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Markstrom dazzles as Canucks beat Flames in OT, close out 2018 vs. Devils |
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Saturday December 29 – Vancouver Canucks 3 – Calgary Flames 2 (OT)
It wasn’t pretty, but it was a show of great resilience. Despite giving up two shorthanded goals and being dominated in possession for much of the game, the Vancouver Canucks rode a heroic performance from Jacob Markstrom and timely goals from their stars to an overtime win over the best team in the Pacific Division when they came from behind to beat the Calgary Flames on Saturday night at the Saddledome.
Here are your highlights:
I was in Victoria for more World Juniors action on Saturday, watching Finland easily dispose of Slovakia by a 5-1 score before Team USA overcame a 4-0 third-period deficit to force overtime, then fell to Sweden in overtime. In between, I was keeping an eye on Canada’s win over the Czech Republic, so I didn’t get a chance to watch the Canucks until later in the evening—thanks, GameCentre Live!
A year ago, when the Canucks were mired in their losing skid, I'm not sure I would have made the effort to watch the game after the fact. From December 17-January 12 last year, the Canucks went 1-7-2.
This year, things have been very different. Plus, knowing that Vancouver came back to win despite getting badly outplayed at times, I wanted to see how the game came together.
I did keep an eye on the live stat sheets in real time, so I saw that Brock Boeser had given the Canucks a 1-0 lead early—on a shot that gives every indication that he’s feeling more and more like the player who dazzled us before he was injured last season.
The goal is Boeser’s 10th in his last 15 games since he came back from his groin injury—and his shooting accuracy is now back on point. On a night when the Canucks only managed a total of 27 shots, Boeser had 10 attempts, and eight of them were on goal. Since he came back from his injury on November 27, his shooting percentage is 21.3 percent, which has bumped his average for the year up to 16.7 percent—higher than his 16.2 percent average from last season.
Sven Baertschi picked up his first point since October 22 with the secondary assist on Boeser’s goal.
After that, it was a long wait before Elias Pettersson scored his 19th of the year at 11:37 of the second—another patented rocket from the top of the right faceoff circle.
After getting outshot 13-6 in the first period, the Canucks managed to play Calgary even in the second, even though Bo Horvat was getting uncharacteristically crushed in the faceoff circle. Through 40 minutes, he had just three wins in 16 attempts and finished the night at 9-for-31, or 29 percent.
On the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Louie DeBrusk mentioned that Horvat had been in some discomfort during the morning skate after blocking a shot. I wonder if that incident inflicted any lasting damage? It didn't seem to impact his workload—he still played more than 20 minutes and took more than half of Vancouver's draws.
One of the things I’m enjoying most about this current incarnation of the Canucks—along with the winning—is the team’s more confident, dynamic approach. Nowhere was that more apparent than in overtime, when Alex Edler wasn’t afraid to move down deep before accepting a back-door pass from Boeser for the 3-on-3 game winner.
With one game left on their December schedule, the Canucks have now gone 8-4-1 so far this month and Markstrom’s record of 8-1-0 is as good as any goalie in the league. He's tied with Carey Price for the most wins in December—although Price has appeared in 12 games—and has a 1.66 GAA and .943 save percentage this month.
When Ian Clark was hired over the summer as the Canucks’ goalie coach, I was hopeful that he’d be able to work some of the same magic that helped Sergei Bobrovsky win two Vezina Trophies under his tutelage in Columbus. So far, so good. I’ve always believed that Markstrom had good fundamentals and a decent amount of potential, though even I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting to see such a dramatic improvement in such a short period of time.
Up next, the Canucks head out east for four games, starting with a New Year’s Eve matinee in New Jersey.
Before I set that up, a couple more notes on the Canucks’ prospects at World Juniors.
Though the Czechs weren’t overly threatening, Michael DiPietro did everything that was required of him in delivering his second win for Team Canada on Saturday at Rogers Arena. DiPietro made 23 saves to backstop the win—and most likely set himself up for another start on Monday as the round robin wraps up against Russia in what should be the Canadians’ toughest test to date.
In Victoria, defenseman Toni Utunen delivered another typical performance for him—steady but unspectacular on Finland’s third pairing. He played 14:47 and had four shots on goal in Finland’s win over Slovakia.
U.S. prospects Quinn Hughes and Tyler Madden both had a bit of a tough time during the first two periods of their game against Sweden—both minus-two through 40 minutes as the Swedes played a stifling defensive game and took advantage of American mistakes to build a 4-0 lead. But the U.S. team came back in a thrilling finish, forcing overtime off a natural hat trick from Ryan Poehling, who scored twice in the final minute to help the U.S. team earn a single point and gain a ton of confidence as they head into their final round-robin game against Finland on Monday.
Quinn Hughes was on the ice for the last two goals, both scored with the U.S. net empty, and recorded one assist as part of the comeback. He was busy once again, with 27:23 of ice time. After the game, he lamented the absence of his brother Jack, who missed his second-straight game with an undisclosed injury, saying that Jack would have thrived in that type of game environment.
This may be the hit from Team USA’s opening game against Slovakia that could have caused Jack's injury:
Quinn says he expects his brother to get back into action at some point in the tournament.
After a standout game against Kazakhstan on Friday, Tyler Madden was inserted into Team USA’s starting lineup against Finland. He was held without a shot on goal but played 22:23, tops among all U.S. forwards, and spent plenty of time buzzing around the offensive zone over the course of the game, but finished with a minus-two.
Monday December 31 – Vancouver Canucks at New Jersey Devils – 10 a.m. – Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 41 GP, 19-18-4, 42 points, fifth in Pacific Division
New Jersey Devils: 37 GP, 14-16-7, 35 points, seventh in Metropolitan Division
If you’re looking forward to watching the final day of World Junior round-robin action on New Year’s Eve—or perhaps even going out—you’ll have a chance to do all that after taking in the Canucks in a rare morning game, as they close out the year against the New Jersey Devils.
After an MVP season from Taylor Hall and an unexpected playoff appearance in 2017-18, the Devils have struggled this season and are currently focused on trying to stay out of the Eastern Conference basement. Their biggest issue is their goaltending, especially ex-Canuck Cory Schneider, who hasn’t been able to regain his top form after dealing with injuries and offseason hip surgery.
Now 32, Schneider is in the fourth year of a seven-year contract that is carrying a cap hit of $6 million a season, and is at risk of going the entire 2018 calendar year without recording a single win. He's 0-14-2 in 2018 and hasn't played since December 14, when he gave up three goals on seven shots in 9:36 to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Schenider's now back on injured reserve with an abdominal strain, so the Devils have been running with rookie Mackenzie Blackwood in recent games. He's now 2-1-0 in five appearances and earned his first career shutout against Carolina on Saturday.
Offensively, the Devils are being led once again by Hall and Kyle Palmieri, but have had trouble generating much secondary scoring. They're in the middle of the pack offensively, averaging 2.95 goals per game, but their 3.38 goals against per game ranks them 27th overall.
As for the Canucks, expect to see them go with the same lineup on Monday as they deployed against Calgary on Saturday, with Sven Baertschi and Troy Stecher back in the mix. As expected, to make room for Baertschi’s return, the Canucks re-assigned Adam Gaudette to the Utica Comets on Saturday.
Speaking of the Comets—they’ll remain the Canucks’ farm team for the foreseeable future. Though there was some talk that the affiliation might be moved closer to B.C. to help facilitate easier call-ups when needed, the Canucks announced on Saturday that they have renewed their agreement with the Comets, so the farm team will stay in Utica for as many as six more seasons.
Though the travel can be complex, the Comets are well run and have enjoyed tremendous community support. The team is currently riding a 149-game home sellout streak—an all-time AHL record that continues to extend with every passing game.
That sets you up to get through the final hours of 2018.
Thanks again for reading and sticking with us here at HockeyBuzz through a year that has seen plenty of peaks and valleys but is wrapping up with the most hope for the future that Canucks fans have enjoyed in a long time.
Have a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve, and Happy New Year! Catch ya in 2019.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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