Canucks: 3 takeaways from last night’s 7-1 blowout win against Ottawa

Rejoice, Vancouver Canucks fans! We finally had our first blowout victory of the year.

Yes, it came against an Ottawa team that everyone predicted to come last in Canada, but with the start that the team’s had, I’m willing to celebrate after every win. With that said, the Canucks need to keep their foot on the gas and take advantage of this unique opportunity to make up some ground in the standings.

Here are three takeaways from last night’s 7-1 win against the Senators.

A hat trick for… Brandon Sutter???

I wonder how much richer someone might be if they had bet $100 on the Vegas odds of Brandon Sutter scoring a hat trick last night. I’ve seen lots of strange things happen in sports, and that’s at the very top of the list.

Going into the game, Sutter only had a lone goal in the first seven matches of the season. He certainly didn’t give any indication that an incoming offensive explosion was about to happen, which made it all the more shocking to witness.

What’s most impressive is perhaps the manner in which he scored, as none of his tallies were easy tap-ins or empty netters. The first was a gorgeous backhander that would’ve made Sidney Crosby jealous, which opened the scoring for Vancouver.

His second was an absolute snipe on a partial breakaway, which cleanly beat Matt Murray and put the Canucks up by three.

The hat trick goal came off another breakaway chance, as he showcased his speed to tuck the puck into the far corner of the net.

No one should expect Sutter to replicate these types of performances on a nightly basis, but I hope this can give him some momentum and boost his play this season.

Rookies impress

Nils Hoglander has hogged the spotlight for much of this season, and rightfully so.

The 20-year-old Swede has turned heads with his unique combination of skill and hustle, and that was epitomized perfectly when he chipped the puck to himself and sprawled to make a pass to Tanner Pearson for Vancouver’s third goal of the game.

However, Olli Juolevi deserves a lot of credit as well for bringing a calming presence to the blueline, and he was rewarded for his solid play with his first NHL goal last night.

With the team’s current lack of depth and injuries, Juolevi and Hoglander will both need to keep up their impressive performances in order for Vancouver to get back into the playoff hunt.

Demko’s bounceback

After surrendering seven goals in his last start, Thatcher Demko had a nice bounceback game that helped him notch his first win of the season.

It’s important to note that his performance in the previous match wasn’t his fault, as the Canucks left him out to dry and gave the Canadiens countless scoring chances and odd man rushes.

Even so, it goes without saying that every goalie in the league will have something to prove after giving up so many goals, which is why Demko’s performance last night was nice to see.

Vancouver played a solid defensive game for perhaps the first time this year, but he still had to make some big stops during key moments of the match.

The only goal that Demko conceded was caused by a couple of unfortunate bounces as well, so he very well could’ve had a shutout if it wasn’t for that.

Like I’ve been saying for the entire season, goaltending hasn’t been an issue, and last night continued to prove it.

Other notes

• Other than Sutter, the bottom six as a whole played a very good game. Tyler Motte scored his third goal of the season, which is one less than his total from last year, and was solid on the penalty kill as usual.
• Antoine Roussel had two fights during the third period, and there’s no doubt that he’ll be a target for the Senators in the next two games as well. Roussel’s energy is contagious but he also needs to be able to keep it under control, as it could sometimes be detrimental to the team.
• Speaking of fights, Zack MacEwen was also involved in one in the third, and he continues to make his presence felt even when he’s not getting on the scoresheet. It’ll be interesting to see if Adam Gaudette continues to be scratched as a result.

It was a nice victory but the team needs to remember that it’s only one game, and they still have a long way to go to get back into the playoff hunt. Let’s hope this is the start of a win streak. Go Canucks go!