Offence from the defence comes in clutch
As reflected on the scoresheet, the Canucks defence racked up the points yesterday, contributing five out of the team’s 11 points on the day.
Hamonic and Myers proved themselves to be clinical finishers, both potting home goals from the slot.
Myers almost collected himself two goals on the night if it weren’t for a slightly ill-timed pass from Boyd on the powerplay.
Myers also recorded three shots on the night. It was his point-shot which snuck through traffic on Höglander’s 2-0 goal. The veteran defenceman finished as the game’s second star.
Quinn Hughes was his usual self, showing off the impressive technical ability that fans have come to know and love. He even gave us another potential goal of the year candidate, absolutely undressing Michael Stone.
Hughes finished the contest as the game’s third star.
Jack Rathbone also had himself a bit of a day, quietly leading defencemen with 57.69 CF%, according to Natural Stat Trick. The young defenceman continues to display glimpses of his offensive prowess while holding his own in the defensive zone, even in limited minutes.
After lighting up the AHL this year, count on him to make the opening night roster next season.
In sum, the defence’s play on the offensive side of the puck proved to be critical in yesterday’s victory.
Bottom-six provides value
While the top-six took the brunt of Calgary’s force, the bottom-six won their battles.
As mentioned, Lockwood, Vesey, and Boyd led all lines in CF% today, while Marc Michaelis, Jayce Hawryluk, and Graovac also posted a positive shot-share.
The former, specifically, was quite impressive. The rookie and former Leafs played quite well together, exemplifying some chemistry in a sheltered deployment.
The fourth line finished as a plus-one on the night, as they helped kick off the scoring, as Graovac collected an assist on the goal. Overall, they made as much of an impact as you’d want from a line playing under eight minutes a night.
As the final games of a lost season tend to provide minimal value to fans, the opposite is true for many NHL players.
These final games provide an opportunity for those in their contract year to make one last impression to their current or prospective clubs that they can contribute at the highest level.
In the Canucks’ case, five out of the six players on the bottom-two lines are on expiring deals, so it’s a safe bet that they’re still looking to impress, and, all in all, they had a good showing today.
The Canucks are back at it on Wednesday afternoon, squaring off against the Flames for the final regular season game of the year. Puck drop is at 12:30pm PST.
So, what did you think of the game Canucks fans? Let us know in the comments!