Tuesday April 4 - San Jose Sharks 3 - Vancouver Canucks 1
I'll spin this as positively as I can: the Vancouver Canucks moved within a single point of 29th place in the NHL standings when they rode an early 2-0 deficit to a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday at the SAP Center.
Here are your highlights:
The big story leading into the game was Nikolay Goldobin's return to action, on the right wing of a line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. There have been questions about the young Russian's defensive acumen, but Goldobin didn't even step onto the ice until after the Canucks had dug themselves into a 2-0 hole in the first 30 seconds of the game.
Not what Richard Bachman was hoping for, as the journeyman made his fourth start of the season. With the loss, his record drops to 2-2-0, though he still boasts a solid 2.02 goals-against average and impressive .932 save percentage. That's on par with Sergei Bobrovsky, who's leading the league at .933 and is now the leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy, but goalies need to play at least 25 games to be included in the NHL's official stats.
The Canucks did a good job of limiting the Sharks to 25 shots on goal for the second straight game, but I thought San Jose eased up after taking a 2-0 lead in the first period in Vancouver on Sunday. I imagine they did the same after getting that two-goal cushion in the first 30 seconds last night at home. Shots were 11-0 for the Sharks before Troy Stecher finally wristed a puck in on Martin Jones to record the Canucks' first shot of the game at the 9:28 mark of the first period.
Goldobin did create some excitement. He got dinged for a team high five giveaways in his 13:35 of ice time—the most he has played as a Canuck. But he also got open for a couple of promising scoring chances and made nice feeds to teammates as well—setting up Brandon Sutter and Ben Hutton for good opportunities.
That was Molino's only shot during his 11:51 of ice time. He also recorded one block. In his first three NHL games, the NCAA signing from Western Michigan has shown great speed and some pretty decent hockey sense.
The Canucks scored a single goal in all five of their losses to the Sharks this season. On Wednesday, Chris Tanev did the honours, pulling his team within one at the 3:30 mark of the third period.
Tanev gets some pretty good zip on that shot, for his second goal of the year.
Six minutes later, Chris Tierney added an insurance marker for the Sharks, and that was the game.
John Shorthouse was absent from his usual play-by-play announcer's chair on Tuesday, as he was dealing with some family issues. I thought Joey Kenward did a terrific job filling in on short notice, especially with the ever-changing Canucks lineup these days. His call was detailed and accurate, and he did a good job of keeping up the excitement level in yet another losing effort.
Vancouver's current losing streak has now extended to five games. On Tuesday, the New Jersey Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 to overtake the Canucks in the league standings, and the Arizona Coyotes moved within one point thanks to their 3-2 overtime loss in Dallas.
We really will be seeing the battle for 29th place when the Canucks visit the Coyotes for their next game on Thursday.
Now—some positive news. Olli Juolevi scored the series-winning goal on Tuesday night as his London Knights overcame a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Windsor Spitfires in the first round of the OHL playoffs. The goal came on the power play, breaking a 2-2 tie with 7:11 to play in the third period.
#Canucks prospect Olli Juolevi's game winning goal against Windsor!
The Canucks have taken their fair share of criticism for choosing Juolevi in last year's draft, but I have no problem with the pick. As with most defensemen, it'll take some time for him to mature, but I love his potential. Wasn't too worried about him spinning his tires a little bit in the OHL this season—the Knights lost quite a few good players from their Memorial Cup-winning group, so the team as a whole took a step backward.
But the Knights have great leadership and a tremendous winning tradition, which I'm sure was part of what helped them come back in their series against Windsor.
I'm looking forward to seeing how far Juolevi and his teammates can go. They're right back at it tonight, starting their second-round series on the road against the Erie Otters.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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