How the Vancouver canucks assembled a potential playoff team: The unfamiliar heights of SUCCESS

The Canucks wearing their new alternate jerseys (photo by Rich Lam)

The 2019-2020 season would be special because it marked the 50th anniversary of the club’s inaugural season in 1970. 50 years is a long time for one franchise to exist—it’s also a long time to exist without winning a championship, but I don’t want to get into that mess. Before the 2019-2020 season began, the Canucks announced that they would have a special patch on their jersey to commemorate their longevity in the NHL. The team also reinstated their throwback ‘Flying Skate’ jerseys as well as a brand new alternative jersey to be worn on special occasions. With it being such an important year, the Canucks announced they would be naming a new captain for the team. Henrik Sedin served as our captain from 2010-2018, and he was beloved by every 'Nucks fan in the world. We went the entirety of the 2018-2019 season without a captain, but we had some players as assistant captains. When the organization announced the decision to name a captain, there wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind who it would be-- Bowie William Horvat. Bo Horvat was drafted by the Canucks with the ninth overall pick in the 2013 draft. The Canucks traded promising young goalie Corey Schneider to the New Jersey Devils to acquire the ninth pick to select the young forward. Since his rookie year in 2014, Canucks fans have known that Bo Horvat would be a captain at some point. He has always shown leadership qualities on the ice, off the ice, and in the locker room. Bo also led by example; no one worked harder than him, inspiring the players around him--even the veterans. The 'Nucks didn't announce who the new captain is until the first home game of the season against the Los Angeles Kings-- I'm writing about them more than I thought I would in this.

By this time, I was a freshman in college, and I was paying for NHL.TV to get a more interactive Canucks fix by watching the games instead of listening to them. I tuned in early to the game and eagerly watched Canucks legendary captains such as Stan Smyl, Markus Naslund, Roberto Luongo, Henrik Sedin--, not you, Mark Messier; there is a special place in hell for you. The on-ice announcer began to call out the Canucks players by name. He called out gentlemen such as Elias Pettersson, Chris Tanev, and Quinn Hughes. Then, he began to announce the alternative captains. At the end of the call, there remained one player unnamed--Bo Horvat.

My heart was pounding more at this moment than any Canucks game I've ever watched. Bo Horvat is my favorite athlete in any sport, and now he's about to be named the team captain. Finally, Bo was called out and told to step forward--this is it. The announcer gave a long and respectful history of the captaincy of the Vancouver Canucks, and then Bo was handed a new hockey sweater. He put on the beautiful blue jersey, and there was a brand new, equally beautiful 'C' over his heart. To this day, this is probably my favorite moment as a Canucks fan and will probably be the case for a while. Oh, and we slaughtered the Kings that day 8-2. We beat them so severely that Kings' defensemen Drew Doughty infamously said they shouldn't be losing to a team like that. I found that amusing coming from the mouth of one of the most overpaid players in the NHL. Bo only had an assist, but that's okay. He won the night by making history.

Retired former captain Henrik Sedin hands Bo Horvat his captain jersey (photo by GERRY KAHRMANN)

Anyways, don't we have another stud rookie to talk about?--yes, yes, we do. Quinn Hughes had a historic rookie campaign. He was able to register 53 points in 68 games played. Most rookie forwards struggle to put up that many points in their debut season--what an outstanding rookie campaign. I've talked about Hughes' game a lot, but I never mentioned his best attribute--his ability to quarterback the power-play. Hughes had a whopping 25 points on the power-play his rookie year. Allow me to explain why I am using a football term to describe a hockey player. A quarterback on the power-play is usually a defenseman that stays back on the man-advantage and controls the pace and movement of the puck from the blue line. Canucks players would pass the puck back to Quinn because he can see the zone, know where the plays are, and develop them--Hughes controlled the offensive traffic. Having Quinn's vision and skillset quarterbacking the power-play along with the weapons of Pettersson, Boeser, and Miller proved to be a formidable special teams unit. That year, the Canucks had the ninth-best power-play unit in the NHL, which was expected of them.

Through one month of regular season play, the Vancouver Canucks were 8-3-1 in October, which is excellent. November proved to be more of a challenge for the team. They had a record of 5-7-3, which means out of 30 potential points to receive, they only got 13 points, which for all of you out there who aren't math savvy--such as myself-- means they got less than half of the available points--now that's the Canucks I know and love. Their Achilles' Heel was the defense. Though they had decent players that had great chemistry, they couldn't find any consistency. Defensemen Chris Tanev was a tremendous asset with his defensive presence, but he lacked any offensive skillset. Newly acquired defenseman Tyler Myers was the same way. The only difference was he was worse defensively, worse offensively, spent most of his ice time in the penalty box, and is worth double what Tanev was--great. 

In December, the Canucks went 8-5, enough to get them back on track in their division and the playoff hunt. The month of January, however, was the most kind to the Canucks. Vancouver sent three all-stars to the 2020 All-Star Game held in St. Louis for the first time in what seemed to be decades. The Canucks sent forward Elias Pettersson, rookie sensation Quinn Hughes, and surprisingly good goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Having three players represent the Canucks organization at the All-Star game was a huge deal. This showed that the team was moving in the right direction and that playoff contention was in their future. Though this was a nice stretch to be a Canuck's fan, the season continued its up and down nature.

Goalie Jacob Markstrom in the crease

In February and March, the Canucks would have a combined record of 7-9-2, which wasn't enough to stay in the playoff race. On top of the team's fall from grace, a month before all-star Jacob Markstrom suffered an injury that would keep him out until April--for a group that needed all the wins they could to make the playoffs; this was the last thing they needed. The net would need to be protected by Thatcher Demko, who has been doing well as relief for Markstrom. From the outside looking in, it was looking bleak for the organization. For the most part, the season has been kind to them, and hockey fans have grown to respect the team that was being assembled. They had a shot at making the playoffs, but they needed a prayer to be answered--and it was! The only problem was that an angel didn't answer their prayer.

I'm sure you're all aware of what happened to the world in March of 2020. COVID-19 took the world by storm and trapped us all in our houses for extensive quarantines. The virus affected everyone in the world, and so were the sports teams. The NHL season, along with many others, was put on pause. I don't need to remind everyone of that time, but it was crucial for the success of the Canucks. The 2020 NHL season resumed in August of 2020, after a five-month pause. Due to the bizarre circumstances, the NHL opted to expand the playoffs by creating a play-in round. While the play-in round was occurring, the top four teams in each conference would play each other to determine playoff seeding. The Canucks were two games out of the playoffs in March, but they qualified as a playoff team in August and went up against the Minnesota Wild. This would be the first time the Canucks have made the playoffs in five years.

As the late summer nights grew shorter, my anticipation for Canucks playoff hockey was becoming intense. Canucks hockey was something that I never knew I would miss, and it took a global pandemic to prove that to me. Analysts and other hockey writers made their picks for the playoffs, and very few--if any-- were choosing the Canucks over the Wild, and it made sense. The Minnesota Wild may have been a walking mediocrity, but they were a consistent presence in the last five years' playoffs. Vancouver was being portrayed as a team that is here only for the experience. They were right in saying this, but Travis Greenwouldn'to let his team only get experience from this. No. The Canucks were here to win--they were here for a chance at hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup.

Brandon Sutter attempts a shot (photo by CODIE MCLACHLAN)

The play-in series was going to be a best of five--which means the first team to win three games got to advance to the next round. To reduce travel, the NHL implemented two host cities in eastern and western Canada. These two cities were Toronto and Edmonton. Teams from the Eastern Conference played in a controlled 'bubble' to continue NHL play in Toronto while also being cautious of the virus--Western Conference teams continued to play in Edmonton. The only time travel would be allowed during the Final. The Canucks met the Wild in Edmonton for their first game in five months, and they laid an egg and lost the game 3-0. The Wild were able to shut the young Canucks team and find ways to get past a now healthy Jacob Markstrom. It was ugly, sloppy, and unwatchable--it was true Canucks' hockey. The next game, the Canucks played a complete game and wound up winning 4-3. Tanner Pearson opened the scoring 24 seconds into the affair. His goal was assisted by Canucks captain Bo Horvat and life-long defenseman Alex Edler. The Wild were able to score back and even things up going into the first intermission. The second period was all Canucks. J.T Miller--who led the Canucks in scoring this season with 72 points--picked things up where he left off and got his first playoff point in a Canucks' sweater. The next player to register their first playoff point for the Canucks was Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson. The Boeser-Pettersson connection never missed a beat as the two produced their first score together with a Brock Boeser goal--Alex Edler registered his second point on the Boeser goal. Markstrom also had a decisive period in the net, stopping every shot his way. The first goal of the third period was scored by none other than Bowie William Horvat--or the best player in the National Hockey League. I remember seeing that goal, and I swelled with joy. I haven't seen Bo score a goal in the playoffs in five years up until that point--it was something special to see. The Canucks held a 4-1 lead for most of the game, but Kevin Fiala--a Wild forward-- wanted to give Canucks fans heart attacks by scoring two late goals. Ultimately, the clock was the Canucks friend, and the team survived with a win. If that game went any longer, Fiala might have very well registered a Hat trick.

The Canucks were able to tie the series at 1-1, and they never looked back. Game three was the Jacob Markstrom game. Markstrom swallowed every single Wild shot that came his way and registered a shutout. The Canucks were able to score thrice in the matchup. The goals came from Brock Boeser, Antoine Roussel, and Elias Pettersson. Pettersson was able to get another assist, as did Chris Tanev and Brock Boeser, but Quinn Hughes had an excellent day. Hughes registered an assist on every single goal scored. Offensive production like that is why we drafted Hughes. To see the Canucks completely decimate their opponent was refreshing. Game Three of this series gave me a sense of hope for this young franchise moving forward. 

Now that they were up 2-1, Vancouver only needed one more win to move on to the First Round of the playoffs--remember, because of COVID-19, the NHL created a qualifying round and extended the playoffs that were best of five. If the Canucks win this game, it would be their first playoff series win in almost a decade. With a lot on the line, the Canucks needed to get hot and stay hot for the remainder of the game. They did this by allowing the Wild to draw first blood and gain an early 1-0 advantage--not ideal with what was on the line. Tanner Pearson was able to answer the Wild's score with one of his own. Assisted by captain Bo Horvat and Chris Tanev, this moment proved that the Canucks from Game One were gone--this Canucks team came to play. Shortly after Pearson scored the equalizer, Eric Staal snuck a puck past Markstrom--both of whom were having a good series.

Brock Boeser and Kevin Fiala scuffle (photo by Michael Russo)

 The Canucks were heading into the second period down 2-1, but I had faith in this team for once in my life. My Canucks have been the better team in this series, and one period doesn't define a series--the Canucks were ready to get back into the game. 5:39 into the second period and Joel Eriksson Ek had made it 3-1 Minnesota--brutal, but there was still over half of the game to be played. Two minutes later, Brandon Sutter confirmed my belief in this Canucks unit when he scored on Wild goaltender Alex Stalock assisted by Antoine Roussel, and rookie phenom Quinn Hughes. Quinn had a great series, but he wanted to get a puck behind his net from his shot. About a minute and a half after the Sutter goal, Quinn Hughes ripped a puck past Stalock from the blue-line and scored his first goal of the playoffs. Miller and Pettersson were able to register assists on the Hughes goal, and now the Canucks were tied 3-3 in what was a massive game for the organization-- I loved how quickly this team was able to score in crucial situations. Vancouver was comfortable with the 3-3 tie, but Nico Sturm broke the tie in favor of Minnesota before the second intermission. 

This was a crucial third period for the Canucks, and they gave me no reason to stop believing in them after their electric performance in the previous period. The third period was a standstill between both teams, up until one man from London, Ontario rose to the occasion to bring the Canucks back into the game--that man was none other than Bo Horvat. With 14:14 gone into the third period, Bo Horvat again put his team on his back and scored on the uncomfortable Alex Stalock. There were less than six minutes on the clock after Horvat's heroic goal. Markstrom was able to silence any last-minute attempts the Wild had to seize victory and continue the series, which meant overtime was inevitable.

Overtime ended almost as soon as it began. A consistent producer scored the series sealing goal with only eleven seconds on the clock, but it was a player no Canucks fan would've ever guessed-- Chris Tanev. Tanev had plenty of assists in this series, which is unusual. Tanev was always known for defense and not offense. He was able to score the crucial goal when the Wild failed to win the face-off. They were racing down to their own end of the ice, trying to collect themselves after a sloppy play. Nico Strum was unable to control the puck, and it skidded into the stick of Chris Tanev, who was in position on the blue-line. Wayne Gretzky once famously said, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take". The Great One's words must've been ringing in Tanev's ears when he shot the puck off of his stick. The puck glided into the Minnesota net with such grace that the only logical explanation was Tanev was using the force to guide the puck--it was that smooth. I couldn't believe that of all of the great young forwards we had on this roster; it was Chris Tanev who would be the hero. As the smoke cleared, the Canucks reigned supreme. We had just won our first playoff series in almost a decade. Sure, we needed a pandemic to make the playoffs, but who cares? --We were moving on! I was beyond excited. This team, "a team like that," a team that was supposed to be playing for experience, was moving on. This was such a euphoric moment for me as a Canucks fan. It was great! But then I found out who we would be playing in the first round, the reigning Stanley Cup Champions St. Louis Blues--good Lord.

Antoine Roussel and Adam Gaudette celebrate a goal (Jason Franson)

Defeating the St. Louis Blues wouldn't be easy. When the season paused in March, the Blues held the best record in the Western Conference--but they failed to win any of the games to determine seeding in the bubble. St.Louis was slipping, and the Canucks needed to take advantage of that. Vancouver took advantage of the first power-play they were granted with a goal from Bo Horvat at 4:29 into the first period-- Bo has been having an excellent postseason so far, and I couldn't be happier. Like the great Bo Horvat, David Perron also scored on the power-play in the opening period to tie the game at 1-1 going into the intermission--the parallels didn't end there, however. Both Elias Pettersson and Jaden Schwartz of the Blues scored on unassisted goals to continue the play in the second period. It may have been tied 2-2 after the second period, but the Canucks unleashed the hounds of hell in the third period. Three Canucks players scored. Troy Stecher, Bo Horvat, and J.T Miller all scored in the barrage. The defending Stanley Cups champs were now down 1-0 in the best of seven series to the underdog Canucks-- I think I'm going to like this series.

The second game in the series opened up with the same goal scorer from the previous one, Bowie William Horvat. Horvat keeps getting hotter and hotter in these playoffs, and this goal was short-handed and assisted by another streaking Canuck, Chris Tanev. A short-handed goal is when the team that is down a player on the man-advantage scores-- a complete Vancouver penalty-kill outplayed the Blues' special teams. It took a while to score a goal in the second period, but Tanner Pearson broke the tie. He was assisted by the Canucks power duo of Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson. Down 2-0, reigning Conn Smythe winning forward Ryan O'Reilly put St.Louis on the board with assists from David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo. The Canucks extended their lead with a goal from the second coming of Wayne Gretzky, Elias Pettersson--remember, folks, Gretzky is the Canadian Pettersson. About five minutes after the Pettersson goal, Sammy Blais, a Blues forward, was able to score his first goal of the series and brought the Blues a goal away from tying the game. At this point, I was content with what the Canucks were producing in this game. Our forwards were continuing to harass Blues' goaltender Jordan Binnington--and he wasn't looking strong. Markstrom was also guarding the net with valor and was doing his job well. I believed that the 'Nucks were guaranteed a win at this point, but the Blues had other plans. With only seven seconds left in the third period, Jaden Schwartz scored on Markstrom to bring the game into overtime--this sucked. I saw the Blues progressing up the ice, and I was hoping the Canucks were going to stop their advancement, but they didn't. All hope I had for this team vanished because I was sure they were going to blow this game away and fall to 1-1 on the series--yet again, they proved me wrong. 5:55 into OT, the Canucks had a fantastic scoring play described as poetry in motion. The Blues gave up the puck deep in the Canucks zone, and Hughes got his hands on the puck and shot it up to a streaking--guess who--Bo Horvat. Bo split two defenders on his first goal of the game and was able to do it again as he five-holed Binnington and took the Canucks to a 2-0 series win over the defending champs--wow! This was the symbolic moment of not just Quinn Hughes for his great awareness, vision, and passing to get the puck onto Horvat's stick, but it also showed how persistent this team would be for the rest of the series. This was not the Canucks that I have grown up with, and I'm happy with that.

Down 0-2 in the series, the Blues needed to make a change. Jordan Binnington was having a horrible time so far in the net; this was shown in game two when he only saved 21 of 25 shots and had a .840 save percentage--not good for the playoffs. St.Louis decided to put Jake Allen, their former starter, in at goalie--and it worked out for them. The Blues were able to snag Game Three from Vancouver with help from a great game from Allen. He faced 41 shots and saved 39 for a .951 save percentage--now that's what you want to see from a goalie. The Blues were able to win the game with goals from Justin Faulk, David Perron and a game-winning goal in overtime from Brayden Schenn. Miller and Petey were able to get the 'Nucks on the board, but in the end, they couldn't find a consistent answer for Allen. Game Four, the Blues had their most complete 60 minutes yet when they outscored the 'Nucks 3-1. The Blues had a strong game, but Jared Allen had another great outing in the crease. Allen 22 of 23 measly Canucks shots for a .957 save percentage. Ryan O'Reilly looked like a Conn Smythe winning forward with a two-goal performance along with Blue's captain Alex Pietrangelo's goal. At this point, all seemed lost for the Canucks, but oddly, it didn't feel like that. They needed two more wins to run away with the series, and I knew they could do it.

Scuffle between the Blues and Canucks (Gerry Thomas)

The first goal in Game Five came short-handed from Canucks' forward Tyler Motte at 13:15 into the first period--it would be a while until a Canucks player got the puck past Jake Allen. The following three goals were from the defending champs. Brayden Schenn and Ryan O'Reilly were able to light up the net to end the first period with a 2-1 lead. 5:51 into the second period, and Zach Sanford made it 3-1. If watching sports has taught me anything, it's that a 3-1 lead is the worst lead to have--shout out Golden State Warriors. Less than six minutes later, Miller was able to get a snipe past Allen and make the game 3-2. Less than four minutes later, Canucks draft bust Jake Virtanen got his first goal of the playoffs. Less than two minutes after that, Tyler Motte scored his second goal of the game, and just like that, Vancouver owned a 4-3 lead. What made this special was that the Canucks protected their lead in the third period and walked away with a crucial momentum-swinging win.

Game Six was do or die for the Canucks. We were one game away from beating the Blues and moving on to the second round. The Canucks haven't won two playoff series in one run since 2011--trust me, I'm as shocked as you are that it took me over 8,000 words to mention the 2011 team. Anywho, this was a pivotal moment for this Canucks squad, and they were going to win. A St. Louis win would've only delayed the certainty of the Canucks series victory. They've been the better of the two teams for the entirety of the series, and they proved that in Game Six. St. Louis practically gave the series away when they opted to start Binnington over Allen. Jared Allen had been playing well in the net, with Game Five being his only poor performance--it seemed to me they were pandering to Binnington. Jay Beagle, of all people, opened the scoring and put the Canucks on the board-- not a good look for St. Louis' chances. Beagle's goal would stand as the only score in the first period for either team--but that would change in the second period. The Canucks scored three times in the second period, and the goals came from Antoine Roussel, Troy Stecher, and Brock Boeser. Boeser is expected to score goals, but getting production from guys like Roussel and Stecher shows the Canucks' depth. They weren't known for getting offense from the lower lines and pairings, but the bottom forwards owned the game in this game. Only two people scored in the third period, Tyler Motte of the Canucks, and Jaden Schwartz from the Blues. Tyler Motte continued the strong play from the Canucks bottom lines, and Schwartz did enough to get his Blues on the board, but it was all for not. The clock wound down to 0:00, and the Canucks were victorious. This moment was euphoric for me as a Canucks fan. We had just won two playoff series, and one of them was the defending champs--pinch me, I must be dreaming. We were touted to only gain experience from these playoffs, but instead, we knocked out two consistent playoff teams and advanced even further-- how's that for the experience. An intense game from the bottom forwards gives hope to Canucks fans moving forward, and they would need all the hope in the world for the next round. Next, the Canucks had to go and face the Vegas Golden Knights--this was going to be the real test for this team.

When hockey fans hear the words 'Vegas Golden Knights,' an abundance of emotions overcome them. These include but are not limited to fear, anger, depression, envy, and much more! By this time, the Golden Knights were the newest team in the NHL and were famous for making it to the Stanley Cup final in their first year of existence. Sure, they may have lost to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, but making it to the Final in a team's inaugural season is nothing to sneeze at. They acquired great talent through the 2017 expansion draft, such as Pittsburgh Penguins legendary goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Forwards Jonothan Marchessault and William Karlson were seen as expendables from their former teams in the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers--one person's trash is another’s treasure.

Jonothan Marchessault scores a goal on Jacob Markstrom (Jason Franson)

On top of that, the Golden Knights were able to hire Gerard Gallant, formerly of the Florida Panthers, as their head coach--there is some firepower behind the names I listed. By 2020, Gallant was fired as head coach and replaced by Pete DeBoer--Gallant is one of the best coaches in modern hockey, but for some bizarre reason, the management of the teams he coach fired him at some point even if they're performing well. The Knights also made other significant acquisitions in forwards Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone--lookout, NHL.

While the Canucks were batteling the Blues for the chance to advance to the Second Round, the Vegas Goldenknights easily beat out the Chicago Blackhawks in five games. The struggling Blackhawks could prevent a sweep by winning game four, but that was all they could muster. To make things even scarier for Vancouver, Marc-Andre Fleury was injured and having legal disputes with Vegas--his agent went as far as to get a painting commissioned of a sword going through Fleury in net to show his distaste with the team stabbing him in the back. Robin Lehner, who has now cleaned himself up, took the reins as the starting goalie for the Golden Knights and was dominating for them--not a good look for the surging Cancuks.

Game One of this series didn't start well for the Canucks at all. To spare you of the pummeling that took place, I'll share the score with you--5-1 Vegas. It sucked to see the Canucks do so poorly in this game when they did so well against the defending Cup champions, but it is what it is. Everyone knew that the Golden Knights were the better team in this series, but I thought the Canucks would try to score one goal in the opener. It also wasn't a strong game for Canucks all-star goalie Jacob Markstrom. The veteran netminder faced 34 shots and allowed five goals for a .853 save percentage--for those of you who aren't familiar with the stat, anything below a .900 save percentage is not good. Due to Markstrom abysmal performance, young goalie Thatcher Demko had to come in a stop the last few Vegas shots, and he swallowed every shot--to quote Deadpool, that is one steaming pile of foreshadowing.

Game Two was much kinder to Vancouver. Canucks trade deadline acquisition Tyler Toffoli opened the scoring for the Canucks in his second game of the playoffs at 1:29 into the game--he was nursing an injury and had to miss the first two series. 9:30 minutes later, Bo Horvat beat Robin Lehner and scored the second goal of the game. Once the horn blew to indicate the end of the Second Period, the Vancouver Canucks held a 2-0 lead. The Canucks held on to their 2-0 lead for a sizeable amount of time until Alex Tuch snuck the puck past the Canucks Swedish netminder for the first goal Vegas would have in the game--that didn't break Markstrom, however. Markstrom continued his outstanding play throughout the rest of the game, and his physical style of playing well outside the net was visibly frustrating the Vegas skaters. Before the period ended, Elias Pettersson, the other Canucks Super Swede, buried a puck past Lehner to increase the Canucks lead to 3-1.

It should be noted that Tyler Toffoli has been incredible through two periods of this game. He registered three points with a goal and assists on the other two goals--that is some excellent value to receive for a second-round pick. Good job, Jimbo!

Tyler Toffoli attempts a shot on Robin Lehner (GERRY THOMAS)

0:18 into the Third Period and Canucks captain Bo Horvat got his second goal of the night with assists from Brock Boeser and Alex Edler--he had such a great playoff run, and it only got better. The Canucks were sitting comfortably at 4-1 for the vast majority of the game when former first overall pick Max Pacioretty was lucky enough to score a goal on the white-hot Markstrom to bring the score to 4-2. The Golden Knights pulled the struggling Lehner out of the net in the last-ditch effort to get past the brick wall that is Jacob Markstrom, but it didn't work. Instead, Tanner Pearson took possession of a Golden Knights mishandle and scored the fifth and final goal of the game. What a great match for the Canucks. Markstrom swallowed 38 of 40 shots for an amazing .950 save percentage. If you factor that in with some hot-handed Canucks' forwards, it was a recipe for a good game for this Canucks team.

Game Three of the series is something that the Canucks wish they got back. It was similar to what the club dealt with in Game One, but Vegas didn't drop five goals on them--that's a positive, right? Vancouver lost this game because they couldn't get anything going with their forwards and their defense failed to help Markstrom. The defensemen were doing poorly blocking shots, getting the puck out of the defensive zone, and losing the battle in the neutral zone. Markstrom had yet another spectacular performance, stopping 31 of 34 shots for a .912 save percentage, but a goalie can only do so much. In the NHL playoffs, a hot goalie can lead the team to the Cup Final--we saw this with the Nashville Predators and Pekka Rinne in 2017. However, a goalie can't be relied on to score points; that's the skaters' job. Markstrom has been having a great playoff run and many other Canucks, but if they don't figure out this scoring issue, their season could be over sooner than they had hoped.

During Game Four, Marc-Andre Fleury returned to the crease for the Golden Knights--not a good look for the Canucks. Vancouver was already having issues with scoring, and now they had to find consistent scoring against one of the greatest goalies of the modern era. The game began with both Markstrom and Fleury playing well enough to keep pucks out of the net for the first half of the period. But that changed when the Canucks were caught with too many men on the ice, thus giving the Golden Knights a man advantage. Pacioretty scored the first with assists from Mark Stone and Shea Theodore 25 seconds into the power play. Two minutes later, Vegas center Chandler Stephenson was penalized for interference. The Canucks couldn't afford another game without scoring; moreover, Elias Pettersson knew that taking advantage of the power play was critical. So, he shot his shot and it went past the three-time Cup champion for the first Canucks goal of the game. Chandler Stephenson, who was partially responsible for the Pettersson goal, redeemed himself with a goal of his own two minutes after Pettersson's equalizer. 

The painting of Marc Andre Fleury being stabbed in the back

Luckily for the Canucks, the second period was a godsend. The only two goals all period were from forwards Bo Horvat and Tyler Toffoli--I can't stress enough how phenomenal Horvat and Toffoli have been together during this run. J.T Miller and Quinn Hughes were also having exceptional games on the power play, which, combined with Markstrom's goaltending, saw the Canucks go into the third period with a 3-2 lead--excellent!

To answer your question, yes, the Canucks did blow this game after a solid first two periods. Fleury was able to stand tall in the net and kicked out or consumed every Vancouver shot that came his way. Vegas defenseman Nate Schmidt opened up the scoring at 2:52 into the fledgling period--not excellent. Less than five minutes later, Pacioretty gave the Golden Knights the lead back for his fifth playoff goal. A minute-and-a-half later, William Karlsson sniped the fifth and final goal Vegas of the night and extended their lead significantly with less than eleven minutes left in the match. 

The Canucks lost this game, and it was mainly because of their inability to play defense. They struggled to clear the goal and minimize the number of shots that their all-star goaltender was taking. Also, The Golden Knights faced little to no pressure from the finesse Canucks skaters and tossed them around. Vegas proved how quickly they could score and that they were the better team on the ice. With the Vancouver Canucks now down 3-1 in the series and elimination was eminent. Jacob Markstrom's strain for carrying the Canucks seemed to have worn him thin to make things even worse. The talented netminder would have to sit the rest of the series with a pulled groined, and the Canucks would have to turn their desperation to a young goalie from San Diego, California, Thatcher Demko.

Thatcher Demko making a save (Bruce Bennett)

Game Five was do or die for the Vancouver Canucks. Their season was on the line, and how they were facing elimination from the playoffs. Marc-Andre Fleury--who had a respectable performance in Game Four--would not be starting because complications between him and the Golden Knights organization resurfaced. This meant that Robin Lehner would be in the crease yet again. And across the ice from the seasoned vet was the young Thatcher Demko. Demko was coming into this game with no playoff experience whatsoever. He served his rookie year mainly as a backup and relief player for Jacob Markstrom because Markstrom was first in the pecking order in the Vancouver net. Demko started 25 games for the Canucks in 2019-2020 with a record of 13-10-2, and a save percentage of .905--which is respectable. The Canucks drafted Demko in the second round of 2014, hoping that he will step through and eventually become the next franchise superstar--now was his time to step up and prove Canucks fans that meant business. With Markstrom's contract ready to expire after the season is up, Canucks fans watched with intent if Demko could save their season and seal the deal for Markstrom's fate as a Vancouver Canuck.

The first period of Game Five went scoreless for two reasons. First, the Canucks were not shooting the puck, and Lehner didn't get any tough shots to stop. Secondly, Thatcher Demko was playing as a man possessed. The rookie goalie was making sure that not a single Golden Knights shot was getting past him that period--and he meant to keep that production up. The second period was a continuation of the Canucks ineptitude to make plays in the offensive zone and the divine play of Thatcher Demkon from the first period. As much as I would've loved a Demko shoutout, it wasn't meant to be. 15:12 into the period, Demko allowed his first goal of the game from defenseman Shea Theodore. It was unfortunate for that to happen, but the fear of our season's end went away as quickly as the feeling appeared. Only 24 seconds later, right-winger, Brock Boeser did what he does best and sniped a goal past Robin Lehner, who was having an uneventful day before that. It was great that the Canucks could get past Lehner; it showed how advantageous they were with their shots at Lehner.

Thatcher Demko and Quinn Hughes share a moment of mutual respect

Early in the third period, Elias Pettersson put the Canucks on his back and scored the second and final goal of the game at the 3:19 mark. The rest of the period was Demko kicking out pucks and robbing Vegas skaters on any attempt they had at scoring. The Canucks went back into the locker room after the horn rang, and they gained the hope they needed to get from this game. Words can't describe how great Demko played. He faced 43 shots and stopped 42 of them--that is incredible. He had a save percentage of .977, which is almost as good as getting a shutout. He completely bailed his team and their continuously poor attempts at defense. Yes, Boeser and Pettersson were able to be efficient and make their shots count, but the team as a whole only registered 17 shots at Lehner--that is inexcusable. Yes, the team may have taken Game Five, but if this game showed any indication, it's that they needed Demko to carry them to the third round--that's a lot to ask of a rookie.

After squeaking away with a win in Game Five, the Canucks needed two more miracles to come back from 3-1 and move on to the third round. If you're a Canucks fan, this game began with a goal 2:50 into the first period from Jake Virtanen--that's the best-case scenario. The rest of the first and second periods were barren for both teams. Lehner was back in the net for the Golden Knights and looked sharper than he did in the previous match, which is respectable. However, across the ice, Thatcher Demko was continuing his unearthly performance in this series. In fact, Demko's performance was so impressive that I won't go in-depth into the other three goals the Canucks scored. Do you wish to know why? It's simple--he had a 48 save shutout. Even if you don't follow hockey, you should know that a 48 save performance is absolutely incredible. There are many things to take away from this. First and foremost, the Canucks' defense is genuinely horrible. I can't comprehend how bad Thatcher Demko is stopping almost 40 shots a game, and it is not fair to him. Secondly, if you need more evidence that Thatcher Demko isn't human, I encourage you to look at highlights from Demko during this game on YouTube; he was absolutely incredible to watch. Not surprisingly, the Vegas Golden Knights were becoming visibly upset with their inability to beat Demko consistently. After the shutout, it looked like Demko might do the impossible and lead the Vancouver Canucks to a series victory after being down 3-1. With everything against them, the Canucks were in a position they haven't been in for almost a decade--it all comes down to Game Seven.

The past two games, the Canucks were winning games despite themselves--the team wasn't winning, Thatcher Demko was. Many analysts were picking the Vancouver Canucks to win this game because of the all-time outstanding individual performance of Demko, not because of the entire performance of the roster. Game Seven went as well for the Canucks as you could imagine--in a sense that Demko was winning the game for his team. The Canucks forwards looked horrible outside of one excellent breakaway chance for Brock Boeser, which Robin Lehner ate up-- that would be their best chance of the night. 13:47 into the third period and the game was still tied at 0-0, but a hooking penalty on J.T Miller gave the frustrated Golden Knights a power play, and five seconds into the man advantage, Shea Theodore ripped a shot from the blue line that Demko's glove couldn’t catch for the first goal of the night. Four minutes later, the Canucks pulled Demko in a desperate move to score and keep their season alive--Alex Tuch scored on the empty net to make the score 2-0. Vancouver still didn't give up, they left the goal open with some hope left, but Paul Stastny buried those hopes with another empty-net goal. The final score was 3-0--my Vancouver Canucks have fallen. I remember from this game is the handshake--along with Vegas' dirty hits to Canucks players. Vegas players and Vancouver players lined up and shook hands like typical gentlemen. Mark Stone's reaction when he shook hands with Thatcher Demko is one I will never forget. Stone's face was filled with fear, respect, and admiration when he greeted the young netminder. Vegas players even went as far as to say that when their season ended against Dallas in the following round, Demko's performance broke their rhythm as a team. I will leave you on this, Demko saved 33 of 34 shots for a .971 save percentage, and the Canucks only mustered 14 shots on Lehner. Demko's stats for those three games were as follows:

Games Played: 3

Win-Loss: 2-1

Shots: 130

Goals Allowed: 2

Saves: 128

Shout Outs: 1

Save Percentage: .985

Goals Allowed Average: .64

Demko had one of the greatest three-game stretches for a goalie, and even that wasn't enough to lead the Canucks to a series win.

A relieved Mark Stone is happy to shake Demko’s hand knowing the series is over

The season was now over, and though it ended poorly, there was more hope than there ever was in Vancouver. Bo Horvat, Tyler Toffoli, Quinn Hughes, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, J.T Miller, the bottom line forwards, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Thatcher Demko had fantastic postseason performances. This team was supposed to get knocked out by the Minnesota Wild. When they won, it was seen as a fluke, and people were confident that the Blues would beat them--that obviously didn't happen. They were one game away from advancing to the Western Conference Final--not bad for a team that wasn't supposed to make it that far. That playoff run was some of the most fun I've ever had watching Canucks hockey. To see all our players come together gave me hope in the team that Jim Benning had assembled--hell, it even gave me hope in Jimbo. Now, with the season gone, we looked to the offseason in eagerness to see what we would do with all of our free agency. We had to resign Tyler Toffoli, Jake Virtanen, Chris Tanev and ultimately decide whether Jacob Markstrom or Thatcher Demko would be our goalie of the future. The organization's fate would come down to this offseason--and Jimbo sadly didn't get the memo.