Tyler Myers of the Vancouver Canucks shoots the puck past Zach Sanford of the St. Louis Blues and on net at Rogers Arena on November 5, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada.
The Canucks got a sneak peek at what the second season is about in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Cup champs on Tuesday night
The warning signs were everywhere.
The Stanley Cup champions have reverted to form and took a four-game win streak — all one-goal victories — and six triumphs in their last seven games into their Tuesday tussle with the Vancouver Canucks.
They not only scored eight power-play goals during that span, they are winning without injured game-breaking winger Vladimir Tarasenko. The Canucks took that and a lot more under advisement.
If all that wasn’t enough, Travis Green labelled the St. Louis defence the NHL’s best. How’s that for setting the bar high for another litmus test, especially after the Canucks stunned the Blues by rallying from a 3-1 road deficit on Oct. 17 to claim a 4-3 shootout win.
The Canucks got a sneak peek at what the second season is about. They had to be first on pucks and first to deliver hits and Jay Beagle got that message when he levelled Vince Dunn along the end boards. The Canucks would stand their ground and out-hit the Blues 29-16 and J.T. Miller registered eight hits.
However, even the shot clock didn’t tell the true story because bonafide chances in prime scoring areas were far and few between. And even the improved power play went 0-for-4 with six shots and Quinn Hughes back from a bruised knee to direct the first unit.
It was looking like a tough learning lesson until Hughes sent a point shot end over end and into top of the net at 16:25 to erase a 1-0 deficit.
Here’s what we learned as Tyler Myers was denied in overtime before all three Canucks were stranded on a failed foray as Jaden Schwartz settled the issue off a 3-on-0 break at 3:28 at Rogers Arena:
Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson battles for the puck against St. Louis Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo and defenceman Carl Gunnarsson during the first period at Rogers Arena.
Theatre of the bizarre ends the suspense
Travis Green had never seen anything like it. Either had anybody else.
In an overtime where Myers had a chance to be the hero, the towering defenceman was fed the puck and when he shot wide and collided with Miller, the Blues sped away with no defender in sight.
“Bo (Horvat) sends a pass across and Myers and he tried to one-time it and it’s a rolling puck and looks a lot easier than it is,” said the Canucks coach.
“It was just unfortunate,” added Horvat. “I made the pass and was going toward the net and the puck went by me and the next thing I know there are three of us in the corner and two of us fall down. Tough to get back from that position. There’s nothing you can do and it’s tough to give up that one.”
Myers tried to take the positives because that one play certainly didn’t take away from the collective effort.
“As I ran into Millsy there, I knew it was going to be 3-on-0 and I wasn’t really surprised,” said Myers. “You don’t want to give that up and it was an unfortunate break, but there’s a lot we can take from tonight. Especially in the third. We were pushing the way we wanted to and neither team was giving up too many Grade A chances.
“It was pretty tight and felt more like a game you see toward the end of the year, but good to get a point.”
It could have been two had Myers connected earlier in overtime.
“It was a good pass by Pierce (Tanner Pearson) and a bit of a fan on it, but got enough and he made a pretty good sliding save over there,” added Myers.
More importantly, the Canucks made the right impression, especially when push came to shove.
“That was a big-boy game,” added Green. “That’s a heavy team and they know how to win. To win a Cup you have to play in heavy games and that was the most physical one we’ve been in this season and we handled it very well. It was a fun game to coach. A lot of intensity. A great game. When you’re playing a team like St. Louis, it’s a grind. They take up a lot of space and there’s not a lot for either team.
“I’m happy with our game.”
Pettersson was better than advertised
Sometimes, being named player of the week is the reflection of a fortuitous run and not the true measure of the young season. That logic doesn’t apply to Elias Pettersson.
The slick Swedish centre had nine points (3-6) in four games to earn the honour and the Calder Trophy winner was sixth in league scoring after 14 games with 20 points (6-14).
On Tuesday, he once again displayed dominance with the puck and whether it was feathering a pass or whipping a shot just wide of the net, he is starting to take his eye-popping game to another level. He’s playing with pace and imagination.
Pettersson was denied when he let a wrist shot fly from a dozen feet out on a cross-ice feed from Brock Boeser in the opening three minutes. He then had a power-play chance in the second period and then on a 2-on-1 break with Jake Virtanen, he snapped a shot just wide of the net. He had five shots through 40 minutes and six through regulation. And he set the screen on the Hughes goal.
“Good players, I don’t try to over-coach them — I let them just play from the offensive side of the game,” said Green. “You can teach some guys defensive parts of the game and offensively, he’s going to be fine whether he’s passing or shooting — he’s going to make those decisions.”
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) blocks a shot by Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller (9) during the first period at Rogers Arena.
Craig Berube certainly took notice of the Canucks’ willingness to stand up to his club.
“They’ve got a good mindset,” said the Blues coach. “They’re skating and attacking with five guys and have everybody going. They’re doing a good job and are a tough team to play against. They put you on your heels a bit with their speed and attack and their defence is very involved.
“And Hughes is a dynamic player and creates a lot of stuff. That’s a good hockey club.”
Those close calls but no goals
One thing about the Canucks is they play hard and a 2-2-1 record when trailing after two periods entering Tuesday’s game says a lot about their moxie to manage tight games. And a 3-2-2 mark in one-goal decisions says the same.
You could count the great chances on one hand, but there were good chances until Hughes finally scored. J.T, Miller was denied by Jordan Binnington down low in the first period and Bo Horvat was stymied in the second period when he bolted out of the corner and was denied on the backhand.
And in the third period, Virtanen rang a shot off the post. Brandon Sutter was then stopped on the backhand with a shorthanded foray with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation time.
St. Louis Blues’ Vince Dunn (29), Vancouver Canucks’ Adam Gaudette (88) and referee Ian Walsh collide during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver on Tuesday November 5, 2019.
One cover mistake equals one goal
The Blues are opportunistic and instinctively adept at finding linemates as they head to open ice.
That was evident on the game’s first goal. When Sammy Blais spotted Tyler Bozak bolting by Jordie Benn in the slot, his corner feed was right on the tape and the puck went by Jacob Markstrom in a flash.
The Canucks should have been wary of Blais because Brayden Schenn had a similar scoring chance.
St. Louis Blues’ David Perron (57) falls on Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom, bottom, of Sweden, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver on Tuesday November 5, 2019.
Markstrom made his mark again
This wasn’t going to be an easy game for the starter because the Blues not only take a direct route to the net, they establish position and are hard to move. And if they’re not in Markstrom’s kitchen they’re cutting through the slot to accept crisp passes.
Markstrom showed a better glove hand Tuesday and was tested early by Colton Parayko. He also moved sharply to the left post to get a toe on a shot that Ryan O’Reilly tried to jam home.
bkuzma@postmedia.com
twitter.com/@benkuzma
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Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
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November 06, 2019 at 12:53PM
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