Sports

Vancouver Canucks, Straight Up: Bobby Ryan hurts so good

by Nathan Caddell on February 27th, 2020 at 10:07 PM
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      This is the hardest Vancouver Canucks team to get a proper read on since… we don’t even know. At least the West Coast Express years.

      A dominant performance against the Boston Bruins followed by a game they should have lost in Montreal but won in OT.

      And then this.

      A game against the Ottawa Senators, one of the league’s worst teams and losers of their previous four contests.

      And sure, the Canucks had their chances. In fact, they held about 64 percent of the expected goals in the game, according to Natural Stat Trick.

      But ultimately, this game belonged to the Ottawa Senators, and one player in particular.

      Here’s what we saw in the Canucks’ 5-2 loss at the hands of the Senators.

      Player of the night

      Bobby Ryan scored three goals in his first home game since leaving the team in November to enter the NHL’s assistance program to combat his struggles with alcohol.

      His first came on a brutal clear by Oscar Fantenberg.

      Then it was a couple good bounces and some lazy defence from Quinn Hughes and Tyler Myers (more on them later) for his second before he capped it with an empty netter seconds later.

      And people think Canucks fans chanting Loui Eriksson’s name in Vancouver this year was crazy.

      Ryan’s contract is one of the true albatrosses of the NHL’s cap era. But by all accounts, Ryan is a good guy, and how can you not root for his story?

      Homecoming of the night (non-Bobby Ryan edition)

      Tyler Toffoli tipped in the Canucks’ first goal of the game, making it six points in four games for the former Los Angeles King.

      And while Toffoli grew up in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, he played his junior hockey for the Ottawa 67’s, scoring 333 points in 252 games.

      So he’ll always be a hero in a town in which the 67’s actually play in the city and the Senators don’t.

      Fight of the night

      As if Bobby Ryan didn’t do enough tonight, he also dragged Chris Tanev into the defenceman’s first-ever NHL fight. It was Ryan’s 10th, according to hockeyfights.com.

      We’d probably give the decision to Ryan there, but it was a game effort by Tanev.

      Worst pairing of the night

      Right around when the Tanev fight occurred, Hughes was moved away from the veteran and was used with Myers for most of the rest of the game.

      The pair weren’t great. Overall, Hughes was a minus-2 while Myers was a (somewhat hilarious) minus-4. A major reason the Canucks are likely going to overpay Tanev this offseason and give him several years on a contract extension is because of his solid play with Hughes. Maybe they were trying to inject some offence in the team, sure. But it’s clear Myers and Hughes isn’t going to work defensively.

      Stat of the night

      But in better Quinn Hughes news, that Calder Trophy discussion is about to get very, very interesting, if it hasn’t already.

      Question of the night

      Hmm, Thatcher Demko eh?

      Not sure we can put it any better than that, as the rookie goaltender didn’t have his best night.

      The stat sheet will say four goals on 24 shots which is… not great. And while some were certainly the result of defensive breakdowns, you know Demko would like to have the Sens’ first goal, a Connor Brown wrister, back.

      There shouldn’t be any question of how valuable Jacob Markstrom has been to this team this season, but maybe we’re about to really see that value played out.

      Name of the night

      Rudolfs Balcers scored his first goal of the season (he’s played nine games).

      And it’s probably a very good thing the Latvian didn’t go to public school in North America. Lot of possibilities with that name.

      Question of the night II

      We know Canucks coach Travis Green is much more likely to tinker with his lineup on nights they lose (as are most NHL bench bosses). So might he go back to Jordie Benn on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially given Fantenberg’s costly turnover in the first? We’d say it’s more likely than not, yes.

      Question of the night III

      Elias Pettersson has eight points 11 February games, so it’s not like he’s slumping or anything. But he has had the chances to add to that total and then some.

      There’s a decent chance this is just pure speculation.

      But we knew injuries would hit the Canucks eventually, they always do. With the Brock Boeser and Markstrom setbacks of late, a Pettersson injury might really sink the Canucks.

      Canucks fans have to hope that we don’t hear anything else about this for the rest of the season.

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