Canucks: 3 takeaways from 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues

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The Vancouver Canucks were back in action on Monday night looking to fend off the Stanley Cup champions and stay on top of the Pacific Division. Here’s what we learned.

The Vancouver Canucks’ elite trio got the job done on the weekend teaming up with the rest of the Pacific Division All-Stars and winning the 2020 All-Star Game. No time to celebrate, the three Canucks will gladly claim their share of the $1 million dollar grand prize and get back to work against the Blues.

Leading the Pacific Division by a single point, the Canucks knew this would be the first big test down the stretch. After a nine-day cool off, Vancouver looked to remain hot, and bucking off the Western Conference powerhouse Blues would surely reignite the Canucks’ inner drive for success.

Vancouver would extend their home ice winning streak with a win over St. Louis. From the top of the line-up, all the way to the bottom, every Vancouver player needed to bring their best in order to survive 60 minutes against the league’s big juggernaut. An All-Star performance from Vancouver’s best might be what it takes to stay on top. Let’s take a deeper look at the results from Monday night’s battle, a 3-1 win for the Canucks.

Miller and Virtanen lead the way

J.T Miller wasted no time surpassing last year’s point total. In 25 fewer games played, the two-way forward recorded back to back goals to leapfrog 47 points and start building toward a career year. It was a fancy way to make a statement and get Vancouver their first lead of the game.

Picking up exactly where they left off against the Sharks, Miller and Jake Virtanen continued to build chemistry together on the top line. Virtanen was heavily involved in both goals and managed to get two assists on the scoresheet. His primary assist was a pretty sight and it came on the second of Miller’s two goals, a pretty tic-tac-toe style play between the two and Elias Pettersson.

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It appears Virtanen didn’t spend too much time in the sun on vacation during the break, the BC boy didn’t miss a beat and actually looked to ramp up speed as the game went on. He continues to grow and produce on the top line. He reached the 30 point mark in his 50th game played, maybe his fire is just getting started.

This top line is special, they combined for five points and were the guys that went out there and took care of business. Each player brings something valuable to the table and Virtanen is at his best when he’s riding shotgun.

Thatcher Demko sings the blues

Head coach, Travis Green extended Jacob Markstrom’s All-Star break a few days by giving backup goalie, Thatcher Demko the net against St. Louis. The rookie netminder got the job done once before back on October 17th. Who’s to say he can’t rise to the occasion again and help shut down the champs? Besides, he was solid against San Jose and he can’t be cold off the bench towards the finish line.

An extremely tight playoff race makes Markstrom likely to get the majority of the starts moving forward. Demko took the crease giving Markstrom an extra day, but Demko was going to do everything he could to help the Canucks win and make himself stand out.

Calm, cool and collected. Demko was solid from the opening whistle until the final horn. He made timely saves in the third period turning down the opposition’s power play and shutting the door on the Blues’ heavy onslaught of shooters. Late in the third, Demko had fans on their feet with a game-saving cross-crease stop.

Arguably his best performance to date, Demko was phenomenal. He made 36 stops on 37 shots. That’s a crazy performance for a rookie goalie who hasn’t played in nine days. Hard to give up the crease after such a good performance. The first star of the night! His home performance numbers jumping off the page with another win. 11-1-1 at home in his career.

No place like home

Home ice advantage has been huge for Vancouver this season, especially as of late. With the team putting forward 100 percent effort, they managed to capture their ninth straight home win and they did it against elite company in the Blues. From Fin the mascot energizing the crowd to Demko’s winning ways, all the way to the spiked point production of Loui Eriksson, everything is better at home. Vancouver improved to 17-5-3 at Rogers Arena and grasped another two points in the standings.

Bo Horvat played a very complete game and was rewarded very late in the game with a last-second empty netter. Nice to see him added to the scoresheet after he was denied time and time again in close. Horvat has really come a long way in his first year as captain. His effort on home ice never wavering, his consistent leadership is key for the Canucks as they attempt to fend off the rest of the National Hockey League.

Final thoughts…

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The Vancouver Canucks look ready for the playoff push. Showing no signs of “All-Star break rust”, Vancouver proved worthy and knocked down the Stanley Cup champions with a full team effort. They now hold a three-point lead in the Pacific and they face another division foe on Wednesday night at 730 PM against the Sharks. If they bring the compete level they did against the Blues, I’ll tell you one thing, the juice will be worth the squeeze.

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