The Canuck Way
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Vancouver Canucks Lose to Nashville: 5 Thoughts and More

By David Joun

Jan 26, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter (21) shoots the puck against Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne (35) and defenseman Shea Weber (6) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 26, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter (21) shoots the puck against Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne (35) and defenseman Shea Weber (6) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 7, 2014; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Vancouver Canucks right wing Derek Dorsett (51) get a penalty after fighting with Ottawa Senators right wing Chris Neil (25) in the second period at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports /

Thought #3: Penalties and Referees

There was a Derek Dorsett fight to the game. Good ol’ scrap and one that didn’t hurt the Canucks at all, if you ask me.

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What did hurt the Canucks were the penalties and the referees. Except for the bench minor against the Predators, the Canucks didn’t get a break from the refs until less than two minutes left in the game. That call near the end of the game felt like a “pity call” after seeing what the refs hadn’t called earlier in the game.

Maybe it is just that the Canucks are not playing their opponents hard enough to draw penalties. But again, after seeing the highly prized sixth-overall pick Virtanen crashing into the post like that, can we say that the Canucks are not playing their opponents hard enough? Hrrm.

The bottom line is this.

Look here at the game logs. Out of the 50 games this season, the Boston Bruins game is the one and only game in which the refs didn’t put the Canucks shorthanded. In 49 of 50 games the Canucks were shorthanded at least once. Compared to that, the Canucks were given no power play opportunities in three of past 19 games.

There were multiple times the refs got in the way of the play, too. The Sportsnet crew pointed out multiple times that the refs were getting hit by pucks all over the ice, from dump-ins to cycled pucks. Well, to put matters cynically, they weren’t hit by the pucks. They hit the puck. Newton’s third law of motion: for every action, there is a reaction.

Suck it up, refs. We honour your toughness but not when you are making the Canucks’ lives tough along the boards and in the penalty department.

Next: Thought #4: Pekka Rinne can Still Play

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