Canucks: 3 takeaways from 3-2 shootout win over Senators
After their overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday, the Vancouver Canucks were hoping to catch some luck of the Irish as they played the Senators in the last of the two-game series on St. Patrick’s Day.
Jimmy Vesey, who was claimed off waivers on Wednesday morning, arrived in Ottawa and took warmup. He was scheduled to play the game but according to The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal, (and starting April 5th. co-host of Donnie and Dhali – The Team on Chek TV) Vesey didn’t play due to his work permit status paperwork not being done on time. According to Patrick Johnston of The Province and The Vancouver Sun, the paperwork wasn’t done on time because “the wheels from the government turned too slowly.”
So, Jalen Chatfield came into the lineup as a forward. The Canucks also got a boost to the bottom six because Tyler Motte returned to the lineup after being sidelined 17 games with an ankle injury. His work ethic and speed on both the bottom six and penalty kill have been missed.
This game had very similar vibes to the previous game, as the Canucks jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Senators scored one in the second and one in the third to tie it up. Only this time, the tying goal didn’t happen late in the third and it was a win in the shootout thanks to Adam Gaudette’s winner and Thatcher Demko’s saves.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s win.
The Thatcher Demko show continues
You knew this one was coming. Once again, Demko stood tall. He stopped 30 out of 32 Ottawa shots and looked sharp. He kept the Canucks in the game, making some big saves, particularly ones coming off the rush and in the high danger areas.
Seven saves and counting for Demko! 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱 pic.twitter.com/qrFmcpKxEz
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 17, 2021
Demko also stopped all four shots he faced in the shootout. However, his biggest save was this ridiculous stop off of Drake Batherson.
This save by Demko in the shootout was ridiculous. Looked like he got his back heel on it. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/wrveauFiGo
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) March 18, 2021
“I don’t think I touched that one, I’d love to take credit for it,” said Demko after the game per Canucks Army’s David Quadrelli.
Demko looks so confident in the net and Canucks fans can count on him to make the big saves. In his last ten games, he has a save percentage of .956 in his last ten games and is .950 in March. He also has made the most saves in the NHL this season with 682.
The playoff hopes do look slim, but there is a bit of hope with Demko playing the way he has as of late.
Bo Horvat gets two points
Bo Horvat was on a mission early. First, he got an assist on the opening goal from Brock Boeser by skating down the wing and fighting off the check from Erik Gudbranson. He then found an open Boeser who made no mistake and put the puck in the net.
Brock Boeser (@BBoeser16) with his 15th on the season. pic.twitter.com/OIvGTZgrLp
— NHL (@NHL) March 17, 2021
Six minutes later, Horvat himself got on the scoresheet. In what probably, should have been a tripping penalty, Nils Hoglander got away from Thomas Chabot and made a perfect pass to Horvat. This time it didn’t look like a rugby scrum.
What a slick feed from Nils Höglander to setup Bo Horvat for the #Canucks 2-0 goal pic.twitter.com/eLvbYq7gqa
— Harman Dayal (@harmandayal2) March 17, 2021
In his last seven games, Horvat has seven points. The captain also threw some hits including a big one Brady Tkachuk. Check it out.
https://twitter.com/HeresYourReplay/status/1372333768971812867
Horvat had a pretty good game all around (minus his shootout attempt) with the hits, playmaking and two points. He also had a respectable 43.59 corsi for percentage.
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Canucks squander another two-goal lead
Two games in the nation’s capital, two wins and two 2-0 leads were blown away. Forget 3-0, maybe 2-0 is the worst lead in hockey.
Vancouver did have a good first period, but it looked like they were sitting back on the lead. Ottawa was getting lots of good scoring chances, but luckily Demko was there to bail them out.
The Canucks didn’t look as threatening in the offensive zone as they did in the first frame and they were also zero for two on the power play. The second power play had trouble setting up and was frustrating to watch.
The Sportsnet broadcast showed that the Senators had 69 shot attempts while the Canucks had 46. Against Ottawa, that doesn’t look too good. The Senators also had a total 61.32CF% while the Canucks had 38.68CF%. In the second and third periods, Ottawa’s CF percentage was above 60% while the Canucks were at 32.56% CF and 40% CF respectively.
As phenomenal as he’s been, the Canucks can’t rely on Demko to bail them out every game. Goal support is needed and when there is a lead, it should be increased and not blown. The team can’t sit back and let Demko do all the heavy lifting. Like I said before, this team has to play a full 60 minutes. The Canucks didn’t deserve to win Wednesday but Demko made sure they did.
It’s nice that the Canucks have won seven out of their last nine games, but The Athletic’s Thomas Drance points out, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows.
In the month of March the #Canucks have:
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) March 18, 2021
- Played 9 games
- Been outshot by 76
- Been outscored by 1 at 5-on-5
- Coughed up a late lead to the worst team in the division 2x
- Won 7 games
The Canucks blew a 2-0 lead to the worst team in the North Division not once but twice.
Other Notes
- The Canucks managed eight shots on rookie goalie Filip Gustavsson who was making his NHL debut coming after starter Joey Daccord suffered an injury late in the third
- Tanner Pearson left the game in the third period with an injury. At the time of this writing, no word has been said on the injury
- Motte looked good in his return to the lineup. He brought some speed and worked hard each shift at even strength and on the penalty kill. He even had time on the power play when Pearson got hurt. He had the highest CF on the team with 54.55%
dark. Next. Should the Canucks trade or extend defenceman Travis Hamonic?
The Canucks road trip continues when they visit the Montreal Canadiens in the first of a back-to-back. The puck drops at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.
*Stats Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and NHL.Com