Saturday March 31 - Vancouver Canucks 5 - Columbus Blue Jackets 4 (OT)
Were you not entertained?
The Vancouver Canucks unveiled their goalie of the future, Thatcher Demko, and snatched their fourth-straight win out of the embers when Alex Edler scored in overtime to give his team the 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Here are your highlights:
Demko's appearance seemed to come out of nowhere. The team announced his emergency recall at 3:50 p.m. PT on Friday afternoon and he was apparently in transit for about seven hours, which probably got him into town around midnight—or 3 a.m. ET, based on his body clock. The players reported to the rink at 10 a.m. for a meet-and-greet with the fans. By 12:30, Demko was on the ice for warmup.
After the game, we heard that Thatcher had been asking for an NHL opportunity this year—to use it as a chance to learn and grow his game.
It got a little hairy in the end, but I'm so pleased that he was able to get a win in his NHL debut.
It's also nice to see local fans and media getting the opportunity to get to know him a bit more. I came away super impressed when I had the chance to chat with him two years ago in St. Petersburg when he was the third goalie for Team USA at the World Championships. That was not long after the city had come down from its collective panic that he was going to play out his college eligibility rather than sign with the Canucks.
Click here to revisit that interview.
Look at us now! Demko paved the way for fellow collegians Brock Boeser and Adam Gaudette to also make their way to Vancouver, and the fanbase is now much calmer about getting NCAA players signed.
Of course, Boeser's North Dakota team won that 2016 Frozen Four that ended Demko's college career. The 2016 NCAA playoffs also had another intriguing Canucks connection:
As for Gaudette, he's still waiting for his first NHL point, but had an effective game on Saturday on a line with Jake Virtanen and Reid Boucher. He got two and a half more minutes of ice time than he did against Edmonton and saw a bit of power play time once again, recording five shot attempts in the game.
After missing Thursday's game with an illness, Jake was fired up on Saturday, with seven shot attempts and a team-leading six hits. As his third pro season draws to a close, public perception is finally skewing in a positive direction for Virtanen. Imagine the love he'll get if he can start scoring on home ice? Just one of his nine goals this season has come at Rogers Arena.
Also on FutureWatch, the Canucks are now 4-0-0 in the Ashton Sautner era. This is just the second four-game winning streak of the year for Vancouver—the first one came way back in October. Sautner picked up his first career NHL point with the primary assist on Darren Archibald's second-period goal on Saturday and saw his ice time rise to 15:05. In four games, he's a plus-four. I don't think he has been on the ice yet for a goal against, so I'm starting to think his play is a real thing. He and Alex Biega have been a terrific third pairing during Vancouver's recent run of success.
Also stellar on Saturday: Jussi Jokinen, who had three points in his 'revenge game' against the Columbus team that had decided he wasn't useful to them before shipping him to the Canucks at the trade deadline. Thomas Vanek was almost invisible for the Blue Jackets on Saturday, but Jokinen picked up a goal and two assists, earning second-star honours.
Jokinen's now 3-5-8 in 11 games in a Vancouver uniform; not far behind Vanek's 7-7-14 in 16 games with the Blue Jackets. And he's earning the respect of his coach and his teammates.
Nice way for Jussi to celebrate his 35th birthday—no April Fools!
Funny that he couldn't click elsewhere this season, not only in Columbus but also in Edmonton and L.A.
bike tracks
We have been warned that late-season wins may not mean much—but don't let it be said that Columbus didn't want that win on Saturday. Their late-game push speaks for itself—and holy cow, Seth Jones is a monster, isn't he? The Blue Jackets are in a fight for positioning in the Metro and need every point they can get.
Personally, I'm happy that the Canucks have reached that 69-point plateau—matching their point total from last year. For me, this helps to support the idea that rock bottom has passed and the team is on the upswing. The fresh faces and fresh storylines also help!
With all the Canucks' recalls and a slew of injuries of their own, the Utica Comets have been scrambling to fill roster sports but have continued to string together the wins. Even without their MVP Demko this past weekend, Utica pulled out a 3-1 win over Hershey on Friday, then a 6-5 victory in Springfield on Saturday.
After finishing out his Czech league season, Canucks' sixth-rounder from 2015 Lukas Jasek was signed to an Amateur Tryout contract by the Comets this week. The 20-year-old promptly delivered a goal and two assists in his North American debut.
Prospects everywhere!
Though Kole Lind had eight points in four playoff games, his Kelowna Rockets were swept by the Tri-City Americans in the first round of the WHL playoffs, so his junior career is over.
The Comets are currently fourth in the AHL's North Division and have clinched their playoff spot. With six games left on their schedule, they could still move up and avoid a first-round matchup with the league-leading Toronto Marlies—they're currently just one point behind Rochester.
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