The Vancouver Canucks are taking a day off on Monday after Team Blue beat Team White 2-0 in the club's second evening scrimmage on Sunday night at Rogers Arena.
Here are the highlights from that affair:
And here's my livetweet thread from Sunday night:
Overall, I thought there was more structure and intensity than we saw on Thursday night. The players look like their games are starting to round into form, and I think the "TV timeouts" during each 25-minute half helped the guys catch their breath — and absorb a few coaching lessons.
Here's how the players were deployed:
Three players were absent: Jordie Benn has gone back to Dallas for the birth of his first child, while Brandon Sutter and Tyler Myers also didn't play.
One thing I'm noticing when following the news around the league is that there's probably no point in trying to jump to conclusions when a player is not on the ice. We're hearing stories of inconclusive COVID-19 tests which can pull players out of the mix for short periods of time; then there are those inevitable aches and pains which are bound to occur when players have been off the ice for such a long time.
On Monday, the NHL issued its weekly testing update. Just two positive results through Friday, with more than 800 players tested. That's pretty solid, considering we're still in Phase 3.
As far as I'm concerned, there isn't much point in speculating on what's happening with Sutter or Myers. When they're 'fit to play,' they'll play.
That was the case for Micheal Ferland, who spoke with the media on Sunday afternoon before hitting the ice for the scrimmage on Sunday night.
He sounded cheerful and optimistic as he answered reporters' questions — but Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet picked up a juicy nugget when he noticed that Ferland mentioned what he was hoping to get out of the scrimmage experience.
“Just the stimulation, seeing a bunch of bodies moving around, going at full speed, getting my heart rate up — that’s what I need,” Ferland said in Sunday's Zoom call. “I just need to rewire my vestibular system. I haven’t had many symptoms, but I just need to continue to get out there with more bodies, and full pace and contact.”
MacIntyre dug into that what the 'vestibular system' is:
It is the inner-ear sensory system responsible for providing our brain with information about balance, eye movement and spatial awareness from neurotransmitters — which carry messages to the brain about the body’s functions. It is what allows us to stand and move. And it can be short-circuited by trauma.
His whole article is well worth the read.
On Sunday night, Ferland skated for Team Blue, with Tyler Graovac and Justin Bailey. He made it through the full 50-minute scrimmage — which is a positive sign, considering he lasted just one period when he went down to Utica on the conditioning assignment that was the first step in his last attempt to return to play, back in February.
I saw him engage in a little bit of contact. I also noticed him looking a bit lost on one long shift, stationary at the top of the defensive zone while his teammates endured some sustained pressure without being able to clear the puck.
It definitely felt like the rest of the guys were rooting for him. I heard "Ferly" called out often during the course of the scrimmage.
With the day off on Monday, we haven't heard yet from Travis Green with his thoughts on Ferland's performance. Here's what he said on Sunday afternoon.
"Ferly is ready to go. It just makes it another body that we've got to take into consideration.
"We're going to have to make some hard decisions on our lineup, it's obvious, and the next couple of weeks here are going to be important for a lot of guys. When we signed Ferly, I think there's no secret that we signed him for these type of games in this this type of scenario, when things get heated in the playoffs. His physical presence is well known but again, we'll just see where it goes."
As Green mentions, the logjam on the wings is going to make for some tough decisions when it's time to pick his lineup for Game 1. The good news is that the Canucks can take 30 players to Edmonton, so everyone will be available.
The other good news is that Zack MacEwen had another terrific showing on Sunday night. He was physical and effective all over the ice, and scored a beauty of a one-timer goal off a great feed by Elias Pettersson.
When asked about what Jake Virtanen should take away from the fact that he didn't have a regular line to skate on at Saturday's practice, Green said this:
"He can take away whatever he wants from it. Jake and I have had lots of conversations. With Jake, I thought it's more about what Zack MacEwen did, and I thought he's looked pretty well. I thought Zack's come in in great shape. I think he's got some chemistry with Gaud and Roussel, and that's a line that I have to consider."
MacEwen, Gaudette and Roussel did show good chemistry on Sunday night — probably the best combo on the ice. Good for the team: anytime you can see an upgrade like that, especially in your bottom six, that has to be a positive. Maybe not so good for Virtanen. We'll see.
A few other quick notes before I wrap up today:
• After not looking especially sharp at Thursday's scrimmage, Jacob Markstrom was on point on Sunday. The hockey gods may have been a little generous with his shutout, as it looked like Brock Boeser may have scored just before the buzzer sounded to end the first half. But overall, Markstrom looked much stronger and appears to be rounding into form.
• A good night for Olli Juolevi! I guess I've seen him on the ice a handful of times over the years between YoungStars, development camp, training camp and exhibition games. I root for the kid, but I'm not sure I've ever seen anything in those past games that made me think he was ready to be a difference maker.
On Sunday, though, he was good — passing well and engaged physically. I was especially impressed by a battle with Virtanen that lasted for a better part of a shift, starting in the corner, then moving in front of the net. Jake's a big boy, and Juolevi definitely held his own.
Dare I say that I thought Juolevi was the best of the Utica D-men on Sunday?
• Finally — I was so surprised to see the elusive Loui Eriksson pop up on Sunday's Zoom call. Not one for the media spotlight, he handled all the questions that were addressed to him.
Two days after his 35th birthday, he had this to say when asked if he's thought much about his future in the game:
"I mean, I haven't really been thinking that much about it. All I've been doing is just trying to work hard every day and and that's been the situation for a while here.
"All I can do is just do what I can do for my best thing and just work hard and try to do my best in practice and in the games that I play."
When asked if he intended to play out the last two years of his contract, which is worth another $5 million in real dollars to him after his $3 million signing bonus was paid on July 1, Eriksson didn't hesitate.
"For sure," he said. "I mean, I love to play hockey and I've been doing this my whole life. So I will never quit playing hockey."
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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