Tuesday March 27 - Vancouver Canucks 4 - Anaheim Ducks 1
The Vancouver Canucks returned from their road trip with an energetic win over the Anaheim Ducks, promptly enraging the #TeamTank portion of their fan base.
The odd win on the road can fly under the radar, but three wins in four games seems to be too much to bear.
With their new Henrik Sedin bobbleheads firmly in their clutches, the fans in the decent-sized crowd at the Rog seemed to be having a pretty good time.
Ryan Kesler didn't get booed until the third period—and even then, it was very halfhearted. And they tried to do the wave TWICE, in both the second and third periods.
It was a good effort against a Ducks team that may not have been entirely ready to play, given how easily the wins had come in the three earlier meetings with Vancouver this season. It was also the first regulation loss in the last seven games for an Anaheim team that's fighting for its playoff life.
Here are your highlights:
The Canucks came out hitting against the normally bruising Ducks, and Sam Gagner showed good chemistry with the Sedins on the game's opening goal, midway through the first period. By the end of the opening frame, Vancouver had outshot Anaheim 15-9.
The Ducks got their only goal of the game off a bad-luck bounce from the end of the rink, late in the second, then Alex Biega's game winner threaded its way through from the point at the 3:03 mark of the third. That was just the second NHL goal of the Bulldog's career—his first since February 16, 2015 against Minnesota. That goal was also a game winner: clutch!
Brandon Sutter finished off the night by outhustling a lazy Kesler to create a turnover, then convert a breakway attempt that initially hit the post. He capped off the night with an empty netter, fresh out of the penalty boxy after being whistled for a late trip on Rickard Rakell.
The win now gives the Canucks 65 points with five games to go. Part of me still wants them to get to at least 69, so they don't finish out the year worse that Willie's group from last season. But yes, the win moved them up into 28th place overall—two points clear of Arizona and Ottawa and five ahead of Buffalo.
This year's draft lottery odds were released on Tuesday. They give the bottom three teams slightly better odds of securing the first-overall pick—and, somewhat ironically, it's at the expense of the fourth-from-the-bottom team.
But the tweaks are pretty minor. And the truth remains—even the team that finishes last is more likely to pick fourth overall than in any other spot.
If the Canucks are going to get Rasmus Dahlin, it's because the Hockey Gods deem that it will be so.
....or is that "
Hockey_Gaud"? That's gotta help, right?
Adam Gaudette, of course, didn't play on Tuesday but have a pretty charming chat with the media after the morning skate:
Did you catch this tidbit, from
Iain MacIntyre's Sportsnet profile?
On his last morning at university, after he had signed his NHL contract and booked travel to Vancouver, Gaudette went down the Matthews Arena, put on his Northeastern gear and talked associate coach Jerry Keefe into going on the ice so the 21-year-old could shoot pucks one last time as a Husky.
“We just kind of did our thing, and talked a little bit,” Gaudette said. “I always try to work on my game. Ever since I was a little kid, every chance I’d get to skate, I would be out there. It’s definitely special the last time skating there as a Husky. I just wanted to get something in before the flight. They had the ice open, so I hopped out there and worked on some stuff.”
A couple of other quick notes from Tuesday's game:
• The Canucks are now 2-0-0 in the Ashton Sautner era. The call-up was a plus-one in 11:46 of ice time on Tuesday, on the ice for Biega's game-winning goal. He had one shot attempt, two hits and complained bitterly when he was whistled for his first NHL penalty—a high-sticking call against Kesler.
• Perhaps my personal highlight of the night was having the opportunity to shake hands with the amazing Willie O'Ree. He became the first black player in the NHL 60 years ago, back in 1958.
Now I wish I had a pic, but I got to chat with him for a moment after his concluded his second-intermission interview with the Sportsnet 650 guys:
At age 82, Willie is sharp, spry and well-spoken. The NHL has has had him on a very busy schedule this year, visiting teams around the league and working with kids as the NHL's Diversity Ambassador, a position he has held since 1988.
It was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to express my admiration in person. I'll add my voice to those who are looking to see him inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as possible!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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