Post-Game Talk: Canucks 4, Red Wings 1. Wait, what?

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Any update on Stecher?

No..but it looks really bad...losing him would be a big blow for the Canucks D ...

 

[NuxFan09]

He's having a Jeff Cowan (Bra-barian) like surge on a generally low scoring team. Hard work and good luck. When he was Jake Virtanen's roommate - he stole his mojo
He's scored the most goals.

Jeff Cowan....oh Man, good times.

 

[Addison Rae]

What do find hilarious Dim Jim?...If you read my post I explained HOW they've won this year compared to the beginning of last year...If it still just looks like the same ol' to you as last year,and you're predicting a 10 game losing skid coming up...then carry on.

I don't care how they've won, because it's just an unbelievably small sample size to suggest that this year is going to e different than the last two. The team was under 500% a mere two games ago they beat two bottom dwellers and people are suggesting that "this years going to be different!11!"

It's been 8 games, Vegas has one of the best records in the league right now. Where do you see this team in the standings this year? If I disagree with it, I'm completely open to a wager. I remember doing one last year with someone of a similar mind set on here who said we were going to make the playoffs, too bad he got banned otherwise I would be $500 richer.

 

[The Stig]

Oh thats so awesome!

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

I don't care how they've won, because it's just an unbelievably small sample size to suggest that this year is going to e different than the last two. The team was under 500% a mere two games ago they beat two bottom dwellers and people are suggesting that "this years going to be different!11!"

It's been 8 games, Vegas has one of the best records in the league right now. Where do you see this team in the standings this year? If I disagree with it, I'm completely open to a wager. I remember doing one last year with someone of a similar mind set on here who said we were going to make the playoffs, too bad he got banned otherwise I would be $500 richer.

Why are you talking about the standings and the playoffs?..I never said they were a playoff team?..My only observation was 'the way' the Canucks won (without relying on a goaltender standing on his head ,or OT and SO points)...

I honestly have no idea where this team will finish..They're not a playoff team,but I also don't think that they're going to be an easy 2 points for any team.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

probably a joke someone has made long ago by now, but another year of watching sam gagners and i'm ready to pull #16 down from the rafters and let boes wear it.

 

[Addison Rae]

Why are you talking about the standings and the playoffs?..I never said they were a playoff team?..My only observation was 'the way' the Canucks won (without relying on a goaltender standing on his head ,or OT and SO points)...

I honestly have no idea where this team will finish..They're not a playoff team,but I also don't think that they're going to be an easy 2 points for any team.

Again you're not factoring the quality of teams the Canucks are playing as of right now. The only win they've had against an over 500% team this year was against the Senators, a game they were out shot in and had their goalie stand on their head (similar to what you said happened last year)

It's too early to say this teams different than last years. They played a good game today, credit where credit is due. But when the schedule gets tougher and the season gets longer they're likely going to be back in the same situation as last year.

 

[MS]

Good performance but for the second game in a row it's hard to tell how good because the opposition was a dreadful team headed for a bottom-5 finish.

- Dorsett was legitimately excellent tonight and was probably our best forward. Carried his linemates who were both mediocre and hounded the puck in all 3 zones. He's getting absurdly lucky and everything he's shooting is taking crazy bounces into the net but after his long rehab he probably deserves that luck.

- Virtanen was very good tonight but the frustrating thing is that with more patience and hockey sense he could have been spectacular. Had a step on the terrible Wing defence so many times but rather than use his speed and power to get into better shooting positions from better angles just wings the puck aimlessly (but hard) at the net as soon as a shot becomes an option. In that context, his 9 shots are almost a negative - he'd be much more effective if he waited and cut to the middle of the ice and lost the puck half the time but got off 3-4 legitimate high-quality shots from legitimate scoring areas. His speed does push the defence back a bit and make room for the plodding Sedins so that line has to be considered a success right now.

- Horvat line was outstanding. Horvat's best two-way effort of the season, and showed better vision tonight instead of playing his tunnel vision one-man game. Good to see Baertschi get on the board and have a strong game although it's weird to see people saying he's been good all season. No, he wasn't - his first 4-5 games were absolutely terrible and he generated nothing in terms of scoring chances while being extremely soft on the puck. Fortunately his early-season funk seems to be getting shorter every year.

- feel a bit bad for Vanek who was held back by his linemates tonight. Gagner has been dreadful and should be a healthy scratch before long at this rate. Burmistrov is just kinda there not doing anything really wrong.

- Chris Tanev was again the best player on the ice for either team for about the 5th time in 8 games this year. As someone else noted, his game seems to have gone to another level this year. Grassroots ASG campaign should start soon.

- Hutton and Del Zotto were both good although they continue to be getting stretched a bit playing minutes this heavy. Both are 19-21 minute types and while you might get away with playing them 25 minutes against Buffalo and Detroit, they're going to get exposed against better teams.

- Gudbranson started poorly but got better and had an overall solid game. Much better suited on the 3rd pairing where he can be sheltered a bit.

- Pouliot was ... awful. I'll give him a few more games to see if there's something there that can come out with more playing time and confidence but right now the guy looks like a complete dud. Bad reads, poor passes and turnovers all night. Any of our guys in Utica could have done as well. And in 5 games I haven't seen a single play that showcased any skating/shooting/passing skills that popped and gave you any reason to think this player has any sort of offensive upside to compensate for his scrambly defensive play.

- Markstrom maybe could have had the 1-1 goal but that was a laser from one of the best young shooters in the game. Otherwise was excellent, especially that against-the-grain save in the first period which was way tougher than he made it look.

 

[m9]

We are seeing peak Dorsett right now, and that peak Dorsett is a legit top 9 guy. He had glimpses of this his first season too, but it's kind of cool to see a guy get rewarded like this. Playing very simple hockey - make the easy plays, finish your checks, go to the net. Sounds like something you tell your players in midget but some things just work on any level.

Agree with some of the above comments about Virtanen in terms of a mixed bag. The Sedins really need him in transition and he did some good things there - he might be the only player on the team right now that can salvage their season. Never thought I would say that. Would like a bit more patience on his shot, but I do think that will come with time. Not much else to say about the Kronwell hit, that is the JV you saw all the time in junior with the reverse hits.

Gagner and Burmistrov are the guys that have to wonder about their spot in the lineup when guys get healthy. I'm not a big Gaunce fan, but I like the fit with him alongside Sutter & Dorsett. Keeping the Sedins w/ Virtanen & the Horvat line intact means Vanek, Gagner, Burmistrov, and Granlund will all be playing a bit of musical chairs to find their spot.

I liked the defense in general. Pouliot is a work-in-progress, for sure. Saw a couple of shifts with Gudbranson where it's hard not to think about the Gudbranson/Hutton comments from last year and how when Gudbranson is chasing, someone is doing something wrong. That guy was Pouliot tonight. At the time of the trade the guy Pouliot reminded me of was Steve McCarthy, another flamed-out high draft pick out of the WHL that could skate. I really hope that management isn't thinking of Pouliot as the reason they can flip Juolevi, because as of now they don't have much of an NHL player.

 

[The Stig]

I know we arent making the playoffs or anything like that. But Im more than happy to watch hockey like this. Its fun to watch

 

[DL44]

That was a fun game to watch.
Such a difference in Horvat's game when he's playing with a little bit of confidence. Playing with his head down and forcing the play on his own vs playing with his head up, looking for teammates, and being aware of where the gaps are.
The first Baertschi goal was a very lucky accidental goal... Boeser accidentally knocks it Bo, Bo accidentally flubs a shot to Baertschi who makes the play into the back of the net... the second assist was full value for finding Dorsett streaking,.

I was happy Virtanen was skating his tail off and earning space to get his shot off... but there were times he could of utilized the twins better... highly optimistic that will come as they get more comfortable.... The post game interview was telling on how well they gave Jake the message to get his shots down to create more rebound attempts, and he processed and executed it leading his goal. A beautiful skillset now in the polishing stages..

Vanek is finding his groove here... he's displaying his hands more and more each game.. makes so many sick little subtle plays with the puck... and then still has his high level snipe. Gagner after a slow start to the game, started working well in the corners and surprisingly won a handful of 50-50 pucks to keep it alive... More of that. Burmy played a quiet game - pretty mistake free... Perfect 13th forward. Reliable, but gives the opposition little to be concerned about... like better version of Gaunce.

Stecher injury is going to hurt... he was just starting to look comfortable the last couple of games.

Our shut down line is quite the luxury right now. Their ability to contain speedy top lines, as well as push the play the other way has been good to see. The scoring is nice bonus.
I expect the line to to generally trend to be slightly negative in the +/- department overall... but that's a clear win vs other teams top lines.

When was the last time the Canucks did well in 2nd periods?
We usually get worked by other teams in the 2nd with a long change. It's early, but I would think Green's propensity to line match or selective line usage that is helping in this regard.

We got a little something on every line right now that's working.

Now we need a power play to legitimize it all.

 

[Catamarca Livin]

Again you're not factoring the quality of teams the Canucks are playing as of right now. The only win they've had against an over 500% team this year was against the Senators, a game they were out shot in and had their goalie stand on their head (similar to what you said happened last year)

It's too early to say this teams different than last years. They played a good game today, credit where credit is due. But when the schedule gets tougher and the season gets longer they're likely going to be back in the same situation as last year.

Too early to say they are not better than last year as well. no? If a poster can not say they are better than based on the same logic you can not say they are the same. However that poster should be able to say they they have been better while you can say it does not prove anything. I would bring up this team has different players, coach, and is a year older/more developed. No one knows for sure. Betting on same is likely the smart/obvious bet however teams surprise every year.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

As it stands, I don't think we're amongst the worst 5 teams in the league.

We may have had a stretch of games against pushovers , but at least we're beating the bad team... over the last couple of years the bad teams were beating us.

Although, as soon as Tanev suffers his yearly injury we'll probably lose 20 games straight.

 

[MS]

As it stands, I don't think we're amongst the worst 5 teams in the league.

We may have had a stretch of games against pushovers , but at least we're beating the bad team... over the last couple of years the bad teams were beating us.

Although, as soon as Tanev suffers his yearly injury we'll probably lose 20 games straight.

Agreed.

I said before the season that improved depth and better coaching would probably take us into the 80-85 point range, and I haven't seen anything so far to change that prediction.

This season we look clearly better than the Buffalo/Detroit/Arizona sort of teams, but really all it's going to do is give us a worse draft pick.

And like you say, if Tanev gets hurt ... it'll be tank time.

 

[valkynax]

Agreed.

I said before the season that improved depth and better coaching would probably take us into the 80-85 point range, and I haven't seen anything so far to change that prediction.

This season we look clearly better than the Buffalo/Detroit/Arizona sort of teams, but really all it's going to do is give us a worse draft pick.

And like you say, if Tanev gets hurt ... it'll be tank time.

I know right...talk about lower standards...

It's nice to see some of the young guys stepping it up, but...we still don't have that franchise level talent, and most of the other teams has multiples