Vancouver Canucks Beat Panthers: 10 Thoughts
5. Virtanen is back
“Goat-medal” winner Jake Virtanen is proving his haters wrong. The rookie is back, and his goal tied the game at 2-2.
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Virtanen played on a line with newly acquired Emerson Etem and centre Linden Vey. What can I say? It’s a great line! The line brings a great amount of speed to the lineup, especially when you are used to watching the Sedins. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t as slow as many say, but they play a very calm style, seldom using their speed.
So, back to Virtanen. The 19-year-old rookie came back from the World Juniors, after losing the quarter-final against Finland “single-handedly.” I feel like Jeremy Walsh missing a 27-yard field goal for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Wild Card Round match-up against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday is a great comparison. Walsh made the final mistake, but he also scored every single one of the Vikings’ nine points that game and a lot else went wrong for the team that night. Virtanen may not have scored every goal for Canada before taking a double-minor that would result in game-winning goal, but that was not the only reason why Canada lost — a lot went wrong for the team that night.
So, it looks like Virtanen might be back. He had a great game against Florida and scored his second goal of the season. Let’s wait and see what happens over the next few games, but I certainly wish Virtanen some success. He’s a good guy.
David Joun had a few thoughts of his own. Just continue to slide through.
Next: Etem is Good