Canucks: 3 takeaways from 3-2 shootout win over Senators

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.

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.

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.

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%

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