Canucks: 3 takeaways from Game 1 shutout loss to Wild

The “turd” line

The third line of the Canucks has been hit or miss all season, this game was definitely a miss. The line averaged a whopping 0.07 expected goals for at five-on-five last night. To put that in perspective, the next worst had over three times the xGF: Fantenberg with 0.22.

The line struggled at almost every aspect of the game last night, they were out-shot, out-blocked, out-hit, outscored, and outskated. The only thing that Gaudette did well was he won more than 50% of his face-offs which is an important part of his game that I’m glad is growing but unfortunately it didn’t make a difference.

The line was on the ice for three high danger chances against in less than ten minutes of ice time save for Micheal Ferland. Speaking of Ferland he was the one bright spot for the line tonight and one of the few on the entire team. Dropping the gloves early in the game shocked me, with Ferland just coming back from a serious head injury that has kept him out of a game since December, I was just a little bit worried.

This was not what many fans were hoping for when the Canucks returned to play and certainly not what the Canucks wanted to happen. In a best of five series, there is even less room for error, and when you’re not dressing your best lineup you need to be held accountable. Green wasn’t on the hot seat before this series, but with him making a bold move and refusing to dress Virtanen, that could result in some seats heating up. Nevertheless, a 12.5% chance at first overall in this year’s draft is always in the back pocket.