Quadrelli Report: Vancouver Canucks jersey wars begin in win over Flyers
The Vancouver Canucks beat the Philadelphia Flyers in their second home game of the season by a score of 3-2.
The Vancouver Canucks managed to grind out a victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in what was their second win of the season. The Canucks are now 2-2 through their first four games this season. Here’s what I noticed from last night’s tilt.
The Importance of Momentum
Although it was their lone victory through their first three games of the season, the Canucks’ blowout win in their home opener was extremely important for the team’s confidence level and momentum.
Maybe it was the ceremony where Bo Horvat was given the captaincy, maybe it was seeing Canucks alumni such as Todd Bertuzzi, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and Kirk McLean skate out on the ice pregame. Maybe it was the extra loud home crowd at Rogers Arena. No matter what it was or may have been, one thing was clear, the Canucks were buzzing and motivated to win.
Win they did, as they beat out the L.A. Kings by a final score of 8-2. You eight two see it, am I right? Bad puns aside, that first win was huge for the Canucks and their efforts to build some momentum after two disappointing losses to start their season.
That momentum carried into last night’s game, and the Canucks were looking to further build off of it. It was a bit of a back and forth, grinding-style affair against the Flyers last night, but in the end, the Canucks managed to win, and gain even more momentum.
They’ll look to carry out and build off that momentum and remain a confident hockey club. They played much better against the Kings, but two points in the standings are two points at the end of the day, no matter how you get them.
Markstrom looks solid again
A major storyline coming into this season was whether or not goaltender Jacob Markstrom would be capable of maintaining his improved level of play that emerged last December and remained for the remainder of the season.
Thus far, Markstrom has played well for the Canucks in each of his four starts. He’s held them in games, and come up with some rather timely saves in the process. When asked about his number one goaltender’s performance last night, head coach Travis Green responded, “very strong, very strong, Marky was, boy, he was good tonight.”
Having a goaltender who is coming up with timely saves (although a few shots were denied by the post and crossbar behind Markstrom), does a lot for the guys in front of that goaltender.
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The Canucks need Markstrom to find and maintain continued excellence all season long if they hope to be successful. Goaltending hasn’t been great in Vancouver for quite some time now, but it appears that the man in the pads for the Canucks is no longer a cause for concern.
The overtime weapon
The Canucks are a team that is well equipped for 3-on-3 overtime. Between Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes, and Elias Pettersson, the Canucks are a team that tends to control the play when it goes beyond 60 minutes.
Last night, the Canucks looked dangerous in overtime, and again, their best opportunities came when the “big three” were out on the ice.
The Canucks were unable to seal the deal in overtime, but again, they’re just as dangerous in shootouts as they are in OT. How could you not be when you’ve got a guy on your team nicknamed “Dekey Pete”?
As he’s made a habit of doing, Pettersson pulled off another slick move to give the Canucks the lead in the shootout, and Tanner Pearson, along with a spectacular desperation pad-stack save from Markstrom, were able to seal the deal for the Canucks last night.
Canucks debut new alternate jerseys
It’s a topic that’s got Canucks fans everywhere divided. No, not management — the team’s new alternate jersey, featuring their reimagined stick in rink logo. As soon as the jersey designs were released, fans had their opinions. Last night, the jersey wars officially began.
Personally, I was in the boat of, “let’s wait and see what they look like in a real game first.” Well, last night was the first time we got to see them in a game, and I’m still incredibly undecided on whether I love or hate these things. The all-white collar looks rather peculiar, and the green stripes at the bottom and on the sleeves could use just a dash of white, in my humble and incredibly unqualified fashion opinion.
That being said, I do like the way the jerseys look on the ice overall. Really, I don’t know how much I like them but one thing is for certain, the reimagined black flying skate jerseys are going to be absolutely beautiful.
Let the jersey wars begin, folks.
A legendary video, courtesy of Kevin Bieksa
If you don’t know who Kevin Bieksa is, you must be a rather new Canucks fan. The man who was known by fans and teammates alike as “Juice”, is one of the most prominent figures in Canucks history.
Last night, Bieksa sat down 1-on-1 with the Canucks new captain, Bo Horvat, defenceman Chris Tanev, and recalls a funny story with Pettersson. Horvat and Bieksa played together for a brief time when Horvat was still a rookie, and the two shared some laughs in a video that was posted to the Canucks’ main Twitter account last night.
🎤 Tonight's unfiltered post-game #Canucks report is brought to you by @KBieksa3, featuring Chris Tanev, @BoHorvat & @_EPettersson. pic.twitter.com/7di1YEYiCU
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 13, 2019
Bieksa jokingly says to Horvat, after saying he thinks the Canucks will be a good team this year, “remember when we would just dust you in Anaheim for a couple years? Like now, I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore.” With a laugh, Horvat replies, “I don’t think so either,” before continuing to praise his teammates.
Bieksa also asks the hard-hitting questions, asking why Tanev doesn’t just block shots with his shin pads instead of his mouth. Where’s the petition to make Bieksa a full-time reporter for the Canucks?
On a side note, as @canucksaz points out on Twitter, the Canucks are currently undefeated since naming Horvat captain. Momentum is a funny thing sometimes. The Canucks will face the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night in their final home game before embarking on a four-game road trip. Puck drop is at 7 PM.