Why does it all end up becoming the same game? It feels like a consistent rerun television show. The Canucks have now lost six in a row and are 0-4 on the current roadtrip. Vancouver dropped their latest decision 5-2 to Montreal on Thursday night.
Vancouver was slow out of the gates, which has become a regular occurrence in recent months. Montreal's first goal came off the stick of Max Pacioretty, who ended up netting a hattrick on the evening. Ryan Kesler was sent to the penalty box because of a hooking infraction (or a Plekanec dive, whatever you want to call it) which put the Habs a man up. It was rather fluky as P.K. Subban shot the puck from the point and it went off Pacioretty's thigh and into the net. A little over a minute later, there was a scramble in front of the net and Roberto Luongo lost track of the puck. Ryan White was able to put the Habs up 2-0.
The second period was one of the best periods the Canucks have played all season - this is really saying a lot. Two and a half minutes into the period, Chris Higgins deflected a Jason Garrison shot on the powerplay which cut the Habs lead in half.
Two Penalty Shots
How often do you see a player get a penalty shot? How often do you see the same player get two penalty shots, both in the same period?
Habs forward Max Pacioretty received two penalty shot attempts in the second period, which he failed on both tries.
Examing both attempts, it is my opinion that neither of these should have even happened. On the first attempt, Max Pacioretty only had a partial break to the net. Raphael Diaz managed to catch up to Pacioretty and skated stride for stride with him. Was there a hook on the play? Yes, there was a hook. It should have been a two minute hooking penalty, but not a penalty shot. By rule, if the defender is skating stride to stride with the offensive player and does not have a clean break to the net, no penalty shot should be rewarded.
On the second attempt, Pacioretty had a clean break toward the net as he split the two defenders. However, Canucks forward Alex Burrows ended up catching up to Pacioretty and made a last second dive at the puck. Burrows' stick hit the puck FIRST as he slid down on the ice. Burrows' stick did not hit Pacioretty's skates first, which would have been more of a blatant infraction. By rule, if the stick makes contact with the puck FIRST, there is no penalty shot or penalty on the play.
Ultimately, these penalty shots did not matter as Pacioretty missed them both. Feel free to interpret them any way you would like. These are just my observations and what I see on the replay.
The Canucks had a big territorial advantage in the second period. They outshot the Canadiens 15-8 in the period and had lots of quality scoring chances.
The dreaded third period was as advertised for the Canucks. Just under five minutes into the third, Max Pacioretty netted his second goal of the game. A hard working shift in the Canucks defensive zone ended up with a defensive breakdown in front of the net. Pacioretty was left alone and received a nice pass from David Desharnais in the crease area. A little over three minutes later, another Canucks defensive breakdown led to a 2 on 1 rush down the ice. Credit Alex Edler with the assistant on Tomas Plekanec's goal as the puck went off his skate in the crease into the net. Alex Edler would respond on the powerplay four minutes later, but it was not enough to get the Canucks out of their hole. Pacioretty added an empty netter near the end of the period to complete his hattrick.
The Canucks struck twice on the powerplay against the Habs. I guess you could say this is a positive from the game. The second period was good for the Canucks, but they once again had no jump in the third period. The Canucks let the Habs dictate play in the third and did not take the play to the Habs.
P.K. Subban led all skaters with 25:28 icetime. Alex Edler led all Canucks skaters with 23:47 icetime. Carey Price was really good in the net for the Canadiens stopping 42 of 44 Canucks shots. Roberto Luongo had a good game for the Canucks stopping 24 of 28 Canadiens shots.
Henrik Update
Last night, Henrik spoke for the first time since making his Winter Olympics announcement. WATCH: http://t.co/rehTJ0A7Q4
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) February 7, 2014
Henrik Sedin is really bummed about missing the Sochi Olympics. It is completely understandable. He hopes to be ready after the Olympics are over. Sedin says that the Vancouver Canucks come first though, which is a kind statement.The Canucks head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Hopefully they can salvage this roadtrip by getting a win at the ACC.
Until next time, stay classy! -George
