BEST GAME SUMMARY

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Some nights you feel the team didn’t give enough effort.

Sometimes you feel like the team didn’t get enough bounces.

Sometimes you feel they could have done a few things differently and maybe eked out a point.

Those are the games where you debate and go over the plays in fine detail.

Where you put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and deduce from one skate lace covered in soil only found on the south side of Granville Island which player was the one who murdered his own teammates’ chances of victory.

The games where you feel the team has something, but they just need to put it all together, if only they would listen to you and switch up that defensive pairing.

But tonight just felt like they lost to a better team.

The talent gap was too big.

Goaltending not good enough.

Defence not good enough.

Offence not good enough.

Fin the mascot had probably his worst game of the season (his babies eaten per minute levels were at a seasonal low tonight).

Even when on top of their game, the Canucks were going to struggle against this Ducks team, especially with Horvat and Baertschi out.

The game even started off with a weak goal as if to remind you that Ryan Miller no longer plays here.

Then, like going to a Christmas party, there’s your ex at the other side of the room, dating Jeff from accounting, Jeff who invested in Bitcoin many years ago and you laughed at and told him it would never pan out.

The worst part was there wasn’t even a Boeser point to send the fans home happy.

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The Canucks could lose the rest of the games this season, but if Boeser continues his Calder chase, it’s going to keep a lot of the fan base happy.

But no, in this game, there was nothing.

Just a black void of emptiness.

It was like an episode of Black Mirror, except we never quite understood the lesson being taught.

It’s one of those games where you can’t possibly see Henrik Sedin defending it.

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God damn it.

BEST IN DEFENCE OF HANK

OK, technically the Canucks have had worse games.

Corsi-wise, the Canucks held the edge after one period, and even outshot the Ducks, but realistically, score effects played a large part in this.

The Ducks hit 3-0 and went into “playing your younger brother” mode, and the chances the Canucks did get were few and far between.

Full credit to Ryan Miller; he played the same way when he was in Vancouver, making shutouts look easy.

He even managed to stop the scoring machine Brock Boeser when it looked like The Flow had him dead to rights.

But there were only a handful of times you thought to yourself, “Oh they might get one here!”

So yes, Henrik is right in that it’s probably not the worst game of all time.

But it was a very bleak game to watch, because it just never felt like the outcome was in question.

BEST WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY

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With Jake getting down with the sickness, Hutton found himself on the outside looking in once again.

Which one would imagine is a bit of a tough pill to swallow, especially since yeah, he got the two helpers last game, and even threw in a huge hit as a bonus.

When the Canucks have a full lineup of healthy d-men (something that doesn’t happen often), people are going to have to sit; everyone knew this coming into the season.

The point of contention is whether Hutton deserves to be the guy who gets to take all the healthy scratches over the Stechers and Del Zottos of the world.

Gudbranson is basically untouchable at this point, as his trade value is of key importance to Vancouver, so no point in making him a healthy scratch.

Stecher could be a candidate, and if they wanted to spread out the burden of people sitting a game, you could see him sitting one out.

Del Zotto is another guy who has seen his game plummet as the season has worn on, and you would think would be a guy who could sit a game out.

But he was signed in the off-season, and he’s a “Benning guy,” so maybe that gives him a cloak of invisibility from the coaches’ gaze.

It’s just, there is a really good argument to be made that he could sit out a game or two, because his gameplay isn’t really elevating above anyone else on the team.

As Pat pointed out, his defensive zone coverage has not been great:

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His square is the one bleeding out shots like he got hit with a Groza in PUBG.

Yes, DJ MDZ’s puck-moving skills allow him to excel at zone exits, and he can produce points in the offensive zone.

But when you’re losing games like the Canucks have been lately, defensive-zone coverage looks more and more important.

And aside from Tanev and Edler, it’s hard to argue anyone else on the defensive unit couldn’t afford to sit out a game or two.

Maybe MDZ’s pre-game playlists are simply too good to miss out on?

BEST NILSSON HAD NO ALIBI

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https://gfycat.com/SelfishSereneGarpike

Some things in life are good.

Puppies. Mostly puppies.

This goal?

This was not good.

Goaltending continues to be a weak point for this Canucks squad.

When was the last time a goalie truly stole a game for Vancouver?

Probably Ryan Miller last year.

Markstrom and Nilsson had some good games early on, but lately, it’s been a lot of games where goals like this go in.

For a club like Vancouver, those are the kinds of goals that will sink them.

You can’t even break this one down to blame a defenceman; it’s just a bad goal.

And bad goals happen in the NHL. It’s just they keep happening at a high rate in Vancouver.

You can almost hear Travis Green from here …

BEST IN DEFENCE OF NILSSON

That’s the only time you’ll see defence beside Nilsson.

Yes, Nilsson was bad, but the team was also giving up some grade A chances.

Who is covering the slot?

If you answered the Ghost of Christmas past, you might be correct.

The slot was more terrifying than Troy Stecher’s first driving test for the Canucks tonight.

It just felt like nobody could figure out who to cover, or how to switch guys when they crossed over, properly.

Yes, goaltending needs to be better, but the defence needed to be, as well.

BEST SLIM PICKINGS

This was actually one of the better chances in the game.

And he got a shot on net, so you know, that’s not bad.

As Henrik Sedin would say, “it wasn’t as bad as you think.”

Hey, maybe Henrik Sedin can have a career with Canucks Army one day.

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BEST COACH TOMMY GUN

Despite the blowout, Tommy Gun still had time to chat with Chaput.

One would assume the advice was “Get into a fight with the first guy who touches you, prison rules.”

But it didn’t stop there.

Tommy Gun not only hands out advice, but he also gives reassuring pats to sad teammates.

’Cause you had a bad day.

You’re taking one down.

You sing a sad song just to turn it around.

You say you don’t know.

You tell me don’t lie.

You work at a smile, and you go for a ride.

You had a bad day.

The cameras don’t lie.

BEST BOESER AND EDLER BUDDY COP FILM CONTINUES

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I don’t know if there is anything I enjoy more than watching to see if Edler will pass to Boeser.

Nothing gets this city more united than that moment when Edler gets the puck and everyone stops what they’re doing to see what happens next.

It’s like an episode of Lost: we all look for clues to try and figure out what’s going on, but we’re pretty sure even they don’t know what’s going on.

All we know is this better not end up as some sort of goddamn purgatory scenario.

So what happened tonight?

Edler did look Boeser off in the first, but, Edler at least got a shot on net with a screen.

It could have hit shinpads, but it didn’t. That’s an improvement.

Then in the second, Edler, perhaps hearing the whispers from the crowd, finally found Boeser for a shot:

Then by the time the third period rolled around, it was like they were best friends.

Passing the puck to each other.

Taking turns taking shots.

Talking about their dreams and life goals.

Sure, Edler took more of the shots, but baby steps.

Baby steps.

BEST GOLDOOOOOOOH-NO

I won’t lie, when Goldy fell and gave up the breakaway in what Sbisa would simply call a “solid play,” I thought he might get benched.

But full credit to Travis Green, he let Goldy keep trying to do his thing.

He didn’t even cut off Goldy’s ice time, he let him finish the night with 17:24 minutes.

And yeah, no goals were scored by the Canucks.

But take a look at the shot attempts …

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Yes, the Woodward’s building you see towering over the others is Goldobin.

It’s a good sign that Goldy is still producing in the offensive zone, even in games where he isn’t taking Doughty’s jock strap off and booting it into the rafters.

All about the silver linings tonight!

Henrik would be proud.

BEST COME ON DOWD

Speaking of Dowd, he has continued to play better and better after a pretty rough start to his Vancouver career.

On a night when not much went right for Vancouver, Dowd put in a really solid effort for his new team.

Here he wins a puck battle, lifts a stick, and sends a shot/pass towards the front of the net.

Here he tracks down Old 17, gets the puck, creates a zone entry, and dishes the puck off for a shot on net.

Here he shows he’s already adapted to the Vancouver tradition of trying to score on your own net, and gets back in time to clear a rebound created from a Canucks shot on their own net.

And even with the game out of hand, he’s still out there, digging away, winning puck battles for his downtrodden team.

This is where the eye test and advanced stats meet in the glorious middle and both agree he had a good game.

This is the fourth-liner who was advertised when the Canucks acquired him.

BEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT

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Dowd puts in the good effort, he gets a jersey … well not a jersey sale, but a jersey upgrade!

BEST PREDICTION

Well, no time like the present to get to the goals.

This one feels like a solid letdown from both Nilsson and the defence.

Pouliot follows the puck and MDZ watches from afar, and before you know it, the puck is in the face-off circle and neither guy is taking anyone.

So here MDZ tries to play hard on Getzlaf on the initial dump in, he really does.

He sees him get the puck and gives him a solid shove, but he just can’t get the puck back.

And give credit to MDZ, he has been playing more physical as of late.

It’s just he can only be so physical.

With the puck at the point, Getzlaf bodies out Chris Tanev, and tips it home.

This was the worst one of the night for the voyeur Del Zotto.

Yes, Nilsson absolutely has to play that puck better; you can’t just be letting loose pucks go free like that.

But MDZ comes in and just follows with one hand on the stick, kind of floats to the front of the net, then as an afterthought pokes his stick at the puck after it’s already in the net.

Again, if someone does something I would do in beer league hockey, I know it’s not a good move.

It got so bad the Canucks Twitter account’s proud tradition of using no capital letters to announce opponent goals seemed darkly funny:

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DJ MDZ’s voyeur hockey ways continued on the fifth goal, when even after seeing a defensive switch coming up, he doesn’t move his legs, and once again just points his stick threateningly at the opposition.

It was not a banner night for the DJ MDZ.

BEST DREAMS ARE MADE OF THESE

Ryan Miller disagreed.

That’s the sort of spot where Boeser eats goalies alive.

Either on the initial shot, or on the rebound.

But Miller thwarted Brock.

It’s not often we see Brock confused by the fact he didn’t score.

Look at him!

Poor little guy, doesn’t know what hit him.

Of course, nobody was scoring on Miller tonight.

He did that annoying thing where he made all of the Canucks shots look oh so predictable.

“Oh you think you’re going to score on me? You think I didn’t live here for three years and learn the streets of Richmond, Troy? I went to the Night Market, Troy. I know all of your secrets. All of them. Mostly unlocked cellphones, swords, and underwear. But I know them all.”

BEST THROW DOWN

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This was neat because earlier in the game Chaput got hit into the boards, then later in the game, he just took care of it himself.

It’s nice to see a guy take care of his own mess once in a while.

BEST DISCUSSION

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The power play is a real interesting topic.

Mostly because when the power play was good, it was because Boeser was scoring.

So if Boeser is the key to a good, effective power play, maybe you put Pouliot on the first unit.

Pouliot shows good underlying numbers at getting shot-attempt assists for his teammates.

Of course, we’d lose the joy of “Will Edler pass to Boeser??” but maybe you try it to mix things up a bit.

Or you stay the course and believe in the idea that the power play will simply go through fluctuations.

BEST PASS THE …

I honestly love how Gudbranson mimics the actions of my dog when he wants food.

And I don’t mean that in a negative way, I just found it really funny how he dips in low, smells the air, then looks up at Stecher, asking for the salt with his eyes.

“This is the good stuff. 100 per cent pure Richmond salt. Took it from the janitor’s closet at McRoberts.”

BEST OF THE GUZZLER

Getzlaf was all business with Irf during the intermission.

You should have seen the way he powered through that interview.

Never have I been so impressed with a player’s ability to finish an interview he so clearly didn’t want to do, but still remain civil.

He spat out cliches like I spit out excuses for why I didn’t turn on the dishwasher.

“I just wanted to make sure I gave it 100 per cent and only put it on when it was all the way full.”

Alas, he did mix up his Ryans.

A single blemish on an otherwise perfect interview.

BEST PADDING THE RECORD

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But I mean … is he really 2-0?

Guzzler is 1-1 in the battle against the Tkachuks.

Brady Tkachuk needs to settle this once and for all.

BEST TIMING

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BOEST WAS THERE EVER ANY DOUBT

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Look, Barzal is a real jam-up guy, but he’s no Brock.

Two months in a row for rookie of the month is truly a huge accomplishment for Brock Boeser, and something all Canucks fans should be excited about.

It’s not often a guy on the west coast is able to grab the attention of the NHL like this.

BEST NUMBERS

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BEST PROSPECT UPDATE

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It was by all accounts Juolevi’s finest game to date in the tournament.

Yes, Finland lost the game.

It wouldn’t be a world junior tournament without some goalie randomly standing on his head and stopping 50+ shots.

But Juo was scoring, he was playing well in his own zone, and he was continually earning more and more trust from the coaching staff.

For a guy who has the large shadow of Matthew Tkachuck hanging over him, and for a team that really could use good defencemen, this was a positive tournament for Juolevi.

BEST OF THE TURTLENECK SEEN AROUND THE WORLD

Back in the glory days of my attempts to climb the greasy pole of sports writing in Vancouver, I covered the Chicago Wolves (then the Canucks’ farm team) games during the lockout when they came to Abbotsford to play the Heat.

(Shout out to Grant for the popcorn hookups in media row.)

There were a lot of us who now write about the Canucks in the mix back then, getting rides with each other, going to the games, trying to prove ourselves.

Mooney, Wagner, Bowman, Pat Johnston, Drance, Jeff Angus and Dimitri were just some of the people you’d run into at those Heat vs. Wolves games.

There was nothing quite so calming as the long ride home from Abbotsford after having gotten your first quote from Nolan Baumgartner.

This is why I talk about Dimitri with a lot of love, and I am very proud of what he’s accomplished in his career.

He is good on TV, and he is good on paper; it’s a pretty solid combo.

He’s worked hard to get here, and he’s earned it.

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So it was with great delight that I saw he was on Sportsnet tonight, unleashing a fashion choice that rocked Canucks Nation to its very core.

The black turtleneck.

There was a debate about its functionality:

There was some love for his non-bearded face:

There were discussions about who he looked like:

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I can see it.

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Yes.

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This one was good.

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I honestly laughed really hard out loud at this one.

I also enjoyed this.

Yes, for a panel sorely in need of a fashion shake-up, Dimitri brought the goods.

Your move next, Ryan Biech.

BEST FOND FAREWELL

Grainne has been writing about the Canucks for a long while now, with the Canucks Army.

Babych Please was always one of the best articles around on the Canucks.

She had a way of making really funny jokes that made me super mad I didn’t think of them first.

She was the Brock Boeser of making subtle jokes, making it look oh so easy.

You’d spend hours coming up with an article that was fun and entertaining and then see she’d made a better joke than you.

She made everyone who tries to crack wise about the Canucks, who writes and tries to provide some entertaining relief on the Canucks, work that much harder to keep up with her.

So it is a sad day that she is done writing about the Canucks for now.

She truly did great work, and was a great voice to have in Canucks Nation.

Selfishly I hope she comes back one day to continue writing, but if not, a fond farewell to a writer I always enjoyed reading.