Monday, September 28: Vancouver Canucks 1 - Arizona Coyotes 0
On Monday night, the Vancouver Canucks posted their first regulation win of preseason when they salvaged a 1-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes thanks to a third-period goal from 19-year-old Jared McCann.
Here are your highlights:
The win was important because it was another good effort from the Canucks young players who are pushing for jobs. It was also Willie Desjardins' first time behind the bench for a full 60 minutes since his hip replacement surgery. He got active in the third period—juggling his lines after a dismal first 40 minutes to find a way to generate that winning goal and dominate puck possession.
At game's end, the shots were 32-24 for Arizon, but after two periods, the shots were 24-10 for the Coyotes and the Canucks looked like completing even a single pass was well beyond their skill set. They also spent a good deal of time chasing the play because they were getting hammered in the faceoff circle.
Say what you will about the Coyotes: they've put together a very responsible collection of talent down the middle with Martin Hanzal, Antoine Vermett, Boyd Gordon and Kyle Chipchura, who played on the wing on Monday while rookie Dylan Strome went 10-8 on the dot.
Every Arizona player finished at 50 percent or better on faceoffs on Monday, while only Henrik Sedin had any success for the Canucks: he was 8-5.
Linden Vey went 3-7 and didn't last the night in his second-line center role: Jared McCann was back in the middle by the third period. Jake Virtanen generated a team-leading six hits with the twins but didn't really factor into the offense. After the Canucks took the lead in the third period, Adam Cracknell moved into his role—Virtanen played just 2:33 in the final frame.
To me, those situations represent a couple of big shifts from the Willie Desjardins we got to know last season.
The man who loves to roll four lines was willing to make adjustments when the game was on the line—like we'd begged him to do during the playoffs. And he was willing to put rookies McCann and Ben Hutton in positions to be difference-makers with power-play time in the third period. They delivered.
This doesn't sound like the Willie who's 100 percent set on sticking with his original plan and handing Linden Vey a job, especially in the middle:
Willie was more candid than usual in his postgame comments—and made it clear that he wants to see certain players raise their game if they want to stay ahead of the kids in the battle for jobs.
I can see the logic in wanting to give both McCann and Hutton another year of development before they hit the big leagues. McCann played just 56 games last season for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds after dealing with his mononucleosis and Hutton peaked at a total of 43 games last season: 39 with Maine and four with the Comets.
But both players are delivering what the vets have not so far in preseason: offense.
Hutton's four assists and McCann's goal and two helpers make them the only Canucks with more than a single point. Furthermore, considering the Canucks have only scored six goals in the entire preseason so far, they've been in on half, or more, of the offense.
At this point, I think the only thing standing in the way of Hutton staying with the big club is the fact that he can be sent to Utica without needing to clear waivers, while any of Weber/Corrado/Bartkowski would need to clear. But let's see what happens in these last three games.
For McCann, the case is trickier. He's not going to take a job from Henrik, Horvat or Sutter, so the only job that *might* be open is the fourth-line gig that currently belongs to Linden Vey. Yes, Willie's propensity to roll lines would mean that he should get a decent amount of ice time. And if he plays with Prust and Dorsett, he'd probably get some room to operate. But then what? McCann's not the same type of player as Horvat—I don't know if he'd get the development that he needs this year in that position.
At this point, all we know is that the pressure's on. We're seeing some real competition for jobs in Canucks preseason!
Of course, McCann's goal wouldn't have shone nearly as brightly last night if it hadn't turned out to be the game winner. For that honour, he needs to thank Jacob Markstrom, who was a machine in net last night.
Markstrom looks so confident and positionally sound. He was swallowing pucks with his big body through the first 40 minutes, then showed his ability to scramble when the Coyotes generated some pressure around the net in the third.
Right now, it looks like the Canucks' latest backup is setting himself up to follow in the footsteps of Eddie Lack and Cory Schneider—winning games, becoming a fan favourite and challenging for the starting role.
I'll know it's all happening again the first time I see a fan in a Markstrom jersey when I'm on my way to the game.
Tuesday, September 29 - Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks - 7:30 p.m. - Sportsnet One - TSN1040
Daniel Fung thinks we could see any or all of McCann, Hutton and Virtanen again tonight in San Jose when the Canucks take on the Sharks, according to his gameday preview at
Canucks.com. That'd mean three games in four nights for Hutton and McCann and three in five for Virtanen—a big test, but certainly something that happens on the NHL schedule.
Only five healthy forwards and four defensemen are left on the roster that didn't play last night, so some players will definitely be seeing double duty.
My guess would be that Ronalds Kenins, Linden Vey, Yannick Weber and Frank Corrado are among the veterans with something to prove who are most in need of making a good showing.
Other players who will definitely play tonight include Brendan Gaunce, Bo Horvat, Derek Dorsett, Brandon Prust, Alex Edler, Chris Tanev, Matt Bartkowski and Alex Biega.
Game time is 7:30 from the Shark Tank. The Sharks haven't played since Saturday and don't play again till Friday, so expect to see a pretty representative regular-season lineup from them tonight.
To close today—the Utica Comets are on their way to France. Here's a look at the roster—they really did send the bare minimum of 23 players:
The only name I don't recognize on this list is Tyler Shattock, who's a 25-year-old right winger. He's 6'3", born in Salmon Arm, and signed an ECHL contract with the Kalamazoo wings for the upcoming season, so I guess he was brought in to fill out the roster.
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