Canucks: 3 takeaways from monster win vs. St. Louis Blues
The Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues went head-to-head in game 1 of the opening round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here are three takeaways.
The time has come. After a five-year Stanley Cup Playoffs drought, the Vancouver Canucks earned a seven-game series with the defending champions, the St. Louis Blues. It didn’t come easy, but the Canucks took care of the Minnesota Wild and looked determined to bring the same intensity to the round of 16. Here are three takeaways from the 5-2 triumph over the Blues in game 1.
Bo “Captain Clutch” Horvat
Talk about an all-out performance from the Canucks 14th captain. Bo Horvat knows he needs to be a difference-maker in this series and he didn’t disappoint in game 1. He found himself on the scoresheet twice with two absolutely clutch goals, and nice ones too. They were pretty.
Everything in his game was nearly perfect. From his stickhandling down low all the way to his defensive game in the other end, he was what every team wants from their captain. Four total shots, adding some physical play without the puck and a total of 20 minutes on ice.
He’s the type of player with a ton of heart, never afraid to go for the big sweeping dangle, but often he can’t quite finish. This time was different. Rushing in over the blueline he pulled off a terrific sweeping move around the defender and polished it off by sniping the corner and bulging twine. A+ game from No. 53!
Jacob “King of the Crease” Markstrom
If there is a time for the Canucks MVP Jacob Markstrom to earn his new contract extension, it comes now in this series vs. the defending Stanley Cup champions. Having to be remarkable night in and night out all season long, Markstrom dragged this team into the playoffs, and nothing about his role changes now that they have made it onto the dance floor.
Pitted against last year’s best goaltender Jordan Binnington, Markstrom looked determined to prove he could not only run with the big dogs but thrive and be the alpha, the man. He did not disappoint. Solid from opening puck drop to the final horn, Markstrom kept the puck out when it mattered and made some key saves to keep his team alive (including a double toe save on the line late in the third that had the St. Louis bench considering a challenge).
Keeping his save percentage above 0.935%, he stopped 29 of 31 shots thrown on the net and completely outperformed his counterpart, Binnington. St. Louis targeted the short side more often than normal, but Markstrom shut the door and earned his first official playoff victory. A solid game by the 30-year-old netminder. If he keeps it up the Canucks could shock a lot of hockey fans by eliminating one of the bigger and badder teams in style. The Sky is the limit after that.
Troy “From Richmond” Stecher
A back and forth game for Vancouver finally ended when Troy Stecher came rushing in over the blue line and clapped one home past an unprepared Binnington. After taking the lead twice and losing them both, Stecher scored his first goal of the playoffs during the third period and the Canucks never looked back.
It was a nice goal by the Richmond, BC native and it came to him after a lot of hard work on the defensive end of his game. He launched the puck towards the net and cleanly beat the goalie, his arms shooting in the air in celebration. He pointed to the sky, with the gesture of a big thanks and shoutout to his father Peter Stecher who recently passed away on Father’s Day earlier this year. This one’s for you, Peter!
An all-around great game by the 26-year-old. Often paired with Alex Edler, he logged bigger minutes, and Travis Green is really starting to trust him inside the playoff atmosphere. For what he lacks in size, he makes up in quick feet, work ethic, and in this case, the game-winning goal. You can bet he’ll be keeping that puck and dedicating the victory to his late father.
Final thoughts…
For all the doubters out there, Vancouver proved they can no longer be taken lightly. It was a tremendous effort from the top of the lineup to the very bottom, and Vancouver is now very much alive and in this series.
The Elias Pettersson vs. Jordan Binnington rivalry is just starting to heat up, but it was the cherry on top of the W to see Pettersson add salt to the wound with a beautiful power play goal over the bitter 2018-19 Calder finalist. Game 2 goes down at 3:30 Pacific time Friday.