Quadrelli Report: Horvat nets three in Vancouver Canucks win over Wings
The Vancouver Canucks completed an outstanding comeback last night, beating the Detroit Red Wings by a final score of 5-2.
The Vancouver Canucks probably didn’t deserve to win last night’s game, but they did anyway. Here’s what I noticed from last night’s unlikely comeback victory.
Another huge game for Jacob Markstrom
The Canucks would not have even been tied with the Red Wings last night had it not been for the performance of goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The third period comeback can be attributed to a few things, but one of them needs to be the play of Markstrom.
The Canucks have gotten some of the best goaltending in the entire NHL to begin the new season, which is a good indicator of just how good Markstrom has been. With last night’s win, Markstrom’s save percentage jumped up to .933 — which puts him sixth amongst NHL starters.
Markstrom came up huge last night, and was the main reason that the Canucks were able to make a valiant third period comeback. The first goal came on a 5-on-3, and the second came while the Canucks were shorthanded, with Alex Edler providing the Wings with an inadvertent screen and deflecting the puck past his goaltender.
2. 72. Final. 5. 104
Markstrom didn’t have much of a chance on the goals that got past him, but managed to stop 31 of the 33 shots he faced. Markstrom is showing his ability to steal games for the Canucks, and as we all know, a team’s goaltender can make or break their playoff hopes. Teams can ride a hot goaltender all the way to a Stanley Cup championship.
With Markstrom and Demko both playing well to start the year, the Canucks will have a decision to make regarding their goaltenders, as Markstrom is a pending UFA, while Demko continues to try to show he’s ready to be a starter.
The Captain puts the team on his back in order to comeback
Markstrom was the one that shifted the momentum in favour of the Canucks, but he can only do so much. He can’t score the goals, and for a while, it looked like nobody on the Canucks could, either. It’s games like last night where a team needs somebody to just get something going for his side on the scoresheet. Who better to do that then the captain?
Now, don’t get me wrong, Markstrom’s back is probably sore after carrying his team — scratch that — dragging his team last night to a victory; but Bo Horvat is the one who finally managed to get the Canucks on the scoresheet and jumpstart their comeback.
Markstrom’s sequence of saves at the end of the second period, along with a late penalty drawn by Tim Schaller, which would allow the Canucks to start the third period with a man-advantage, changed the momentum in favour of the Canucks.
Jacob Markstrom standing on his head making a couple of massive saves at the end of the 2nd period. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/o9hhGW6zwQ
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) October 23, 2019
Saves like that get a team fired up. It makes the players want to go out there and win for the guy who is continuously bailing them out. It’s exactly what the Canucks did last night, and captain Horvat was the one that got the comeback started with a power play goal.
Going into this road trip, Horvat hadn’t recorded a goal. It was nothing to panic about, but I’m sure Horvat would have liked to find the back of the net sooner, rather than later. Well, with his goals against St. Louis and New York, along with the first hat trick of his career last night, Horvat now leads the Canucks in goals.
It’s crazy what a hot goaltender and a captain driven to help their team win can do for an entire team.
The Canucks may have found their power play lines
The Canucks power play really could have been a lot better to begin the new season. After going 0-7 on the power play against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the Canucks shook up their personnel and their formation.
Rookie defenceman Quinn Hughes replaced Alex Edler on the point, and Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser were no longer on their off-wings. It’s a change that has seemingly worked for the Canucks, as they went 1-3 on the power play against the Rangers on Sunday, and struck twice on five chances last night.
They look much more dangerous with Hughes at the point, as the mobile defenceman adds entirely different threats to the Canucks’ first unit. In particular, his shiftiness and elite-level hockey IQ work effectively at keeping opponents guessing as to what his next move could be.
More from The Canuck Way
- Which team won the Bo Horvat trade?
- What to expect from newcomers Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty
- Back to the future: How the skate uniforms became a regular Canucks’ feature night
- Canucks kick off 2023 with disappointing 6-2 loss to Islanders
- 2nd period penalty trouble sinks Canucks in 4-2 loss against Winnipeg
“It’s a new setup for our power play, so we haven’t had a lot of training with the (unit), we’ve only had two games with it and I think they’ve been really good games,” said Elias Pettersson of the new-look first unit.
The Canucks are hoping this shake-up of their power play will finally be able to make it as good as everyone had hoped it would be this season. So far so good.
The importance of momentum
Against the New York Rangers, the Canucks got off to a hot start right out of the gate after a poor effort against the New Jersey Devils just a day before. In the third period, the Canucks were heavily pressured by the Rangers, and were lucky to hang on for the win.
If it hadn’t been for the performance of Markstrom in the third period, the Canucks likely would not have come away with two points on Sunday, and the same can certainly be said of last night’s tilt.
These victories do a lot for a team’s momentum and wins like last night’s show what kind of culture this new Canucks team has. The Canucks teams of old may have simply mailed it in after being down by two goals heading into the third — but not this group.
This team is hungry to win and they want to win for each other. Come from behind victories like last night’s help build momentum for a team. Finishing up a road trip 3-1 before heading home for two games is a great time to have momentum on your side. The Canucks play the Washington Capitals this Friday, puck drop is at 7 PM from Rogers Arena.