Vancouver Canucks: Top 5 Radim Vrbata Goals as a Canuck
By David Joun
Best of Radim Vrbata #2: A Goaltender’s Nightmare
Let me tell you as a guy who used to play in net when on the ice. That goal is just so filthy from Vrbata that if I were Craig Anderson, I am just taking the rest of the night off. You do everything right as a netminder — you commit to the shot and let the defencemen take the pass. You don’t go down to the knees until the very last moment.
And the puck goes around you and into the net. Well, that’s what the 2014-15 Radim Vrbata could do to a netminder. This goal makes the list as the best deke that Vrbata dished out in his Canuck career and the best solo effort from Vrbata as a Canuck. Many goals came off of the Sedins’ stick for Vrbata. This one was all his.
Vrbata slows it right down, lets Anderson lock his skates onto the ice and evades the Ottawa netminder’s poke check to make sure the puck crosses the line past net-crashing defencemen in red. He keeps his head up the whole way and demonstrates again the patience of a goal scorer.
Sadly, though, the Canucks would go on to give up four unanswered goals, including the overtime loser to Erik Karlsson. Vrbata added an assist later in the game on a Kevin Bieksa goal.
Brad Richardson also tallied for the Canucks. Funny how Richardson and Vrbata eventually got to trade places, eh?
Next: Best of Radim Vrbata #1: When Sedinery Meets Vrbata-ry