Fansided

Three takeaways from Canucks 6-2 win over Ottawa Senators

By Joshua Rey |
OTTAWA, ONTARIO - DECEMBER 01: J.T. Miller #9 of the Vancouver Canucks scores on Filip Gustavsson #32 of the Ottawa Senators during the third period at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ONTARIO - DECEMBER 01: J.T. Miller #9 of the Vancouver Canucks scores on Filip Gustavsson #32 of the Ottawa Senators during the third period at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
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Well, look at that. The Vancouver Canucks have won two games in a row for the first time since October. After beating the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Monday night, the Canucks beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 to close out a five-game eastern road trip. They end the road trip with a 2-3 record.

It was a matchup between two basement dwellers. You can call it the battle of the basement or something like that.

The Canucks outshot the Senators 35-21 and both teams had trouble breaking the puck out. The game displayed lots of turnovers but the Canucks ended up being the better team. Maybe the media was too negative all along.

All jokes aside, no matter what your thoughts are on ownership, management, and the coach, you have to feel good for the players because they needed these two wins and a win like this one.

“We were due for one of those nights for a long time,” said Bo Horvat after the game. We’ve been playing a lot of good hockey.”

Here are three takeaways from the Canucks 6-2 win over Ottawa.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO – DECEMBER 01: Tyler Motte #64 of the Vancouver Canucks scores on Filip Gustavsson #32 of the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – DECEMBER 01: Tyler Motte #64 of the Vancouver Canucks scores on Filip Gustavsson #32 of the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images) /

1. The offence comes to life with different goal scorers

Goals have been hard to get for the Canucks this season. They currently rank 23rd in the NHL in goals for and 26th in goals per game.

Fortunately, the Canucks managed to score six against the Senators and they came from different players and players not particularly known for scoring goals.

Tanner Pearson got the first goal after a nice setup by Conor Garland who did his trademark spins around Victor Mete.

After going six straight games without a goal, Pearson has two goals in three games.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1466208316774928387

Former Canuck Adam Gaudette scored the first Senators goal in his first game as a Sen because of course. Good for you, if you bet money on him scoring.

Later, Gaudette turned the puck over and Tyler Motte got his second of the season. Maybe Gaudette is working as the Canucks double agent.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1466221980345147401

Luke Schenn got his first as a Canuck and it was a beauty. He looked like a power forward driving to the net. That wasn’t even the best Vancouver goal of the night. More on that later.

“Usually I’m checking to see whose shin pad it went off of before it goes in,” said Schenn.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1466230226992705538

The captain even got on the scoreboard with this quick shot that beat Filip Gustavsson.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1466236407383482372

Even though it was against the last-place Senators, it was good to see the Canucks light up the lamp and see different players score. They are going to need all the goals they can get if they want any hope of turning this season around.

2. Power play strikes twice

The Canucks power play has struggled all season but they are slowly improving with the man advantage. At the time of this writing, Vancouver’s power play sits 20th in the NHL. It’s a slight improvement from where it was a week ago.

There were shots and plenty of movement from the man advantage which have been lacking for the majority of the season. The Canucks power play went two for six in Ottawa.

We haven’t discussed the rest of the goals so let’s do it here.

Alex Chiasson was signed to help the power play with his net-front presence. He hasn’t been effective throughout the season but he was on Wednesday night.

With Chiasson screening, J.T. Miller took a quick snap shot and Gustavsson didn’t get all of it. Chiasson was there to bury the loose puck.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1466238344837447681

The former Senator is tied in the team lead for power play goals with Elias Pettersson. They both have three.

Miller got the Canucks second power play and you are definitely going to want to watch this more than once. He turned on the Jets and went by three Senators and they are probably going to have nightmares about it tonight.

It was better than watching and a predictable and stale power play that’s for sure.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO – DECEMBER 01: Conor Garland #8 of the Vancouver Canucks shoots the puck at the net as Thomas Chabot #72 of the Ottawa Senators looks on during the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – DECEMBER 01: Conor Garland #8 of the Vancouver Canucks shoots the puck at the net as Thomas Chabot #72 of the Ottawa Senators looks on during the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images) /

3. Conor Garland and Quinn Hughes impress

Garland has been one of the bright spots in a miserable season.

On Wednesday night, he continued to be a bright spot. After assisting on Pearson’s goal, he also got the assist on Motte’s goal.

He and Miller were tied with the team lead in shots on goal with five. Garland led all Canucks in Corsi at even strength for with 90.91 % per NaturalStatTrick.    

The Canucks also outshot the Senators 11-0 when Garland was on the ice at five-on-five

Garland once again displayed his tenacity, hands, and work ethic. He was strong in puck battles, made accurate passes, and tried to make things happen on the ice.

SportsnetStats also shared an interesting stat about Garland.

After reaching 100 assists in Montreal, Quinn Hughes continued to rack up the helpers in Ottawa. He had four assists in the game which was the first four-assist game of his career. He is also the first Canucks defenceman since Alex Edler in 2009 to have four points in a game.

Hughes now has 20 points in 23 games. That puts him in a four-way tie for third with Cale Makar, Aaron Ekblad, and Roman Josi for points by a defenceman this season. John Carlson and Adam Fox are tied for first each having 22 points.

The 22-year-old’s defensive play has improved from last season. Against the Senators, he looked good defensively and displayed his smooth skating, vision, and passing.

Other notes

  • Thatcher Demko once looked good between the pipes as he stopped 19 out of 21 Senators shots
  • Elias Pettersson got one assist in the game but he only managed 13:31 total ice time.
  • If there is one player to be negative about, it’s Brock Boeser. He didn’t look noticeable at all in the blowout win. Boeser hasn’t scored since November 7 against the Dallas Starts. He has gone 12 games with a goal

Next. How the Canucks offseason acquisitions have performed so far. dark

The Canucks return home and play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at Rogers Arena. Puck drop is at 7:00 PM.

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