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Three takeaways from Canucks enjoyable 5-2 win over San Jose Sharks

By Joshua Rey |
Dec 16, 2021; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) and Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) battle for the puck behind the net during the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2021; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) and Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) battle for the puck behind the net during the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
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As Liverpool manager said after the club won their sixth Champions League title in 2019, “Let’s talk about six baby!” The Vancouver Canucks are still undefeated under Bruce Boudreau as they won their sixth game in a row with a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks.

They are just cruising under Boudreau like Eazy-E in his six-four.

The Canucks came into the game without Tucker Poolman, Luke Schenn, Juho Lammikko, and Brad Hunt as they all are on the NHL’s COVID-19 list.

It was also confirmed on Wednesday evening that assistant coach Jason King also tested positive for COVID and did not make the trip to San Jose. No other players tested positive.

As a result, Noah Juulsen suited up for a second straight game and the team called up Guillaume Brisebois from Abbotsford on Thursday morning.

Unfortunately, Breisbois left in the second period and did not return. It is not COVID related according to Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650.

It was also announced on Thursday afternoon. that Stan Smyl was promoted to Vice-President of Hockey Operations.

Smyl played for the Canucks from 1978-1991 and was the captain of the 1982 team that went to the Stanley Cup Final. His number 12 was the first to be retired by the club. Smyl became an assistant coach for the Canucks after retiring and even was the head coach of their AHL team. (The Syracuse Crunch, later Kansas City Blades and Manitoba Moose.) Since 2005, he was a Senior Advisor and Director of Player Development for the Canucks.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin will remain as special advisors and Ryan Johnson will continue to be Senior Director of Player Development and General Manager for the Abbotsford Canucks.

“Stan has been a foundational piece of this team for decades, and we are pleased that he will be taking on this role,” said President of Hockey Operations and Interim GM Jim Rutherford in the announcement .“In addition, Henrik, Daniel, and Ryan are key parts of our leadership team. We still have some additional roles to fill, but confirming these positions today is a big step for us.”

Anyway, on to the game.

The Canucks got plenty of chances on Adin Hill and looked good transitioning from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. As pointed out by Mike Kelly of NHL Network, Vancouver has improved drastically with their transitions and offensive zone time under Boudreau.

It wasn’t a perfect game by any means especially in the second period with the Sharks getting more shots on goal and the Canucks going 14 minutes without a shot themselves. In the third, however, they continued to be strong on the forecheck, get offensive zone time, and get scoring chances on Hill.

Boudreau is the sixth coach in NHL history to win six straight with a new team and the Canucks are one game below .500.

The numbers are going up like the box office numbers for Spider-Man: Far From Home this weekend. (I’m seeing it on Sunday, no spoilers in the comments. Please.)

https://twitter.com/BoestMode/status/1471728762135846914

Here are three takeaways from the Canucks win in San Jose.

Dec 16, 2021; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6), left wing Tanner Pearson (70) and center J.T. Miller (9) celebrate after the goal during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2021; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6), left wing Tanner Pearson (70) and center J.T. Miller (9) celebrate after the goal during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

#1 Boeser, Horvat, and Miller lead the offence.

Brock Boeser is back.

His goal drought of 13 games feels like forever ago. Under Boudreau, he is really looking like his old self. His shot is back and he scored twice within in this game and now has five in his last six.

The first one was a snipe on Hill after some nice pressure on the boards and a good rink-wide pass from Tanner Pearson.

Boeser went bar down on Hill in the second. Again, more good play on the boards from Pearson which helped get the puck to J.T. Miller who found Boeser open.

The line of Boeser, Miller, and Pearson was great cycling the puck and on the forecheck all night. They had a 66.67% Corsi For per NaturalStatTrick, which was also Boeser’s individual’s CF percentage.

“I feel like our whole line is playing really good hockey and playing smart hockey, and I think that’s the key to our success right now,” said Boeser after the game.

Bo Horvat also got on the scoresheet. After lots of passing and movement on the power play, (movement on the PP was something we have seen more of under Boudreau.) Horvat got a quick shot on Hill.

The Pearson-Miller- Boeser line was great forcing turnovers and that helped Miller get his goal.

Both Miller and Horvat are tied for the team lead in goals with ten.

#2 Thatcher Demko? Still pretty good!

The Thatcher Demko Show took a night off against the Columbus Blue Jackets but resumed on Thursday night. It’s safe to say Demko did not look rusty.

Demko once again made sure to make the big saves and give the Canucks the chance to get the two points. His best save was on Jayden Halbgewachs (a very hard last name to pronounce) who was playing his first NHL game.

Demko looked very calm and collected stopping the breakaway.

Another big save was off Logan Couture in the third and Miller scored soon after.

He probably will want the goal scored by Andrew Cogliano back, but it was once again another day at the office for Demko. He looked set for each shot and did a great job making saves once again.

Dec 16, 2021; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks goaltender Adin Hill (33) makes a save against Vancouver Canucks center Jason Dickinson (18) during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2021; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks goaltender Adin Hill (33) makes a save against Vancouver Canucks center Jason Dickinson (18) during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

#3 Jason Dickinson had a strong game

It looks like Jason Dickinson has been shooting the puck more the last six games.

Against the Sharks, he had a 42.56% expected goals for and his 1.25 expected goals led all Canucks per MoneyPuck.

He managed three shots on goal and including one where he tried to out deke Hill but couldn’t finish. Dickinson finally scored his first goal since October 21 against the Chicago Blackhawks with an empty netter. Maybe this will boost his confidence to score more.

Dickinson’s defensive play has improved the last few games and he has been playing on the wing instead of his centre. He is starting to become the two-way player the Canucks expected of when they traded for him.

Other Notes

  • Elias Pettersson had an off night but assisted on Dickinson’s empty netter. He had the third lowest CF on the Canucks with 27.59%. Vancouver was also outshot 13-4 when he was on the ice.
  • Vasily Podkolzin took a puck to the face late in the second and he was bleeding. Thankfully, he returned in the third.
  • Juulsen did not have a good game. He was easily beat by Cogliano on the Sharks’ second goal and made a brutal giveaway soon after. The Canucks gave up seven high danger chances when he was on the ice.

Next. The Canucks have shown resilience since Bruce Boudreau took over. dark

The Canucks return home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 4:00 PM.

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