Loui Eriksson opened the scoring for the Canucks against his former team and the goals kept coming on Chinese New Year night presented by Tim Hortons. RECAP
VANCOUVER – On the night the Vancouver Canucks celebrated Chinese New Year – the year of the dog – they beat the Boston Bruins 6-1.
Probably just a coincidence. Still, gung hay fat choy.
Rogers Arena was all dragons and drums Saturday night. And that was just the Canucks, who scored four times in the first period to easily beat the Bruins and create the happiest night of the National Hockey League season in Vancouver. And the best part? Chinese New Year lasts another week – almost until next Monday’s trade deadline.
Actually, the best part was that Canucks defenceman Erik Gudbranson launched into the boards Bruins’ Brad Marchand, the low-bridger of Sami Salo, speed-bagger of Daniel Sedin, lifter of the Stanley Cup on this ice nearly seven years ago. Year of the dog, not night of the rat.
General manager Jim Benning confirmed on Hockey Night in Canada that he is still in contract discussions with Gudbranson, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and, thus, will be re-signed or traded by the Canucks before the Feb. 26 deadline.
We’re not sure Gudbranson is worth the $4-5-million salary he will command on his next contract, but we do know Benning has a far better chance to sell that deal in Vancouver after Gudbranson’s hit. He can play 18 minutes a night in a defensive role, as long as he smokes Brad Marchand once a year in Vancouver.
“I didn’t really even hit him,” Gudbranson said. “He was a little off-balance and I just kind of clipped him. If I’d really tried to hit him, I’d have been suspended for five games because he had his head down, facing the boards.”
Yes, so?
Do unto Marchand as the rat would do unto you?
Well, perhaps not. Regardless of for whom Gudbranson is playing next week, the Canucks need him in the lineup this week. The Colorado Avalanche visit on Tuesday.
“I’m not going to say I hated him, but I wasn’t a fan of him,” Canucks defenceman Troy Stecher said of Marchand, whom he remembers from the 2011 final when Stecher was cheering for the Canucks like everyone else who grew up in Metro Vancouver. “You come out for warmup and you can already feel the buzz and the atmosphere. I think it’s always going to be that way when the Bruins come here. It was a great first period and we just kind of rode the wave after that.”
The Bruins, who were 20-2-4 since Dec. 14, were lit up after travelling across the continent on Friday, then practising. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy also ordered up a full morning skate on Saturday. The Boston player who looked most tired was goalie Tuukka Rask, who allowed the four first-period goals on just eight shots as Vancouver built its 4-0 lead despite being outshot 18-8.
The game was only two minutes old when former Bruin Loui Eriksson made it 1-0, converting Daniel Sedin’s goalmouth pass by sliding the puck under Rask’s arm. Thomas Vanek’s terrific pass left Sedin with a semi-open net that he deftly hit from a sharp angle to double the lead at 10:54. And just 56 seconds later, Canucks centre Bo Horvat embarrassed rookie defenceman Charlie McAvoy and roofed a shot on Rask to make it 3-0.
The fourth goal said everything you needed to know about the first period. Rask made a good pad save on Sven Baertschi on a 3-on-2. Horvat overskated the sharp rebound, but the puck was cleared by a Bruin off Canucks winger Brock Boeser and bounced into the net at 18:39.
Yes, it would be nice if the Canucks could ration their fortunate bounces for a game when they’re needed. But after a pile of bleak winter nights at Rogers Arena, no one in the festive sellout crowd of 18,865 was complaining.
Nic Dowd’s rebound goal after a terrific, power move to the net by Jake Virtanen made it 5-0 at 2:44 of the second and Eriksson, who was pointless in his previous seven games, scored his second of the night shorthanded in the third period.
Tim Schaller, at 2:57 of the third, was the only Bruin to get a puck past Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson, who got the chance to start due to Jacob Markstrom’s flu or cold and delivered his first victory in nine starts since Nov. 30.
Nilsson finished with 44 saves and enjoyed more goal support in one night than the Canucks had given him in his last five starts.
“It feels great to be able to contribute to two points,” Nilsson said. “We have to be honest: we had some bounces on our side. I think they had three shots (off the post) in the first period, so the puck was definitely bouncing our way tonight. It’s nice to have that on our side.
“It’s always nice to stand back there and see the guys play a really good game in front of you. It’s also nice to stand back there and see them score some goals.”
Added Canucks captain Henrik Sedin: “Before the game you look up and see how many people were here. I told someone on the bench, ‘It’s been a while since we had this buzz in the building.’ I think all the guys enjoyed it tonight. It was an atmosphere that was the best in a long time. It was fun.”
Hopefully the start of a new year for the Canucks.
While the big defensive fish being dangled ahead of the NHL’s 2018 trade deadline are offensive dynamos like Erik Karlsson and Mike Green, the Vancouver Canucks have seen interest continue to rise on one of their own rearguards as Feb. 26 draws near.
General managers around the league continue to inquire about Vancouver’s Chris Tanev, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, though it appears the Canucks aren’t keen on moving the 28-year-old for anything less than a significant return.
“He’s hurt right now, which could potentially complicate matters, but what I’ve been told is that the Canucks have told teams — including, I believe, Toronto — ‘If you’re serious, it’s going to take a special offer to do this,’” Friedman said during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.
“I think the Canucks realize still that even though they are rebuilding, you want to give your young players a chance. And you’ve got to be serious, really serious, if you want to get Tanev out [of Vancouver].”
After finishing with the second-worst record in the league last season, the Canucks have enjoyed a modest revival of sorts in 2017-18. While team-wide success continues to elude them, Vancouver has seen rookie Brock Boeser emerge as one of the most promising goal-scorers in the game, positioning himself as a Calder Trophy favourite with 27 tallies to his name thus far.
Tanev has followed suit with a modest improvement of his own, posting 11 points through 38 games this season after putting up 10 points through 53 games in 2016-17. Though that sum isn’t putting Tanev in the running for a Norris Trophy, it is enough to match the best points-per-game pace of the eight-year veteran’s career.
The long-time Canuck has two more seasons left on his five-year deal, carrying a cap hit of $4.45 million and a modified no-trade clause, according to CapFriendly.
It’s always better when the Vancouver Canucks beat the Boston Bruins.
It will always mean more than most games in Vancouver.
The Canucks looked deep and dangerous, on their way to a 6-1 win, Saturday night at Rogers Arena.
Here’s what we learned …
THE CANUCKS WERE AMPED TO PLAY THE BRUINS
They had speed. Boy, did they have speed.
They had skill. They made plays. The youngest players romped. They crashed the net.
The oldest players were everything you’d hope the Sedins could be at 37 years old.
They zeroed in on Brad Marchand, hitting and aggravating him.
It was just one game. But what a glorious game it was for the city of Vancouver.
There haven’t been a lot of really fun nights at Rogers Arena this season. This made up for a lot of that.
GREEN GOT RESULTS FROM BENCHING BAERTSCHI
It was the healthy scratch heard around the Lower Mainland.
Just days after GM Jim Benning’s extension, the player he acquired in a trade held up as one of his best was scratched.
It’s not the first time Sven Baertschi has been healthy and had to sit out. It happened under Willie Desjardins, and he responded with one of his best runs as a Canuck.
On Saturday, the entire team responded.
You can start with Baertschi, who had pop and scored a goal too, creating chaos when he charged the net with linemates Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser.
THE TRADE DEADLINE GUYS CAME UP BIG
Erik Gudbranson always seems to be at his most physical when the most eyes are on him.
He’s had some big Saturday nights, and this was among them. He crushed Marchand into the sideboards like he was squashing a fruit fly.
He didn’t stop there. He pancaked David Pastrnak with the force of a small truck and then also broke up a near-breakaway by catching up to the play and smothering the guy.
Did he have some lapses along the way?
Sure. He got walked by Pastrnak on a play.
But who cares? Did you see this guy hit?
This was exactly the the type of game the Canucks needed to sell high on him. Now, someone has to convince Benning that’s the way to go.
Like Gudbranson, Thomas Vanek is on an expiring contract and is expected to be moved by the deadline. He had a great primary assist, setting up Daniel Sedin by cutting through the slot and making a nice cross-ice pass for a tap-in.
THE CANUCKS CAN PLAY FAST
This is a totally different team when Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen are exploiting defencemen with their speed.
Horvat flew around Charlie McAvoy, who is one of the best young defencemen in the NHL. He used his speed to get in on net and chip the puck by Tuukka Rask.
Jake Virtanen’s play was more mesmerizing. The play started innocently enough, Virtanen carrying the puck on the left side, with the Bruins’ defence in perfect position to defend him.
But as Virtanen glided over the Boston blueline, it was like he flipped the nitrous tank. He didn’t have angle. He just had sheer speed. He smoked by Torey Krug, who’s a very skilled blueliner, and cut over top of Rask, before Nic Dowd smacked in the rebound.
Now that play was Virtanen at his best, and so was this game.
He hit. He was engaged. He had three shots on net. He was everything you’d hope he’d be 6-7 times out of 10. For most of the season, however, it’s been closer to 2-3 times out 10.
BENNING AFTER A POWER FORWARD
In an intermission interview on Hockey Night in Canada, Benning revealed the type of player he’ll be chasing.
Many are hoping the Canucks will hunt draft picks and prospects before the deadline, but Benning threw this tremendous curveball:
“If we’re looking for a need here at the trade deadline,” Benning told the Sportsnet panel, “we’d like to add a big player.
“Maybe a forward with some physicality who has the skill to make plays.”
Well, this doesn’t sound encouraging.
ANDERS NILSSON WAS REALLY GOOD
Finally getting some playing time, Nilsson looked like the goalie who ended October with a .943 save percentage.
Anders Nilsson had started only eight times since the beginning of December before this game but got the tap when Jacob Markstrom was too ill to play.
It was his second start in a row, and he made 44 saves in one of the better performances by a Canucks goalie this season.
None of it was easy as the Bruins had a lot of high-danger chances.
LOUI ERIKSSON SHOWED UP
Somewhere inside him exists the player who scored 30 goals two seasons ago. We haven’t seen much of it in Vancouver, but we got a glimpse Saturday as he scored a couple of garbage goals.
It’s plays like those that got him paid.
jbotchford@postmedia.com
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