Canucks Next Game: Into the Wild on a back-to-back ———
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
30-26-8, 5th in Pacific Division
at MINNESOTA WILD
37-20-4, 3rd in Central Division.
WHY WATCH
The Canucks aren’t technically out of the playoff chase but they pretty much are. They need to win more than two-thirds of their remaining games and for a team that’s been as inconsistent as they’ve been, that’s just not going to happen. That said, this road trip is the first chance to see Travis Dermott in action. The former Leafs defenceman should bring a little more jump to the Canucks’ underwhelming blue-line corps and management thinks he can be a second-pairing player, the kind of defenceman they really don’t have. The Canucks are playing their second game in two nights so how will they fare Thursday after a sure-to-be hard contest in Denver on Wednesday night?
SPECIAL TEAMS
CANUCKS : PP 21.5% (14th), PK 71.4% (32nd)
WILD: PP 19.6 % (20th), PK 76.3% (23rd)
THREE THINGS ABOUT THE WILD
• No flower power yet: The Wild traded for Marc-Andre Fleury on Monday but he’s not yet expected to make his Wild debut on Thursday. The team let him go back to Chicago to take care of a few personal matters Wednesday, so it’s expected that Cam Talbot will face the Canucks on Thursday. Talbot and Fleury are likely to be deployed as 1A and 1B goalies from here on.
• Seedings fight: The Avs are the runaway leaders in the Central, but it’s a three-way fight for second in the division. The Wild currently sit third in the division, one point back of St. Louis. Nashville is tied with Minnesota on points but has played two more games. All have plenty to play for in the weeks ahead. The Wild had slumped a bit earlier this month but look to have their high-octane offence back on track.
• Power up: True playoff contenders make their home ice a fortress and the Wild have done that. They’re 20-7-1 at home. The Canucks are a mediocre 14-13-5 in comparison. The Canucks’ road record is reasonable at 16-13-3, just one win short of Minnesota’s road record in fact.
Excellent win by the Canucks!! Beating the #1 team in the NHL! A great boost for Halak's confidence. Very sad about Motte's trade to the Rangers and all they got in return was a lousy 4th round pick. Motte was such a good player for the Canucks, I still remember a goal he scored in the playoffs. But at least Miller, Boeser and Garland did not get traded.
The Colorado Avalanche saw a new face in the lineup in Andrew Cogliano but could not succeed in getting the win. With all the scoring coming in the final period, the Vancouver Canucks wound out on top 3-1.
It was a really frustrating game from the Avalanche’s standpoint. They put plenty of shots on Jaroslav Halak, 33 in total to be exact. However, he stood tall and the Avs couldn’t get a clean shot through into the net.
1st Period
The frustration began right from the get-go. This included a really bad penalty from Nathan MacKinnon on Quinn Hughes for cross-checking. Cogliano did get active though in his first game, “fighting” Oliver Ekman-Larrson after unintentionally kneeing Vasily Podkolzin.
It was even testing to Darcy Kuemper. He was good in net to start, but he did venture out at one point. In his adventure, he almost ended up on Steve’s Dang It’s tomorrow afternoon with this near miss. Luckily, it was still 0-0 after one.
2nd Period
Things did start off with a bang when Erik Johnson laid a big hit in the opening minutes along the boards after the puck was shot on Kuemper. The frustration continued for the Avs, as Mikko Rantanen deflected a shot on the power play into the post.
The chances continued for the Avs, they had a few more power play chances which again saw Nazem Kadri hitting the post on the man advantage short-side on Halak. The chances were there for the Avs, and the refs seemed to be letting things go with the Canucks hanging on heading into the third still scoreless.
3rd Period
The Canucks took advantage early on, as the Avs and Josh Manson couldn’t clear the zone. It lead to Brock Boeser being all alone in the slot and beating Kuemper for the 1-0 lead.
Just minutes later, the Canucks then found themselves on a 2-on-1 with J.T. Miller being able to collect the loose puck after Kuemper couldn’t control it at the top of the crease. Miller put it into a gaping net to double the lead.
The Avs turned up the pressure from here. They knew they had to get back into it in a hurry and had the opportunity to do so after Luke Schenn tripped MacKinnon. It lead to Kadri being able to collect the rebound and into the net to get the lead back down to one.
The pressure continued to ramp up, the Avs looked to grab the equalizer. They pulled Kuemper late on and had a multitude of chances. This included a phenomenal chance in the dying seconds where Halak raised his left leg to rob the Avs of the tie.
It lead to Bo Horvat streaking down the ice and beating a couple of defenders to put the puck into an empty and win the game for the Canucks 3-1.
Takeaways
This was a tough one to swallow for the Avs. They had their offensive chances, but Vancouver was able to hold them at bay. Jared Bednar said in his postgame presser that on the power play “They (Vancouver) did a nice job of keeping us on the perimeter.” With the dominance of the power play as of late for the Avs, now up to the fourth-best in the league, it was a shame they could only go 1/5 on the man advantage.
It’s been a couple of games in a row now that Manson has had a rough game. With a -1, he has been having a rough transition to the backline of the defense after his first game in an Avs uniform on Friday night against the San Jose Sharks. While his Avalanche career is young, hopefully once he gets a couple of games under his belt he will be a good performer.
Despite the loss, the Avs continue to be great on the penalty kill. They have now killed off 19 consecutive penalties dating back six games. This included killing off the early MacKinnon penalty going 1/1 while having a man down. The special teams have been good for the Avs, but of course it would be better to go more than 1/5 on the power play.
After watching Vegas blow the Dadanov trade, I'm hoping Vancouver blows by them and steals that playoff spot. If that happens, you'd have to give Boudreau Coach of the Year.
Canuck's playoff chances climbed past double-digits again. If they win again tonight and at least two of the four games that have playoff implications go their way, they will be back in the hunt.
I have only seen Josh Manson play as an Av in 2 games so far and He has been awful in both. I realize there is an adjustment period playing on a new team but…………. Avs give away the puck in their own zone WAY too much and it will cost them ( as it did last year against Vegas) in the playoffs.
This is one of those games where I wouldn’t say the nucks got lucky but I also wouldn’t say the avs were good. The nucks were actually really good but the avs were horrible offensively and couldn’t for the life of them make a simple play.
The team seemed to play better defensively around Halak this game, but still. I don't know how he had two games where he was just a sieve, but if you didn't know and watched this game you would have no idea about the previous two…
A few nights ago their were some less than complimentary comments about Y.H. Just sayin, he almost stole Careys job in Montreal back in the day. Scored an awesome contract with STL, remained a very reliable backup later in his career. Helped the B,s to game 7 of the finals in 19. I'm a fan!
Will you idiots stop with "The refs…the refs…the refs". The Canucks took more penalties therefore the refs are crooked…how about the Canucks hurt themselves with penalties and the refs were just doing their damn job This trend of calling the League fixed and refs bought off is getting old, it's as bad and stupid as "NASA is corrupt and the moon landings were fake". Stop, just bloody stop.
Canucks 3, Avalanche 1: Halak proves a point as the forgotten
backup ————————–
Jaroslav Halak doesn’t care what we think.
The Vancouver Canucks’ beleaguered backup goaltender knows he has gained more notoriety in his season gone south for contract bonuses, a no-movement clause, being pulled in a pair of lopsided February shellings and reluctance from the coach to only play the veteran in back-to-back situations.
“It’s always nice to get a win in this league,” said Halak. “It never gets old. For the most part of the game, we played well. You’ve got to give them credit and our guys battled hard. We didn’t play into their hands and we stuck to our game plan.
“As a player, you always want to play and it’s hard to go in every two or three weeks and my last two starts were not the way I wanted things to go. Obviously, I didn’t know what was going to happen (trade deadline), if I was going to remain with the Canucks or be traded.
“Now that it’s done, I can focus on being here and doing my best when I get a chance. Tonight, I just wanted to get out there and feel the puck a little bit and get some shots in.”
Maybe it’s because the 36-year-old Halak believes he still has game, even though the 2-6-2 record, bloated 3.41 goals-against average and .886 saves percentage he took into Wednesday’s litmus test would suggest something else.
Despite being on the back nine of his National Hockey League career, and perhaps playing the final hole as an unrestricted free agent, the Slovakian showed something in Denver. He gave the Canucks a chance to win and that’s all you can ask of any stopper.
Halak wasn’t beaten Wednesday until the 26th shot — a power play rebound by Nazem Kadri, who had been denied on five earlier chances — and backstopping a 3-1 victory over the high-octane Colorado Avalanche with 32 saves to kick off a four-game road trip was elating.
It sent a message to the Canucks and off-season suitors that he can still play.
After all, the Avalanche were expected to easily have their way as the league’s top team with the second-ranked offence and fourth-rated power play that had five chances Wednesday. And they didn’t have to face starter Thatcher Demko.
“That’s the best game I’ve been a part of with this team,” said Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau. “Every one of them was committed and to play that team on even terms was pretty special. We’re capable of beating the best teams when we play the way we did tonight.
“Everybody did the right thing and I’ve seen Jaro play like that before. He was determined. You could just see it in his eyes and I thought if he could get through the first five minutes that he would be really good and he was.”
Here’s what we learned as Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat with the empty-netter scored for the Canucks:
HALAK FED TO WOLVES
The Canucks had to play Halak in the front end of back-to-back games because it was more than any lingering hard feelings the backup may have had Saturday. He was told he was going to play the third period against Calgary, which ensured Demko played Sunday against Buffalo.
The rationale Wednesday was to save the starter for Thursday against surging Minnesota and a duel with new Wild stopper Marc-Andre Fleury. It also gave Halak a shot at salvaging something and he delivered.
It started early when Halak made a right-pad save off J.T. Compher. He was calm and square to the puck and there was no panic. He then followed up by making a series of saves off Kadri — a power play backhander at the side of the net and a glove save, and then a tip and flip off the iron on another man advantage — to keep it scoreless through two periods.
BOESER BREAKS SLUMP
To their credit, the Canucks got a good forechecking start from Brad Richardson between Juho Lammikko and Mathew Highmore and just missed on several scoring chances.
Horvat was denied twice and Boeser had ample opportunity to break an even-strength slump of just one goal in his last 16 in 5-on-5 play. Conor Garland also denied on a wraparound in the second period to open scoring.
Boeser then delivered when it mattered the most.
Early in the third period, the winger took an Elias Pettersson feed in the high slot and let a no-hesitation wrist shot go to beat Darcy Kuemper to the glove side at even strength with his fifth shot.
“It’s always a good thing to get looks,” a hopeful Boeser said before puck drop. “You might have a couple of thoughts when you get the puck if you should get it off quick or try to out-wait the goalie.”
Less than two minutes later, Miller kept his position in the crease to pounce on a Tanner Pearson rebound, spin and shovel home his 26th goal of the season, one off his career high.
“It seems the harder the challenge, the better we play,” said Miller, whose line was matched up against the Avalanche’s top trio that included Nathan MacKinnon. “We didn’t care if we touched the puck tonight. If we could shut them down, and not completely shut them down, but make it hard to win that we’d have a chance to win.
“That was the ballsiest effort we’ve had this season. Wins like that are very contagious and we feel great about it. I was told I was going to match up against one of the best lines in hockey and that’s why I play. I want to be on against those guys and everybody stepped up defensively tonight.
“Being out there against them brings out the best in me and not all the time you’re going to hold that team to one goal. You can play a good defensive game and they’re still going to get stuff. For me., it makes me a better player and I love those moments. We tried to rise to the occasion and we’re still not out of it (playoffs).
“When everybody buys in, we will almost every single time. This is going to be an awesome road trip for us and we’re not done yet.”
Boudreau also believed getting past the Monday trade deadline had a calming effect on his club and it could spur something on the trip.
“I did sense a feeling of relief, especially from players who even acknowledged that fact — and we’ll see what that does. But they want to fight the battle and they’ve fought this far,” said the coach.
Miller agreed.
“These guys are on their phones every single second of every day and I can only imagine what they’re reading,” he said of the lead up to the trade deadline. “It must be hard. We’ve had (trade) rumours going around for about four months, if not more than that. There is going to be buzz and now that it has passed, there is going to be a load off.
“This is our squad and we believe in this group.”
PLAYING UNDERDOG CARD
“I’d rather start off against Abbotsford.”
That was the sobering and somewhat humorous summation when Boudreau was asked in the morning about facing the NHL’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Canucks coach knew the Avalanche can hurt you in so many ways, so a reference to playing the American Hockey League affiliate in Abbotsford was some needed levity.
After all, the Avalanche blitzed the visiting Canucks 7-1 on Nov. 11 without the injured MacKinnon and also chased Demko with six goals through 40 minutes. Colorado was expected to breeze to its fifth-straight win and seventh in the last 11 games Wednesday, so Boudreau did what he has done so often this season. He buttered up the opposition to motivate his club.
It worked.
The Canucks were able to keep pace with and frustrate the Avalanche, who may be one of the league’s best clubs in transition and activating the defence to get into the offensive zone to take drop passes for premium scoring chances.
Halak, Canucks contain high-flying Avalanche in 3-1 win ————
Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller scored 1:52 apart early in the third period, Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 shots and the Vancouver Canucks beat the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Boeser got things rolling by taking advantage of a turnover with a goal 1:23 into the final period. Miller knocked in another off a rebound moments later. Bo Horvat added an empty-net goal as the Canucks finished 1-2 against the Avalanche this season.
“It’s the best game I’ve been a part of with this team,” Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We used the word ‘committed’ before the game and every one of them was committed. To play that team on even terms is a pretty special moment.”
The Avalanche have been the third-period comeback kings this season, but couldn't add to their total of 10. Nazem Kadri's power-play goal made it 2-1 early in the third.
Halak came up big down the stretch to earn his first win since Jan. 31.
“We’re in a playoff push and we need to be playing playoff hockey from now on if we want to make it," Halak said.
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in a game filled with plenty of skating and not a lot of whistles. There were long stretches with no breaks.
“It looked like we didn't have the jump we had in the past,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, whose team had its four-game win streak halted.
Miscues played a critical role in Vancouver's third-period goal spurt, especially on the first score.
“Besides that lapse, I think the game was pretty solid for us,” Kadri said. “They’re an opportunistic team.”
Miller added an assist on Horvat's empty-netter with 17.6 seconds remaining. Miller now has 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) over his last 17 games.
“It seems like the harder the challenge, the better we play sometimes," Miller said. "There’s no doubt that wins like that are very contagious and we feel great about it.”
The Canucks face an uphill climb to claim one of the final playoff spots. Just don’t tell them that.
“Until we’re done, we’re playing every game as if it’s our last game,” Boudreau said after the morning skate. “Don’t necessarily look at the standings, just play it. Eventually, if you have some success, you’ll be where you want to be.”
Andrew Cogliano made his Avalanche debut after being acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline. The veteran forward nearly scored an early goal and demonstrated his tenacity by getting into a minor scuffle after being called for tripping.
The defense ruled the night over the opening 40 minutes. Kuemper withstood 18 shots through two periods, while Halak turned back 23 — and got some help with Kadri hitting the post.
The Avalanche have a big lead in the standings, but no plans of cruising toward the finish line. It's full throttle all the way with three straight second-round playoff exits as motivation.
“You’re always a good team until someone shows you you’re not,” Bednar said.
THIS & THAT
Colorado forward Artturi Lehkonen will have to wait to make his Avalanche debut as he works through immigration issues. Lehkonen was acquired from Montreal at the trade deadline. … Singer Hazel Miller initially struggled with the start of “O Canada," apologized to the crowd and then began again. She followed with a resounding version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that received a loud applause.
IN CIRCLES
Kadri doesn't fully understand why he's getting asked by the officials to leave the faceoff circle.
“I feel like I’m not really doing much different than anyone else is,” Kadri said. “I want to be the guy taking them. Doesn’t help when I’m getting kicked out three or four times a night.
“There’s communication for sure,” Kadri added. "Agree to disagree kind of thing.”
FAMILY FIRST
Cogliano hopes to soon be joined in Denver by his wife and two young kids. The couple’s 1-year-old daughter, Olive, is dealing with complications related to asthma that’s led to a few trips to the hospital this season.
“We’re on the right path to figuring it out,” he said.
As a general rule, the Vancouver Canucks have chosen to start their No. 1 goalie in the first game of back-to-backs this season, but, on the current road trip, they’ve gone against the trend.
Both games in this pairing are tough — Wednesday in Colorado, Thursday in Minnesota — but backup Jaroslav Halák got the tougher assignment, starting Wednesday at altitude against the powerful Avalanche.
“It seems like Jaro has always got the back end of the deal on the back-to-back so … there was a sense of let’s change it around,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said before Wednesday’s game.
The coach said if he were in Halák’s situation he would be highly motivated about the start.
“I’m the kind of guy that says, ‘I’ll show you guys,’ and he’s the kind of guy that doesn’t want to end his career. And he wants to play more. So I mean, the best way to do that is to play well. And to me he’s only had two bad outings. I mean, it came at inopportune times, of course, but we’ll see tonight.”
No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko is expected to start against the Wild on Thursday. He started both games last weekend, so giving him Wednesday off also means he’ll have three full days off between starts.
The Canucks play again on Saturday in Dallas and next Monday in St. Louis.
Eyes still on the playoffs
Boudreau said the Canucks still had visions of the playoffs, even if their margins are extremely thin: Going into Wednesday’s game, the Canucks can’t afford to lose four out of their remaining 18 games. If they lose any more than that, they simply won’t be able to accrue enough points in the standings.
“Until we’re done, we’re done. We’re playing every game as if it’s our last game,” Boudreau said. “The only people that think we’re done are the outside people. So we just play every game like it’s a playoff game and we don’t necessarily look at the standings, just play it and then eventually if you have some success, and then you’ll be where you want to be.”
‘An absolute rock’: Little-used Halak comes up big for Canucks ——-
The Vancouver Canucks never had a problem with Jaroslav Halak. It is the bonus in his contract they couldn’t stand.
They tried for weeks to generate a trade market, ready to dump the goaltender in order to dump the $1.25-million bonus for Halak that will count against the Canucks’ salary cap next season — after his one-year contract has expired and he’s playing elsewhere.
But the appeal of Halak, awful in his only two starts in the seven weeks that preceded the National Hockey League’s trading deadline on Monday, was never enough to make up for dislike of his bonus.
And so, still with the Canucks, Halak on Wednesday played the first game of the end of his time in Vancouver and was brilliant during a 3-1 road win against the Colorado Avalanche.
The 36-year-old’s satisfaction with his performance, and the utter joy of teammates for him, was evident in the receiving line of hugs Halak received at the end of a win that was even more improbable than management’s failed trade mission.
Was it worth $1.25 million? Not yet.
Maybe a sad ending to the Canucks season can still be averted. Because if a team that looked as exhausted and unfocused as Vancouver did on a disappointing seven-game homestand that ended Sunday can go into Denver and justly beat the best team in NHL, holding Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar and the Avalanche without an even-strength goal, a playoff spot must still be at least possible.
Starting goalie Thatcher Demko, who had appeared in 19 straight games, will be back in the crease Thursday in Minnesota as the Canucks continue to try to beat odds and formidable opponents.
“Now that trade deadline is over, I don’t have to focus on anything else,” Halak told reporters after his first win since Jan. 31. “I’m here, and I just want to help the team because we are in a playoff push and we need to be playing playoff hockey from now on if we want to make it.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen, honestly. Am I going to be moved or am I going to remain a Canuck. Now that it’s done, I can focus on hockey and being here and try to do my best whenever I get a chance.”
CHOOSE PLAN
Under the dire circumstances, it was probably Halak’s best game this season.
“It’s been (crappy), you know,” teammate J.T. Miller said of what Halak has endured the last couple of months. “We feel so good that he could play the way he did today. I mean, he was an absolute rock. He was on. You could just tell this morning. He had that aura about him that he was going to be a difference-maker today. And he played awesome.
“We’re all very happy for him and he deserves it. It’s been a long year. It feels like every time he goes in, we play like crap. So it’s nice to put a decent performance in front of him and then when stuff happened, he was there to shut the door. So it was awesome.”
The last of Halak’s 32 saves came in traffic against Mikko Rantanen with 30 seconds remaining and the Avalanche attacking 6-on-5. It allowed Bo Horvat to power his way to an empty-net goal that clinched it.
Brock Boeser broke a scoreless tie with a top-corner wrist shot 1:23 into the final period after Elias Pettersson forced a turnover, and Miller, who won a head-to-head matchup against MacKinnon at even strength, outbattled the Colorado superstar to sweep in the rebound from Tanner Pearson’s shot on a 2-on-1 at 3:15.
Colorado, which leads the NHL in points, is second in scoring and was 25-3-3 in Denver before Wednesday, generated its only goal on the power play at 6:15 of the final period when Nazem Kadri flipped a rebound over Halak.
MacKinnon took the initial shot, one of four he had on a night when the centre’s ice time of 25:36 was more than any Canuck defenceman.
“I was told I was going to match up against one of the best lines in hockey,” Miller said. “Like, that’s why I play. I want to be on against those guys. Being out there against them, I know it brings the best out of me. Not all the time are you going to hold that team to one goal. We just tried to rise to the occasion today. We needed a win. We’re still not out of it.”
Coach Bruce Boudreau said after the morning skate that the only people who believe the Canucks are finished in the playoff race are outside of the team.
After the game, he said it was the Canucks’ best performance since he became coach on Dec. 5. The team is 23-11-6 under Boudreau and is three points out of a playoff spot, although most of the teams it is chasing in the Western Conference have played fewer games.
“We used the word ‘committed’ before the game,” Boudreau said. “And every one of them was committed.”
“It seems like the harder our challenge, we play better sometimes,” Miller said. “That was the ballsiest effort we’ve had this season.
“We had everybody buy in today. When we do that, we win almost every single time. This is going to be an awesome road trip for us; I don’t think we’re done yet.”
The survival of the Canucks’ season hinges on these seven games.
“Nothing’s changed since Bruce came in,” Miller said. “We know we needed to win, you know, 70 per cent of our games or more the rest of the season to get in the playoffs. Nothing’s changed.
“Right when you start to think you’re out of it, you’re going to put yourself out of it. But there’s none of that in our room. We believe in there. It’s going to be hard, but it seems the harder it gets, the better we play and we kind of enjoy that.”
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Canucks Next Game: Into the Wild on a back-to-back ———
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
30-26-8, 5th in Pacific Division
at MINNESOTA WILD
37-20-4, 3rd in Central Division.
WHY WATCH
The Canucks aren’t technically out of the playoff chase but they pretty much are. They need to win more than two-thirds of their remaining games and for a team that’s been as inconsistent as they’ve been, that’s just not going to happen. That said, this road trip is the first chance to see Travis Dermott in action. The former Leafs defenceman should bring a little more jump to the Canucks’ underwhelming blue-line corps and management thinks he can be a second-pairing player, the kind of defenceman they really don’t have. The Canucks are playing their second game in two nights so how will they fare Thursday after a sure-to-be hard contest in Denver on Wednesday night?
SPECIAL TEAMS
CANUCKS : PP 21.5% (14th), PK 71.4% (32nd)
WILD: PP 19.6 % (20th), PK 76.3% (23rd)
THREE THINGS ABOUT THE WILD
• No flower power yet: The Wild traded for Marc-Andre Fleury on Monday but he’s not yet expected to make his Wild debut on Thursday. The team let him go back to Chicago to take care of a few personal matters Wednesday, so it’s expected that Cam Talbot will face the Canucks on Thursday. Talbot and Fleury are likely to be deployed as 1A and 1B goalies from here on.
• Seedings fight: The Avs are the runaway leaders in the Central, but it’s a three-way fight for second in the division. The Wild currently sit third in the division, one point back of St. Louis. Nashville is tied with Minnesota on points but has played two more games. All have plenty to play for in the weeks ahead. The Wild had slumped a bit earlier this month but look to have their high-octane offence back on track.
• Power up: True playoff contenders make their home ice a fortress and the Wild have done that. They’re 20-7-1 at home. The Canucks are a mediocre 14-13-5 in comparison. The Canucks’ road record is reasonable at 16-13-3, just one win short of Minnesota’s road record in fact.
Excellent win by the Canucks!! Beating the #1 team in the NHL! A great boost for Halak's confidence.
Very sad about Motte's trade to the Rangers and all they got in return was a lousy 4th round pick. Motte was such a good player for the Canucks, I still remember a goal he scored in the playoffs. But at least Miller, Boeser and Garland did not get traded.
halak for vezina
Canucks bent the AVS right over on their home ice, and to top it off Halak played great…
Third period collapse kills Avs 3-1 ——————–
Well that was frustrating.
The Colorado Avalanche saw a new face in the lineup in Andrew Cogliano but could not succeed in getting the win. With all the scoring coming in the final period, the Vancouver Canucks wound out on top 3-1.
It was a really frustrating game from the Avalanche’s standpoint. They put plenty of shots on Jaroslav Halak, 33 in total to be exact. However, he stood tall and the Avs couldn’t get a clean shot through into the net.
1st Period
The frustration began right from the get-go. This included a really bad penalty from Nathan MacKinnon on Quinn Hughes for cross-checking. Cogliano did get active though in his first game, “fighting” Oliver Ekman-Larrson after unintentionally kneeing Vasily Podkolzin.
It was even testing to Darcy Kuemper. He was good in net to start, but he did venture out at one point. In his adventure, he almost ended up on Steve’s Dang It’s tomorrow afternoon with this near miss. Luckily, it was still 0-0 after one.
2nd Period
Things did start off with a bang when Erik Johnson laid a big hit in the opening minutes along the boards after the puck was shot on Kuemper. The frustration continued for the Avs, as Mikko Rantanen deflected a shot on the power play into the post.
The chances continued for the Avs, they had a few more power play chances which again saw Nazem Kadri hitting the post on the man advantage short-side on Halak. The chances were there for the Avs, and the refs seemed to be letting things go with the Canucks hanging on heading into the third still scoreless.
3rd Period
The Canucks took advantage early on, as the Avs and Josh Manson couldn’t clear the zone. It lead to Brock Boeser being all alone in the slot and beating Kuemper for the 1-0 lead.
Just minutes later, the Canucks then found themselves on a 2-on-1 with J.T. Miller being able to collect the loose puck after Kuemper couldn’t control it at the top of the crease. Miller put it into a gaping net to double the lead.
The Avs turned up the pressure from here. They knew they had to get back into it in a hurry and had the opportunity to do so after Luke Schenn tripped MacKinnon. It lead to Kadri being able to collect the rebound and into the net to get the lead back down to one.
The pressure continued to ramp up, the Avs looked to grab the equalizer. They pulled Kuemper late on and had a multitude of chances. This included a phenomenal chance in the dying seconds where Halak raised his left leg to rob the Avs of the tie.
It lead to Bo Horvat streaking down the ice and beating a couple of defenders to put the puck into an empty and win the game for the Canucks 3-1.
Takeaways
This was a tough one to swallow for the Avs. They had their offensive chances, but Vancouver was able to hold them at bay. Jared Bednar said in his postgame presser that on the power play “They (Vancouver) did a nice job of keeping us on the perimeter.” With the dominance of the power play as of late for the Avs, now up to the fourth-best in the league, it was a shame they could only go 1/5 on the man advantage.
It’s been a couple of games in a row now that Manson has had a rough game. With a -1, he has been having a rough transition to the backline of the defense after his first game in an Avs uniform on Friday night against the San Jose Sharks. While his Avalanche career is young, hopefully once he gets a couple of games under his belt he will be a good performer.
Despite the loss, the Avs continue to be great on the penalty kill. They have now killed off 19 consecutive penalties dating back six games. This included killing off the early MacKinnon penalty going 1/1 while having a man down. The special teams have been good for the Avs, but of course it would be better to go more than 1/5 on the power play.
Thank you Halak! 🙇🏻♂️
They win against the avs but lose to detroit and buffalo?
#6 with the signature snipe
We will make the playoffs next year 🙏
Halak making highlight reel saves, that's litterally one of the most insane saves I've ever seen through a screen
WOW!! That was impressive Canucks 👏
All Halak.
So you're saying there's a chance?
After watching Vegas blow the Dadanov trade, I'm hoping Vancouver blows by them and steals that playoff spot. If that happens, you'd have to give Boudreau Coach of the Year.
Договорняк
Canuck's playoff chances climbed past double-digits again. If they win again tonight and at least two of the four games that have playoff implications go their way, they will be back in the hunt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpHzx32AmF0 LOOK COOOL !!!!
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!
Wow rare loss
I have only seen Josh Manson play as an Av in 2 games so far and He has been awful in both. I realize there is an adjustment period playing on a new team but…………. Avs give away the puck in their own zone WAY too much and it will cost them ( as it did last year against Vegas) in the playoffs.
Kadri greasy goal for a greasy player, he ripped the helmet off Nurse to get the extra OT point on the Oilers…that’s a penalty everyday…
This is one of those games where I wouldn’t say the nucks got lucky but I also wouldn’t say the avs were good. The nucks were actually really good but the avs were horrible offensively and couldn’t for the life of them make a simple play.
Good job Halak
Where was this effort on the weekend?
Officials were looking sharp wearing their Avs colours tonight in Ballerina
This game is Katy Perry – Swish Swish (Official) ft. Nicki Minaj, YouTube.
Puck luck by the Nucks. Avs will be ok.
Halak turn back the clock scary wild card chasing squad cancucks 😇😶😈
The team seemed to play better defensively around Halak this game, but still. I don't know how he had two games where he was just a sieve, but if you didn't know and watched this game you would have no idea about the previous two…
And they didnt add at the deadline why? Complete Miss…..should have swung for Domi and Stetcher for the run….
Great win for sure, but how many fluffs and mis-plays did Myers make in this highlight package ?
A few nights ago their were some less than complimentary comments about Y.H.
Just sayin, he almost stole Careys job in Montreal back in the day. Scored an awesome contract with STL, remained a very reliable backup later in his career. Helped the B,s to game 7 of the finals in 19. I'm a fan!
Needed that to get back
Avs looked terrible. Might be the worst game they've played all season.
Will you idiots stop with "The refs…the refs…the refs". The Canucks took more penalties therefore the refs are crooked…how about the Canucks hurt themselves with penalties and the refs were just doing their damn job This trend of calling the League fixed and refs bought off is getting old, it's as bad and stupid as "NASA is corrupt and the moon landings were fake". Stop, just bloody stop.
Canucks 3, Avalanche 1: Halak proves a point as the forgotten
backup ————————–
Jaroslav Halak doesn’t care what we think.
The Vancouver Canucks’ beleaguered backup goaltender knows he has gained more notoriety in his season gone south for contract bonuses, a no-movement clause, being pulled in a pair of lopsided February shellings and reluctance from the coach to only play the veteran in back-to-back situations.
“It’s always nice to get a win in this league,” said Halak. “It never gets old. For the most part of the game, we played well. You’ve got to give them credit and our guys battled hard. We didn’t play into their hands and we stuck to our game plan.
“As a player, you always want to play and it’s hard to go in every two or three weeks and my last two starts were not the way I wanted things to go. Obviously, I didn’t know what was going to happen (trade deadline), if I was going to remain with the Canucks or be traded.
“Now that it’s done, I can focus on being here and doing my best when I get a chance. Tonight, I just wanted to get out there and feel the puck a little bit and get some shots in.”
Maybe it’s because the 36-year-old Halak believes he still has game, even though the 2-6-2 record, bloated 3.41 goals-against average and .886 saves percentage he took into Wednesday’s litmus test would suggest something else.
Despite being on the back nine of his National Hockey League career, and perhaps playing the final hole as an unrestricted free agent, the Slovakian showed something in Denver. He gave the Canucks a chance to win and that’s all you can ask of any stopper.
Halak wasn’t beaten Wednesday until the 26th shot — a power play rebound by Nazem Kadri, who had been denied on five earlier chances — and backstopping a 3-1 victory over the high-octane Colorado Avalanche with 32 saves to kick off a four-game road trip was elating.
It sent a message to the Canucks and off-season suitors that he can still play.
After all, the Avalanche were expected to easily have their way as the league’s top team with the second-ranked offence and fourth-rated power play that had five chances Wednesday. And they didn’t have to face starter Thatcher Demko.
“That’s the best game I’ve been a part of with this team,” said Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau. “Every one of them was committed and to play that team on even terms was pretty special. We’re capable of beating the best teams when we play the way we did tonight.
“Everybody did the right thing and I’ve seen Jaro play like that before. He was determined. You could just see it in his eyes and I thought if he could get through the first five minutes that he would be really good and he was.”
Here’s what we learned as Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat with the empty-netter scored for the Canucks:
HALAK FED TO WOLVES
The Canucks had to play Halak in the front end of back-to-back games because it was more than any lingering hard feelings the backup may have had Saturday. He was told he was going to play the third period against Calgary, which ensured Demko played Sunday against Buffalo.
The rationale Wednesday was to save the starter for Thursday against surging Minnesota and a duel with new Wild stopper Marc-Andre Fleury. It also gave Halak a shot at salvaging something and he delivered.
It started early when Halak made a right-pad save off J.T. Compher. He was calm and square to the puck and there was no panic. He then followed up by making a series of saves off Kadri — a power play backhander at the side of the net and a glove save, and then a tip and flip off the iron on another man advantage — to keep it scoreless through two periods.
BOESER BREAKS SLUMP
To their credit, the Canucks got a good forechecking start from Brad Richardson between Juho Lammikko and Mathew Highmore and just missed on several scoring chances.
Horvat was denied twice and Boeser had ample opportunity to break an even-strength slump of just one goal in his last 16 in 5-on-5 play. Conor Garland also denied on a wraparound in the second period to open scoring.
Boeser then delivered when it mattered the most.
Early in the third period, the winger took an Elias Pettersson feed in the high slot and let a no-hesitation wrist shot go to beat Darcy Kuemper to the glove side at even strength with his fifth shot.
“It’s always a good thing to get looks,” a hopeful Boeser said before puck drop. “You might have a couple of thoughts when you get the puck if you should get it off quick or try to out-wait the goalie.”
Less than two minutes later, Miller kept his position in the crease to pounce on a Tanner Pearson rebound, spin and shovel home his 26th goal of the season, one off his career high.
“It seems the harder the challenge, the better we play,” said Miller, whose line was matched up against the Avalanche’s top trio that included Nathan MacKinnon. “We didn’t care if we touched the puck tonight. If we could shut them down, and not completely shut them down, but make it hard to win that we’d have a chance to win.
“That was the ballsiest effort we’ve had this season. Wins like that are very contagious and we feel great about it. I was told I was going to match up against one of the best lines in hockey and that’s why I play. I want to be on against those guys and everybody stepped up defensively tonight.
“Being out there against them brings out the best in me and not all the time you’re going to hold that team to one goal. You can play a good defensive game and they’re still going to get stuff. For me., it makes me a better player and I love those moments. We tried to rise to the occasion and we’re still not out of it (playoffs).
“When everybody buys in, we will almost every single time. This is going to be an awesome road trip for us and we’re not done yet.”
Boudreau also believed getting past the Monday trade deadline had a calming effect on his club and it could spur something on the trip.
“I did sense a feeling of relief, especially from players who even acknowledged that fact — and we’ll see what that does. But they want to fight the battle and they’ve fought this far,” said the coach.
Miller agreed.
“These guys are on their phones every single second of every day and I can only imagine what they’re reading,” he said of the lead up to the trade deadline. “It must be hard. We’ve had (trade) rumours going around for about four months, if not more than that. There is going to be buzz and now that it has passed, there is going to be a load off.
“This is our squad and we believe in this group.”
PLAYING UNDERDOG CARD
“I’d rather start off against Abbotsford.”
That was the sobering and somewhat humorous summation when Boudreau was asked in the morning about facing the NHL’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Canucks coach knew the Avalanche can hurt you in so many ways, so a reference to playing the American Hockey League affiliate in Abbotsford was some needed levity.
After all, the Avalanche blitzed the visiting Canucks 7-1 on Nov. 11 without the injured MacKinnon and also chased Demko with six goals through 40 minutes. Colorado was expected to breeze to its fifth-straight win and seventh in the last 11 games Wednesday, so Boudreau did what he has done so often this season. He buttered up the opposition to motivate his club.
It worked.
The Canucks were able to keep pace with and frustrate the Avalanche, who may be one of the league’s best clubs in transition and activating the defence to get into the offensive zone to take drop passes for premium scoring chances.
Halak, Canucks contain high-flying Avalanche in 3-1 win ————
Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller scored 1:52 apart early in the third period, Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 shots and the Vancouver Canucks beat the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Boeser got things rolling by taking advantage of a turnover with a goal 1:23 into the final period. Miller knocked in another off a rebound moments later. Bo Horvat added an empty-net goal as the Canucks finished 1-2 against the Avalanche this season.
“It’s the best game I’ve been a part of with this team,” Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We used the word ‘committed’ before the game and every one of them was committed. To play that team on even terms is a pretty special moment.”
The Avalanche have been the third-period comeback kings this season, but couldn't add to their total of 10. Nazem Kadri's power-play goal made it 2-1 early in the third.
Halak came up big down the stretch to earn his first win since Jan. 31.
“We’re in a playoff push and we need to be playing playoff hockey from now on if we want to make it," Halak said.
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in a game filled with plenty of skating and not a lot of whistles. There were long stretches with no breaks.
“It looked like we didn't have the jump we had in the past,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, whose team had its four-game win streak halted.
Miscues played a critical role in Vancouver's third-period goal spurt, especially on the first score.
“Besides that lapse, I think the game was pretty solid for us,” Kadri said. “They’re an opportunistic team.”
Miller added an assist on Horvat's empty-netter with 17.6 seconds remaining. Miller now has 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) over his last 17 games.
“It seems like the harder the challenge, the better we play sometimes," Miller said. "There’s no doubt that wins like that are very contagious and we feel great about it.”
The Canucks face an uphill climb to claim one of the final playoff spots. Just don’t tell them that.
“Until we’re done, we’re playing every game as if it’s our last game,” Boudreau said after the morning skate. “Don’t necessarily look at the standings, just play it. Eventually, if you have some success, you’ll be where you want to be.”
Andrew Cogliano made his Avalanche debut after being acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline. The veteran forward nearly scored an early goal and demonstrated his tenacity by getting into a minor scuffle after being called for tripping.
The defense ruled the night over the opening 40 minutes. Kuemper withstood 18 shots through two periods, while Halak turned back 23 — and got some help with Kadri hitting the post.
The Avalanche have a big lead in the standings, but no plans of cruising toward the finish line. It's full throttle all the way with three straight second-round playoff exits as motivation.
“You’re always a good team until someone shows you you’re not,” Bednar said.
THIS & THAT
Colorado forward Artturi Lehkonen will have to wait to make his Avalanche debut as he works through immigration issues. Lehkonen was acquired from Montreal at the trade deadline. … Singer Hazel Miller initially struggled with the start of “O Canada," apologized to the crowd and then began again. She followed with a resounding version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that received a loud applause.
IN CIRCLES
Kadri doesn't fully understand why he's getting asked by the officials to leave the faceoff circle.
“I feel like I’m not really doing much different than anyone else is,” Kadri said. “I want to be the guy taking them. Doesn’t help when I’m getting kicked out three or four times a night.
“There’s communication for sure,” Kadri added. "Agree to disagree kind of thing.”
FAMILY FIRST
Cogliano hopes to soon be joined in Denver by his wife and two young kids. The couple’s 1-year-old daughter, Olive, is dealing with complications related to asthma that’s led to a few trips to the hospital this season.
“We’re on the right path to figuring it out,” he said.
Canucks: Switching up the goaltender routine ———-
As a general rule, the Vancouver Canucks have chosen to start their No. 1 goalie in the first game of back-to-backs this season, but, on the current road trip, they’ve gone against the trend.
Both games in this pairing are tough — Wednesday in Colorado, Thursday in Minnesota — but backup Jaroslav Halák got the tougher assignment, starting Wednesday at altitude against the powerful Avalanche.
“It seems like Jaro has always got the back end of the deal on the back-to-back so … there was a sense of let’s change it around,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said before Wednesday’s game.
The coach said if he were in Halák’s situation he would be highly motivated about the start.
“I’m the kind of guy that says, ‘I’ll show you guys,’ and he’s the kind of guy that doesn’t want to end his career. And he wants to play more. So I mean, the best way to do that is to play well. And to me he’s only had two bad outings. I mean, it came at inopportune times, of course, but we’ll see tonight.”
No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko is expected to start against the Wild on Thursday. He started both games last weekend, so giving him Wednesday off also means he’ll have three full days off between starts.
The Canucks play again on Saturday in Dallas and next Monday in St. Louis.
Eyes still on the playoffs
Boudreau said the Canucks still had visions of the playoffs, even if their margins are extremely thin: Going into Wednesday’s game, the Canucks can’t afford to lose four out of their remaining 18 games. If they lose any more than that, they simply won’t be able to accrue enough points in the standings.
“Until we’re done, we’re done. We’re playing every game as if it’s our last game,” Boudreau said. “The only people that think we’re done are the outside people. So we just play every game like it’s a playoff game and we don’t necessarily look at the standings, just play it and then eventually if you have some success, and then you’ll be where you want to be.”
5-1 on the power play for Colorado and Vancouver still won, gritty effort by the Canucks!!
About time. Boeser is what? 1 for 200 on those opportunities?
Bo Horvat's Celly on that empty net goal just shows how meaningful this win was to the team.
Great game. Goaltending was strong on both ends.
‘An absolute rock’: Little-used Halak comes up big for Canucks ——-
The Vancouver Canucks never had a problem with Jaroslav Halak. It is the bonus in his contract they couldn’t stand.
They tried for weeks to generate a trade market, ready to dump the goaltender in order to dump the $1.25-million bonus for Halak that will count against the Canucks’ salary cap next season — after his one-year contract has expired and he’s playing elsewhere.
But the appeal of Halak, awful in his only two starts in the seven weeks that preceded the National Hockey League’s trading deadline on Monday, was never enough to make up for dislike of his bonus.
And so, still with the Canucks, Halak on Wednesday played the first game of the end of his time in Vancouver and was brilliant during a 3-1 road win against the Colorado Avalanche.
The 36-year-old’s satisfaction with his performance, and the utter joy of teammates for him, was evident in the receiving line of hugs Halak received at the end of a win that was even more improbable than management’s failed trade mission.
Was it worth $1.25 million? Not yet.
Maybe a sad ending to the Canucks season can still be averted. Because if a team that looked as exhausted and unfocused as Vancouver did on a disappointing seven-game homestand that ended Sunday can go into Denver and justly beat the best team in NHL, holding Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar and the Avalanche without an even-strength goal, a playoff spot must still be at least possible.
Starting goalie Thatcher Demko, who had appeared in 19 straight games, will be back in the crease Thursday in Minnesota as the Canucks continue to try to beat odds and formidable opponents.
“Now that trade deadline is over, I don’t have to focus on anything else,” Halak told reporters after his first win since Jan. 31. “I’m here, and I just want to help the team because we are in a playoff push and we need to be playing playoff hockey from now on if we want to make it.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen, honestly. Am I going to be moved or am I going to remain a Canuck. Now that it’s done, I can focus on hockey and being here and try to do my best whenever I get a chance.”
CHOOSE PLAN
Under the dire circumstances, it was probably Halak’s best game this season.
“It’s been (crappy), you know,” teammate J.T. Miller said of what Halak has endured the last couple of months. “We feel so good that he could play the way he did today. I mean, he was an absolute rock. He was on. You could just tell this morning. He had that aura about him that he was going to be a difference-maker today. And he played awesome.
“We’re all very happy for him and he deserves it. It’s been a long year. It feels like every time he goes in, we play like crap. So it’s nice to put a decent performance in front of him and then when stuff happened, he was there to shut the door. So it was awesome.”
The last of Halak’s 32 saves came in traffic against Mikko Rantanen with 30 seconds remaining and the Avalanche attacking 6-on-5. It allowed Bo Horvat to power his way to an empty-net goal that clinched it.
Brock Boeser broke a scoreless tie with a top-corner wrist shot 1:23 into the final period after Elias Pettersson forced a turnover, and Miller, who won a head-to-head matchup against MacKinnon at even strength, outbattled the Colorado superstar to sweep in the rebound from Tanner Pearson’s shot on a 2-on-1 at 3:15.
Colorado, which leads the NHL in points, is second in scoring and was 25-3-3 in Denver before Wednesday, generated its only goal on the power play at 6:15 of the final period when Nazem Kadri flipped a rebound over Halak.
MacKinnon took the initial shot, one of four he had on a night when the centre’s ice time of 25:36 was more than any Canuck defenceman.
“I was told I was going to match up against one of the best lines in hockey,” Miller said. “Like, that’s why I play. I want to be on against those guys. Being out there against them, I know it brings the best out of me. Not all the time are you going to hold that team to one goal. We just tried to rise to the occasion today. We needed a win. We’re still not out of it.”
Coach Bruce Boudreau said after the morning skate that the only people who believe the Canucks are finished in the playoff race are outside of the team.
After the game, he said it was the Canucks’ best performance since he became coach on Dec. 5. The team is 23-11-6 under Boudreau and is three points out of a playoff spot, although most of the teams it is chasing in the Western Conference have played fewer games.
“We used the word ‘committed’ before the game,” Boudreau said. “And every one of them was committed.”
“It seems like the harder our challenge, we play better sometimes,” Miller said. “That was the ballsiest effort we’ve had this season.
“We had everybody buy in today. When we do that, we win almost every single time. This is going to be an awesome road trip for us; I don’t think we’re done yet.”
The survival of the Canucks’ season hinges on these seven games.
“Nothing’s changed since Bruce came in,” Miller said. “We know we needed to win, you know, 70 per cent of our games or more the rest of the season to get in the playoffs. Nothing’s changed.
“Right when you start to think you’re out of it, you’re going to put yourself out of it. But there’s none of that in our room. We believe in there. It’s going to be hard, but it seems the harder it gets, the better we play and we kind of enjoy that.”
Ванкувер с победой!!!!
Даёшь Кубок!
Молодцы!!!!!
Шайбу, шайбу!!!!!!!
nucks played so good this game y cant they be consistent