Well that certainly wasn't the same Minnesota Wild team we played last time. Rather than trying to bore us into submission, they came out guns a blazing. Now they weren't exactly flashy guns, but they did beat us handily. It seemed like the Canucks were expecting the same team that they played back on October 22. Canucks scored first, which is a positive, but that was about the only good thing to come out of this game. Oh, that, and Corey Schneider standing on his head, more on that in a bit.
Vancouver looked alright in the first five minutes of the first period, and then all of the sudden, they just turned themselves off. The forwards couldn't get through the neutral zone cleanly, the defense was cracking under pressure from the Wild fore check. The team that we witnessed for the previous two games was but a mere glimmer in the past. The second period alone was probably the worst period of hockey every played by the Canucks - this season at least.
Enough of the bad though. You could try and take positives out of that game, but the reality is, every skater was practically invisible. The only sustained pressure of any sort came from the fourth line (again), while the defense pinched in well? I don't know, take from it what you will, it was bad. OK! Enough!
On to the good stuff. The lone shining star in this game was Corey Schneider. Despite letting in 5 goals, he did have 40 saves. Heatley alone had more scoring chances than all of the Vancouver team combined, and he stopped them all. The one game that Schneider really shows up for - and I mean REALLY shows up to play - and the team in front of him thought it'd be a good idea to try and let him do it himself. If it wasn't for Schneid's, it would have been easily 10-1. I know I've said this before, but every time Schneider plays, he makes a very strong case for him being a number 1 goalie. John Garrett commented on Corey's play, while somehow subtly trashing Luongo all at the same time. He said (after Schneider made the save off his shoulder that deflected off the crossbar), "That's the advantage of coming across with your shoulders up and square". Oh, Mr. Garrett...Near the end, you could tell the Canucks had enough. They must have just been out of gas, because they didn't care to take the game into their hands, just the frustration came peeking through. Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck (dangerous name to say while enjoying one too many adult beverages) had been running around all game, as he is known to do - he even took a shot at the linesman. So, with about 5 minutes left in the third, Ballard decided it was enough. Clutterbuck went in for a check on Ballard, head on. Ballard see's him coming and ducks under him, almost like a hip check, but in a defensive fashion. It was a bit of a dirty trick, reminded me of what Brad Marchand did in the playoffs - that dirty rat. Anyway, that hit by Ballard, to me, summed the mood of the game up. It seemed like they knew they were beat, they knew from the very beginning, and all they could do was get their shots in while they could.
You'd never expect that from a Minnesota team that tries to play possum for as long as possible, to score 5 goals on any given night, but stranger things have happened.
Vancouver can try and redeem themselves Friday evening/afternoon, when they go visit St. Louis to try and claim some revenge. Look for Kesler to step his game up, I predict that he will go into beast mode like he did against Nashville in the playoffs, and carry the Canucks on his shoulders across the finish line.
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Remember, it's Movember! Do what you can, a mustache can go a long way.
http://ca.movember.com/
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