Friday January 12 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - Columbus Blue Jackets 2
It only took 12 days and five tries for the Vancouver Canucks to secure their first win of 2018. The Canucks got some bounces during a four goal second period on their way to a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday at Nationwide Arena.
Here are your highlights:
Trying to take advantage of a tired Columbus team on the second half of a back-to-back, the Canucks were flat out of the gate. The Blue Jackets outshot the Canucks 6-0 through the first 6:09 of the first period and took a 1-0 lead off a Seth Jones power-play point shot while Henrik Sedin sat in the penalty box for holding Boone Jenner.
The Canucks eventually found their legs. By the end of the first period, the shots were 11-8 for the Blue Jackets and the Canucks had drawn a late-frame power play after Zach Werenski tripped Loui Eriksson.
The second power-play unit converted off that man advantage early in the second, when Thomas Vanek threaded an amazing pass off the skate of Seth Jones and through to Sven Baertschi, who picked up his first point in three games since returning from his fractured jaw with an easy tap-in.
Shots were 12-12 in the second but by the end of the period, the Canucks had built a 4-1 lead thanks to a sharp point shot from Erik Gudbranson off a great feed from Loui Eriksson...
...a whiffler by Brendan Gaunce in the dying stages of a power play...
....and a Swedish special from Alex Edler, set up by the twins.
Looks like the pucks was going wide before it deflected off the skate of Markus Nutivaara after a love tap from Henrik Sedin in front of the Columbus net.
The Blue Jackets got one back in the third and John Tortorella pulled Bobrovsky with 2:18 to play in an effort to make a late push, but Jake Virtanen found the empty net with nine seconds left on the clock to secure a rare win.
The Canucks' unusual puck luck helped them go 2-for-3 on the power play AND secure two goals from defensemen in the same game—amazing, considering the team had just eight goals from its entire D-corps all season before Friday's contest.
Riding a high, Erik Gudbranson admitted after the game that he has struggled with confidence during his time with Vancouver.
Is he building his trade value, or building his case for what had been seeming increasingly impossible—a contract extension with the Canucks?
Thomas Vanek also had a heckuva game, showing off more of his pinpoint playmaking skills. With 31 points in 44 games, Vanek is now on pace for 22 goals and 57 points this season—his most productive year since he shuffled from Buffalo to the Islanders to Montreal in 2013-14 on the cusp of his first taste of unrestricted free agency.
The Sedins have also quietly been picking up points through this dark stretch for their team. Since Bo Horvat went down on December 5, Brock Boeser leads the team with 15 points in 16 games, but Henrik's right behind him with 14 assists and Daniel's tied with Vanek with 13 points.
Daniel's now on pace for 19 goals and 54 points and Henrik's looking at 58 points (although just four goals). Those are decent bounce-back numbers after 44 and 50 points respectively last season—and for Henrik, that'd be his second-best season in the last six years if he can see it through, with significantly less ice time for both Sedins.
All of a sudden, it looks like maybe there is a case to bring them back next year?
Meanwhile, Brock Boeser went pointless in Columbus and has just one goal and one assist in his last six games. For the first time since early this season, he's now below that point-a-game pace, with 40 points in 41 games. And he's about to lose his spot at the top of the rookie scoring race, too.
Midway through Saturday's early game between the Islanders and the Rangers, Mat Barzal is on fire. He came into the game one point behind Boeser as the Islanders return to action after their bye week, and has two goals and an assist as the Islanders have built a 5-1 lead.
The Canucks will start their bye week after Sunday's game against the Wild on Boeser's home turf in Minnesota. I wonder if he's staying there for the week?
The team's travel from Columbus to Minnesota hasn't turned out as expected, due to bad weather.
The team held an optional skate in Columbus this morning, with just a few players taking to the ice.
One personnel note this morning—with Brandon Sutter set to return, the team needed to free up a roster spot.
Goldy played a team-low 6:32 on Friday.
Speaking of enigmatic Russians, it's All-Star Weekend in the KHL.
Click here for all the details from the Sporting News, including the All-Star Rosters—which include recent ex-Canucks Nikita Tryamkin and Philip Larsen, as well as newly-minted Canadian Olympians Linden Vey and Marc-Andre Gragnani.
Vey is third overall in KHL scoring with 52 points in 50 games, while Larsen leads all defensemen with 11-22-33 in 49 games, and is averaging 24:52 per game. Gragnani is fourth among defensemen with 29 points and Tryamkin is tied for ninth with 25 points—and leads the entire league with 109 penalty minutes!
...Not just a gentle giant anymore...
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