheduled home games for Canadian teams are nearly a week away — Toronto hosting Edmonton, and Vancouver hosting the Islanders on Jan. 5. The Canucks are also supposed to host Ottawa three days later before embarking on a five-game trip through the Southern U.S.
Somehow, B.C. is announcing record daily Covid case numbers despite the fact that the testing system is buckling under the demand — and the weather. Schools are staying closed for an extra week to try to help bring things back under control.
My guess is that those two home games will be kiboshed — giving the Canucks another nine-day break. And I don't think they'd be able to squeeze the postponed road game against the Sharks from Dec. 21 into that window — San Jose will be on an Eastern road trip of their own.
I don't expect the league will release a fully reimagined schedule until things start to get under better control, and they know what they're dealing with. So I suspect for the next little while, we're going to continue to get games in fits and starts — and probably on the road.
This week's three-in-four might be all we'll see for awhile. Better enjoy and make the most of it!
As for Wednesday's game...
Despite the goal-fests when the NHL returned to action on Tuesday night, I was expecting a low-scoring affair — with John Gibson and Thatcher Demko between the pipes, and with Trevor Zegras and Brock Boeser both on the sidelines in Covid protocol.
The game started off pretty sleepy. Sam Carrick's opening goal, late in the first period, was against the flow of the play and probably one that Thatcher Demko would have liked to have back.
By the second, the Canucks had started to establish a territorial edge, outshooting the Ducks 15-8. But Gibson is usually very good against Vancouver, and Wednesday was no exception.
Shots in the third were 13-7 for the Canucks. Tanner Pearson drew Vancouver even at the 1:21 mark, converting a feed from Quinn Hughes.
Early in overtime, J.T. Miller hopped on a loose puck in the Anaheim zone and would not be denied. I was impressed by how Miller maintained his speed; Hampus Lindholm couldn't even get close enough to try a desperation hook or grab.
Given the results, it's a good day to say that this Pearson/Miller pairing seems like it's working well. I don't think that's a combo that we ever saw from Travis Green?
Also, a shoutout to Tyler Myers and Luke Schenn for killing the entire two minutes of Oliver Ekman-Larsson's tripping penalty midway through the period, and limiting the Ducks to just one shot on goal.
With the win, the Canucks are now 3-9-2 when trailing after two periods, which is pretty decent. Only three teams have come back to win four games when trailing so far this year — Florida, Columbus (!) and Vegas. Four others have also done it three times: Tampa Bay, Edmonton, L.A. and Arizona (!).
I guess part of the message here is not to count out the Kings at any point on Thursday. They'll be the more rested team — although for the Canucks, I'd think the back-to-back in this situation might actually feel good, after so much time off?
L.A. is coming off a 6-3 loss to Vegas on Tuesday, but that's a historically tough matchup for the Kings. They were also somewhat shorthanded due to Covid issues, missing Phillip Danault and Dustin Brown. Danault is expected to return against the Canucks.
Jonathan Quick, who has been having a very good season, was pulled early in the second period against Vegas, after giving up five goals on 15 shots. He's expected to get back between the pipes against Vancouver.
Will Bruce Boudreau tap Jaro Halak to start for the Canucks? Or, after Thatcher Demko faced just 23 shots on Wednesday, will he return to his starter as he tries to make history?
As far as the standings go — with a .500 record of 15-15-2 for 32 points, the Canucks head into Thursday's game sitting 13th in the 16-team Western Conference.
But they're within striking distance of four teams (even if the others do all have games in hand).
One of those teams is Los Angeles, with 33 points in 31 games. The others are Winnipeg (33 in 30), San Jose (33 in 31) and Dallas (32 in 29).
The Sharks are the only other team on that list that's in action on Thursday, hosting the Philadelphia Flyers.
So — if the Canucks beat the Kings in regulation and the Sharks lose to the Flyers in regulation, Vancouver could wake up on Friday morning in ninth place in the Western Conference, just two points out of a wild-card spot.
Because of those games in hand, there's a little bit of smoke and mirrors involved. But still — a month ago, who would have thought that the Canucks could close out 2021 with a realistic dream of grabbing a playoff spot?
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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