Vancouver Canucks Lose to Predators 3-2 in OT: 10 Thoughts
The Vancouver Canucks dropped a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 in OT against the Nashville Predators.
It looked like the Vancouver Canucks could win the game when they took a 2-0 lead against the Nashville Predators. Then I remembered it’s the Canucks I’m watching — and they lost the game 3-2 in overtime. My 10 thoughts to the game.
1. Excitement: Vancouver lost three straight games without scoring a single goal. So when Bo Horvat buried the puck in the net 6:52 into the game, I got super excited. A GOAL SCORED BY THE CANUCKS, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! It was a great moment, but at the same time, it is sad how excited we get about one single goal these days.
2. Weber: Yannick Weber is not part of Willie Desjardins’ plan anymore and there are several good reasons for that decision. Seeing him wreck Barret Jackman and then shake off a hit by Ryan Johansen like it was nothing was another fun moment, but it also makes me wonder why Weber can’t always play like that. That kind of physicality combined with Weber’s skill in a right-handed defenceman is exactly what the Canucks need.
3. Grenier: Alex Grenier was thrown into the ice-cold lake of playing with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and got to enjoy that role for the majority of three games. Then, he was demoted to a line with Chris Higgins and Brendan Gaunce, and was scratched for last night’s match-up against the Predators. Looks like Desjardins realized that Grenier is not an NHL player at this point, that he might never be, and that he is a grinder more than a scorer who can play with the twins.
4. McCann+Virtanen: Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen were completely invisible all game. That is totally normal and acceptable, and it shows how important is to keep the veterans around. Rookies like McCann and Virtanen should not be the players a coach relies on to decide a game.
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5. Tryamkin exits: Did you pay attention to Nikita Tryamkin exiting the D-zone? He always found a way to do it without turning over the puck. They said the huge Russian also knew what to do with the puck, but it was always hard to believe. Now we know.
6. Tryamkin PK: Tryamkin is a young defenceman who doesn’t speak English and needs to get used to the new environment before the Canucks can rely on him too much, right? Wrong. He played on the penalty kill last night — in overtime. You know, those really important minutes only extremely reliable defencemen get.
7. Tryamin expectations: When the Canucks signed Tryamkin, he got a lot of hype for his size and Zdeno Chara comparisons. So I wrote about those expectations being way too high. Looking back, the expectations we had might not have been high enough. Tryamkin is great positionally, has a good, active stick, uses his body, and does good things when he has the puck. Definitely has top-four potential.
Read: Slow Down the Tryamkin Hype
8. Lottery odds: The Canucks did their best to lose games and they had a lot of success with it — at least if you are a draft fan. After last night’s loss, Vancouver is third in the lottery standings, tied with the Edmonton Oilers and two points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of course all this happens the year the NHL changes the lottery odds. The Canucks now have an 11.5 percent chance at winning the first-overall selection.
9. Oilers helping: Speaking of the Oilers, it looks like they are helping the Canucks. Edmonton beat the San Jose Sharks 6-3 in a surprisingly good effort, and tied Vancouver for 28th in the league. The Canucks have four games in hand over the Oilers, but Connor McDavid and his friends are doing their best to help Vancouver.
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10. Oldest team: The Vancouver Canucks are the oldest team that has never picked first overall. Only six other teams have yet to pick first (San Jose, Minnesota, Nashville, Carolina, Calgary, Anaheim), but they have all joined the league after the Canucks. That could change this season — the odds are good.