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The Canucks' Thatcher Demko debuts as an NHL All Star |
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On the ice, the NHL's All-Star weekend is no picnic for any goalie. But Thatcher Demko seemed to make the most of his experience, relishing his role as a trailblazer for hockey in California and the acclaim that comes with being named to the All-Star Game for the first time.
In Friday's Skills Competition, Jack Campbell and Andrei Vasilevskiy set a high bar early in the Save Streak event, stopping nine shots in a row as shooters alternated between the two at opposite ends of T-Mobile Arena. No one else was close; Demko and John Gibson's best streak was three shots.
As for the other events, I was very impressed by the '21 in 22' outdoor shooting challenge, where all five contestants quickly caught on to the strategy behind the modified blackjack game, then executed their shooting brilliantly to target the cards of their choice and build the best possible hand.
Joe Pavelski was basically perfect, calling his shots, and was a very deserving winner. For me, that event showed some real insight into how players' brains worked as well as showing how quickly they'd go from nonchalant to gleeful when they'd hit their chosen card.
The Fountain Faceoff had a more spectacular premise, but didn't come off quite as successfully on TV. In the dark, it was tough to follow the shooting at times. And for a timed event, it felt awkward to me that contestants needed to give their pucks a crack in order to illuminate them before shooting, wasting valuable time.
That being said, big ups to Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson for her third-place finish, especially given that the 32-year-old has now been off the ice for the better part of four years since her gold medal-winning goal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
I also found it interesting that the two NHLers who beat Jocelyne's time were both defensemen: Roman Josi and eventual winner Zach Werenski. Maybe that says something about their ability to thread longer passes? The five forwards — Suzuki, Giroux, Stone, Eberle and Huberdeau — all finished with significantly slower times, although I imagine Henrik Sedin would have probably fared pretty well.
I found it interesting that they did away with Division and Conference-based scorekeeping on Skills night, focusing only on the individual winners. A baby step toward allowing players' individual personalities to shine through? And while a certain amount of unpredictable chaos seems inevitable as part of the Breakaway Challenge, I'm glad it's back — and I think Friday's performances will set a new foundation for more creativity going forward.
When Jack Hughes pulled out the big box for his magic trick, I totally thought Quinn was going to pop out!
As for the 3-on-3 event on Saturday — it was tightly contested. The players' competitive juices were flowing, as Claude Giroux captained the Metropolitan Division to the win and the $1 million prize.
I think, partly, that's because players and coaches have learned more about how to work the 3-on-3 format strategically, where puck possession is so important. Much like we see in overtime games, there were very few stoppages, which made the play action move quickly. And while it's a bit jarring to see video reviews, they were important to the outcome. One review confirmed a goal by Kyle Connor for the Central Division that had been missed on the ice, which wiped out a later Atlantic Division goal. And two offside reviews both resulted in goals being called back.
The Pacific Division had the misfortune of facing the determined Metropolitan group in the first round. John Gibson took the first turn in net, and got beat on the first shot of the game when Evgeny Kuznetsov won the opening draw against Mark Stone and set up his Washington teammate Tom Wilson, who set a record by scoring just 13 seconds in.
After 10 minutes, the Metros had a 3-1 lead, outshooting the Pacific 13-7.
I had hopes for Thatcher Demko to anchor a big comeback for the home side in the second period, especially when Jonathan Marchessault and Jordan Eberle scored to tie the game 3-3 before the midway mark.
But Jack Hughes put an end to that dream with 3:44 left to play. Demko gave up one more goal to Jake Guentzel before being pulled for the extra attacker, but Hughes hit the empty net before the Vegas line of Stone-Marchessault-Pietrangelo combined for a garbage-time tally in a 6-4 loss.
Demko finished with 10 saves on 12 shots against, in 9:33 of ice time.
As for Giroux — I got the feeling that his MVP performance was a calculated effort, using the big stage to show that, at 34, the competitive fire still burns and he can be a difference-maker for a playoff-bound team.
With NHL execs and player agents all gathered in Vegas this weekend, I'm sure that has caused a spark that will now ignite trade-deadline discussions in earnest.
I'm still in wait-and-see mode on what Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin will do. Rutherford's reputation certainly has folks expecting him to make big moves, and perhaps he's laying the foundation for some potential deals. But I don't think he's going to make any major moves for at least a few more weeks, while the playoff possibility is still on the table. Of course, one offer he can't refuse could change all that in a heartbeat, but I'm still expecting that deadline dealing won't heat up until March 1 — even with the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference already looking so clearly defined.
As for the Canucks — I didn't see much in the way of All-Star Weekend galavanting on Instagram this weekend, although Vasily Podkolzin and his wife look like they made the trek up to Whistler. And I'm still rather delighted to see the old core group of Sam Gagner, Chris Tanev, Erik Gudbranson and their wives spending All-Star weekend together — in Scottsdale, I believe?
The Canucks are set to host Arizona on Tuesday, so I expect they'll be back on the ice for practice at Rogers Arena on Monday.
Out in Abbotsford, the AHL Canucks are back in action on Monday night, kicking off a two-game set against the Tucscon Roadrunners. With Michael DiPietro making 18 saves and Sheldon Rempal picking up his 16th of the year, Abbotsford dropped a 2-1 decision to the Stockton Heat on Friday night.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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