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TAKEAWAYS

  1. It was easy as 1-2-3 for the Vancouver Canucks as they completed a three-game sweep of the struggling Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. The Canucks were as good as they needed to be in their 4-1 victory. There were flashes of offense, but overall, there wasn’t a whole lot to the game. The Canucks got out to a quick start and were never really threatened on the night. As was the case 24-hours earlier, the Canucks top end talent came through and did the bulk of the heavy lifting on offense and provided the scoring against a Sens team that offered very little resistance during its West Coast stay. Over the three-game series, the Canucks outscored Ottawa 16-3 winning 7-1, 5-1 and 4-1. Not only do the three victories get the Canucks back to .500 after 10 games (5-5), they head out on the road for a tough six game trip with their best players rounding into scoring form. Given the gloom and doom that hung over the hockey club at the start of the week, the Canucks did what they had to do against an overmatched opponent and can now exhale as they head for Winnipeg and a game against the Jets on Saturday night.

 

  1. Brock Boeser scores in bunches. For the third time in 10 games this season, Boeser notched a pair of goals. He did it on opening night in Edmonton and then again last week at home against Montreal. After being held off the scoresheet on Wednesday when his linemates feasted on the Sens, Boeser got into the fun on Thursday with a pair of pretty goals. On his first, he did a nice job of reading the Senators penalty kill. As Ottawa defenseman Josh Brown anticipated a pass to Bo Horvat in the slot, Boeser took advantage of a path to the front of the net and walked out from the side of the goal to beat Matt Murray. As Boeser continues to learn the down-low position on the power play, that’s a great move if he has the opportunity. The more success he has in that spot, the more confident he’ll be. There was a lot to like in Boeser’s read and reaction -- not to mention his finish – on the play in question that opened the scoring just 5:30 into the hockey game.

 

  1. Speaking of reading the play, Braden Holtby came to Vancouver with a solid reputation as one of the league’s best puck-handling goalies. And early in the second period, he put those skills on full display. With the Sens trying to sneak in a long change after dumping the puck into Canuck territory, Holtby had the presence of mind to recognize he had two teammates wide open near the Ottawa blue line. Without hesitation, the veteran netminder steered the puck sharply to Elias Pettersson who settled it down for an on-rushing Brock Boeser. Boeser picked up the puck just inside the Sens line, took a couple of strides to elude the Senators defenders who were scrambling into position and made no mistake as he snapped a quick shot past Matt Murray, off the post and in. Boeser’s finish was clinical, but that play doesn’t happen if Holtby isn’t sharp with both his decision making and his execution of the outlet pass from deep in his own zone.

 

  1. With Thatcher Demko raising the bar in the Canuck crease with two strong showings earlier in the week, Holtby was up to the challenge himself on Thursday. He stopped 34 of 35 shots for his third win of the season. He was beaten only on a second period individual effort by Sens defenseman Thomas Chabot. But Holtby’s signature moment on the night came in the dying seconds of the second period with his team up 3-1 and working on the power play. As Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes misfired on a connection inside the Sens line, Connor Brown picked off the pass and went in all alone with a chance to pull his team within a goal. Instead, Holtby was patient and looked poised in the net easily turning aside Brown’s shot from the slot. Instead of it being a 3-2 game and Ottawa believing it had some life heading to the third, Holtby snuffed out that opportunity and shut the door the rest of the way. Despite the lopsided wins this week, make no mistake that Canucks goaltending was one of the positive developments to come out of the three game set against the Sens.

 

  1. Much has been made of the volume of shots the Canucks have surrendered in the early going this season. And there is no question, it is not a flattering number. But unlike other nights this week and this season, the Senators 35-25 edge did not define this hockey game. Ottawa had a sizeable 19-9 advantage in the second period when it scored its only goal. But despite the Sens outshooting the Canucks 28-22 at even strength on the night, according to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks actually held the edge in scoring chances (21-19), high danger chances (11-7) and Vancouver enjoyed a 3.01 to 1.49 expected goal advantage on the night. The Canucks still lead the league in shots allowed this season (334) and shots allowed per game (37.1). They gave up 36-43 and 35 against the lowly Sens this week, so it’s certainly something to consider as they now face a run of teams that have considerably better finishers than Ottawa. But on this night, the Canucks did a decent job of limiting the Senators sustained pressure. Sure, the Sens won the battle on the shot clock, but they were never a threat to win the hockey game.

 

 

Jeff Paterson
Vancouver Canucks Reporter
TSN 1040 Sports Radio
@patersonjeff