Post-Game Talk: GAME #41: Canucks 3 @ Flames 2 (OT): Halfway point of the season gets its own PGT

[Deeds26]

Would have to think that Granny is out when Sutter is healthy. Who else would sit? Goldy I guess.. Motte has earned his stay. Sit Leivo who hasnt done much lately?

 

[Megaterio Llamas]

Got home from the USA Sweden game and caught the highlights and Jesus Granlund stunk it up that game.

Sutter returning should be the end of Granlund on the ice. Waive Schaller and press box Granlund

And yet there he was, out there falling on his prat in 3 on 3 ot and nearly costing us the game on the play preceding the goal. I'm afraid this is one of those kooky coach/player bromances that requires intervention from the gm. Player needs to be physically removed as an option.

 

[Uhmkay]

Would have to think that Granny is out when Sutter is healthy. Who else would sit? Goldy I guess.. Motte has earned his stay. Sit Leivo who hasnt done much lately?

Goldy doesn't deserve to sit, not yet. And he's shown that if nothing else, he and Pettersson seem to have some really good chemistry.

 

[ddawg1950]

EP's shot on his goal looked fast even in slo mo.

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

And yet there he was, out there falling on his prat in 3 on 3 ot and nearly costing us the game on the play preceding the goal. I'm afraid this is one of those kooky coach/player bromances that requires intervention from the gm. Player needs to be physically removed as an option.

I’m officially done with Granlund, I was a defender of his as a serviceable NHL player but I’m starting to want more from my Canucks ( thanks Petey for raising the bar )

 

[DL44]

Well.. I'm just glad Markstrom is showing us the difference between what good, solid, consistent #1 goalie play looks like vs what he was doing pre-december.

Remarkable play.

This is the difference between a goalie that lifts and inspires his team vs gut punching them in the first 5 mins every other game...

Glad the difference of play couldn't have been laid out any better.

So when I complained about Markstrom (and some wondered why)... it was cuz he wasn't playing like this.

 

[ziploc]

EP's overtime was crazy. Was he the guy who defended the 2 on 1? I think he was, but could be wrong. Then after a long shift and an icing, he still manages to outskate everyone on a long break out rush that almost ended in another goal. That was really impressive.

 

[sting101]

Well.. I'm just glad Markstrom is showing us the difference between what good, solid, consistent #1 goalie play looks like vs what he was doing pre-december.

Remarkable play.

This is the difference between a goalie that lifts and inspires his team vs gut punching them in the first 5 mins every other game...

Glad the difference of play couldn't have been laid out any better.

So when I complained about Markstrom (and some wondered why)... it was cuz he wasn't playing like this.

well you were right and calling a spade a spade Literally.

had a good 2nd half last year but this is better and has started much earlier when badly needed and when games matter.

Progression

 

[DL44]

well you were right and calling a spade a spade Literally.

had a good 2nd half last year but this is better and has started much earlier when badly needed and when games matter.

Progression

Progression.

Next up... Consistency. Can he find real consistency with this level of play?
We shall see...

 

[Melvin]

Progression.

Next up... Consistency. Can he find real consistency with this level of play?
We shall see...

He is playing like the best goalie in the league.

The problem is your expectations were and continue to be too high. When he plays to his salary you complain because you want him to play “like this,” but if he played like this all the time he’d be a 12M goalie, which he’s simply not. That is why people “wondered why,” because you for some reason expect a 3M goalie to “consistently” play to a vezina caliber. It is a preposterous expectation.

 

[thekernel]

Yeesh, those shorthanded goals left me shaking my head. I knew our second PP unit had to be like, bottom 3 in the whole league, but tonight's performance was....god damn, that's just not acceptable. I've come to loathe the effort levels of Granlund and Eriksson, where you can't tell if they aren't trying or if they don't try because they know they won't succeed. Either case, any contending team should avoid those types of players like the plague. Guys who lack foot speed and lack the ability to win 50/50 pucks barely qualify as grinders any more in today's league....and we have two of them getting spoon-fed some of the most important minutes. Like Granlund should never be out there when we're trying to tie a game late, he should never be out there in 3 on 3 overtime, heck he's proven in both eye and stats that he shouldn't even be killing penalties. And tonight we saw why he shouldn't be on the powerplay either. Just a slow and gutless performance from him. Loui was better, actually wasn't abjectly terrible for most of the game, but his backcheck on their first shorty was just the kind of effort level that outright loses you games, period.

Okay, with that out of the way, this was actually a team performance I liked. Came out a bit slow, we just handed the puck to the Flames way too many times and spent a lot of time hemmed in our own zone as a result. Soft penalty calls didn't help our cause -- certainly felt like at least 3 of those powerplays were "it's the home team" kind of calls. Nonetheless, we left their big guns very frustrated with the way we clogged lanes. When Johnny would deke past one check, there'd be another check to take away his dangerous seam pass. He couldn't get anything going the entire night. Same with Gio, he was visibly frustrated and as a result didn't handle the puck very well. Tkachuk and Monahan were complete non-factors. James Neal was probably their most dangerous forward, yikes.

Baertschi looked decent in his return. There was a play or two where it felt like he gave up on a battle too early, perhaps hearing footsteps, or whatever. I know with his kind of injury and with the amount of time missed, there's not really any reason to worry about him pulling up on checks in his first game back, but it's obviously something you don't want to see continue. As he gets into the groove I expect to see him head back to the dirty areas; for now he gets a pass.

Horvat wasn't as noticeable, didn't have to carry the team this time which was nice. Having Beagle back has been quite the underrated blessing. Not only has he played as advertised, aka the bottom-sixer that good teams covet, he's been able to lift a little load off of Bo's shoulders. And hey, that line has been dynamite, and they were good again tonight. Workers that earn pucks are fun to watch. You just know how much those guys care about winning, even in a road game.

Markstrom's in a zone right now, dunno what more can be said about his play this month. Those characteristic back-breaking softies have been replaced with huge, timely saves. Instead of being down too many goals to come back from, he's kept us from folding to the best teams. On plays I expect a goal against, he's been coming up with the puck often with no rebound. Far be it for me to declare his arrival as a legit starter, but this is the closest he's been to realizing his potential. I've always thought the perception around Markstrom was shaped a little too much by the teams in front of him, but sometimes it felt like he was just too leaky to steal games for us. Not so lately.

Defense as a unit felt pretty good. Couple bad shifts in the first, but it came together nicely in the end. Tanev looking better and better every night, fewer and fewer mistakes while keeping that trademark poise in transition.

Pettersson and Boeser are the straw that stirs this drink. Such deadly game-breakers and we are spoiled with two of them. Like, I trust Pettersson to defend a two-on-one more than I trust our defense (except maybe Tanev). Simply genius read to save the game in overtime. I'm running out of words to describe these kids.

 

[orcatown]

Game was about and mostly only about Pettersson and Markstrom. Much of the rest of the team were baggage. Stole 2 points. Would say that the team is sagging a bit which was to be expected given the first half schedule. Some players looking bagged and will benefit from easier second half sched.

Boeser - goal and assist but left two zones behind when Pettersson took off.

Stecher - first game back but he struggled every where on the ice. Not convinced he is bona vide NHLer. Has zero offensive skill.

Granlund - oh so weak on the puck.

Virtanen - played well in some stretches and not in others. Often too much like the old Virtanen

Eriksson - got real lazy at times. Very poor on first short handed goal. Guess there were some "little things"

Gudbranson - came to play. Not mistake free but worked hard. At times seemed the only player working in his end.

Pouliot - better than usual.

Levio - don't put him on the PP. Not doing enough.

Hutton - after a strong month or so looks to be fading. Long season and work load telling.

Baertschi - didn't do much. Needs time to get back up to speed .Not sure he should be on PP.

Edler - scored the winner but appeared tired at times and was forced into some bad plays

Motte - lack of game time suggest he might have been hurting. Not up to his usual standard. Still gives it everything he's got.

Tanev - as usual a vital cog in his end.

Have to give this team a lot of credit for hanging in but underlying reason for success is the goal tending and the offense EP. Most of the time team is in a holding pattern waiting for Pettersson to serve up some magic.

 

[Samzilla]

There is literally not enough discussion about pettersson on the internet to satiate me.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Lately,I haven't really been noticing Pouliot (which is probably a good thing).

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Pettersson is a beauty. As amazing as he is offensively, just as good defensively. What a player.

 

[Johnny Canucker]

With the arrival of Hughes, the rebuild will be nearly complete.

We have our franchise cornerstones.

No. We need 2 more NHL defensmen. Edler is retiring and Tanev is getting older. Maybe can be shored up thru trade...

 

[Johnny Canucker]

They are very watchable but far from complete. They need at least a complete overhaul of that D. Hughes plus at least two more.

This x 100. Or else we will just be like Edmonton’s Defense. Next 2-3 drafts need to pick a majority of defensmen. And not this off the chart BS like Juolevi

 

[Angry Little Elf]

We’re making the playoffs.

 

[Josepho]

No. We need 2 more NHL defensmen. Edler is retiring and Tanev is getting older. Maybe can be shored up thru trade...

We absolutely do need to rebuild our defence but you're making it sound like Edler's nearing 40.

He'll only be 33 to start next season.

 

[Results]

I just audibly cheered after a Canucks victory for the first time in like 4 years. What is wrong with me.

If you didn't cheer when Daniel scored in OT of their last home game, you've got a heart of stone my friend.

 

[kanuck87]

This x 100. Or else we will just be like Edmonton’s Defense. Next 2-3 drafts need to pick a majority of defensmen. And not this off the chart BS like Juolevi

Edmonton's defense isn't the issue. It's the forward group. They basically have one top line and 3 lines that are 4th/AHL line material.

 

[Angry Little Elf]

Edmonton's defense isn't the issue. It's the forward group. They basically have one top line and 3 lines that are 4th/AHL line material.

This. Lucic only has 2 goals in 82 games.

 

[vancityluongo]

Team has been massively outplayed in the last 2 games but Pettersson is unreal and Markstrom is playing like an All-Star. And Tanev is back in elite form. Rest of team .... mehhhhh.

Glad Baertschi is back and picked up a point but I’m not sure how we got from fears his career was over a few weeks ago to him back now. Seems awful quick and I hope we aren’t talking about a Franzen situation in a couple years.

Granlund is horrendous.

Would add that Horvat and Boeser at least deserve HM's, even though both have not been at their peak performance.

Cannot stress that Granlund was especially bad tonight.

 

[F A N]

I’m officially done with Granlund, I was a defender of his as a serviceable NHL player but I’m starting to want more from my Canucks ( thanks Petey for raising the bar )

I think that’s fair. Nobody ever said Granlund was some core player but he served his purpose. Heck he has more goals and points in the NHL this season than Shinkaruk in the AHL.

The Canucks has Dale Weise for 3 years then let him go. That doesn’t take away from the fact that he was a solid pickup.

Green is using him as some sort of Finnish army knife. It’s a hard job to do well.

 

[clunk]

This x 100. Or else we will just be like Edmonton’s Defense. Next 2-3 drafts need to pick a majority of defensmen. And not this off the chart BS like Juolevi

If this GM just stockpiled 2nd and 3rd round picks rather than pissed our most valuable assets away on projects and win-now players, we'd probably have at least 1 or 2 more future top 4 d-men in our ranks.