Avalanche 5, Canucks 2: In a playoff-like atmosphere, post-season experience prevailed
As teams approach the quarter pole in the race for NHL post-season position, they know standings seldom alter to a significant degree following U.S. Thanksgiving. Those who start strong and build a buffer to survive a prolonged slump usually punch their ticket to the second season.
Those who stumble out of the gate face immense pressure of beating long odds. They need to go on unlikely long winning streaks to squeeze into the playoffs.
It’s why the Vancouver Canucks knew Wednesday wasn’t just another game.
Not only were they second in the Western Conference standings, they knew a litmus test against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver was a possible preview of what could be in the playoffs.
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Canucks at Kraken
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It’s why the encounter was played at a frenetic post-season pace with plenty of edge. Sticks were high and so were tempers. There was chaos, great goals, gaffes and blocked shots.
A third-period point shot that trickled past a screened Thatcher Demko with Ian Cole tied up with rookie Riley Tufte proved decisive. It snapped a 2-2 draw before Cale Makar poked the puck away from J.T. Miller and scored on a breakaway to make it 4-2. Mikko Rantanen then added an empty-netter in a 5-2 final.
“Their third goal, you’ve got to stop in the slot there and they score and we gave them that one,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “You’ve got to play good defence. But our guys played hard. We had a lot who emptied the tank. We had some really good moments and there were a lot of penalties.
“These are the type of games that are going to happen for the rest of the year. This is where you have to make sure of the details and keep working on them.”
The Canucks knew what was at play to build on drawing even after 40 minutes.
They had to negate a strong Colorado transition game in the the third period that might be the best in the league. It meant puck management and patience against the quick-strike Avalanche and no turnovers.
However, the Avalanche showed their pedigree to erase a 1-0 deficit with two goals in 1:07 of the opening period. First, it was Rantanen finding Valeri Nichushkin alone at the far post behind Filip Hronek for a tap-in effort before Jonathan Drouin tipped a heavy point shot by Makar.
“We played alright and did some good things, but they just capitalized more on their looks in the third — we did have our looks, too — and sometimes you’re going to lose what was a close game,” said Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.
“I liked our game in the second but the big question was our power play (0-for-3 and on an 0-for-8 slide). Our compete level was there and we were ready to play. There are a couple of things we can work on with the power play and we’ll just keep moving on.”
Here’s what else we learned on the first stop of a three-game Canucks road trip:
Makar gets a leg up on Hughes
If there wasn’t enough going on Wednesday, there was also that marquee matchup of elite superstar defencemen in NHL scoring leader Hughes and the imposing Makar. They entered the night with stellar career numbers.
Hughes had amassed 271 points (34-237) in 302 games, while Makar had 271 points (69-204) in 255 outings. They each drew points Wednesday and traded passes, rushes and smart positioning, like boxers trading punches.
Makar delivered the dagger with the game winner to push his points streak to eight games with a remarkable 18 points (2-16), which includes five straight multi-point games.
For the record it’s Miller, Hughes
When Miller drew the Canucks even in the second, the effort was as impressive as making franchise history.
The Canucks winger went on a bull rush, leaned into defender Devon Toews, took the puck off his own skate and snapped it past goalie Alexandar Georgiev high on the short side for his 13th goal the season and 30th point in 20 games.
With Hughes already at 30 points before setting up Miller, it was one for the books.
The previous franchise record of 23 games for teammates getting to 30 points was held by Tony Tanti and Patrik Sundstrom (1983-84), as well as Tanti and Greg Adams (1987-88).
Holy Hoglander, what a goal
The first thing that came to mind Wednesday was how the Canucks winger would react after being fined Tuesday for a Monday match penalty after a slew-foot on Kevin Lebanc.
The answer came in the first period.
Hoglander finished off a sensational shift by the fourth line that was all about the grind, the shots and persistency. After Sam Lafferty won a sideboards battle to gain puck possession, he fed Anthony Beauvillier, who snapped a hot shot as Hoglander went to the net.
He put a backhander off the post and maintained position to deposit the rebound and extend his point streak to four games.
Hey coach, what’s my line?
Rick Tocchet was looking for something and played a hunch.
He gave the snake-bit Beauvillier a look with Miller and Brock Boeser, while Phil Di Giuseppe moved down to play with Lafferty and Hoglander.
The idea was to not only get Beauvillier going — he hasn’t scored in 10 games despite ample shots and too many posts — but get some 5-on-5 production.
Tocchet shuffled Beauvillier and Di Giuseppe back to their normal lines, and then in the third period, he gave Dakota Joshua a look with Miller and Beauvillier and then had Elias Pettersson between Miller and Boeser.
Beauvillier and Joshua had their looks elsewhere. Beauvillier had two whacks at a puck down low on one strong shift and Joshua had two chances in tight on one strong foray to the net.
“We were looking for some guys to get going, too,” said Tocchet. “We need the second guys getting a little quicker to the net.”
OVERTIME — Defenceman Mark Friedman didn’t return after a bizarre play in the second period off a point shot. It struck Nichushkin, who then cross-checked and cut the Canucks defenceman. There was no penalty called on the play.
