Boudreau says Canucks showed "hearts of lions" after road trip from hell
Rested but rusty, the Vancouver Canucks knew this would be their toughest test of the season.
After riding high with an 8-0-1 record under their new coach, this was the road trip that would reveal just how much better the Canucks were under Bruce Boudreau.
Vancouver’s five-game road trip against some of the very best teams in the NHL did not start well, as they lost consecutive games in Florida, Tampa Bay, and Carolina.
But there were encouraging signs.
The Canucks outshot the Panthers and Lightning during the first two games of the trip, and were close in shots (31-33) against the Hurricanes. They held the advantage in Corsi-for and expected goals in both Tampa Bay and Florida.
Underlying metrics are nice, but wins are what matter.
So when the Canucks picked up two points in both Washington and Nashville, it salvaged the road trip.
A 2-3-0 run isn’t something to celebrate, but it is respectable, given the competition.
“You take the five teams that we just played, we didn’t win them all, but coming back in the last two — especially when you’re missing some key components to your team — it was a big win. It’s getting us closer to where we want to be,” said Boudreau.
The Canucks are now 10-3-1 under Boudreau — which is truly astonishing given how broken the team looked under Travis Green this season.
It doesn’t mean they’ll make the playoffs, and it doesn’t mean the team doesn’t need changes to its lineup. Certainly Jim Benning was fired for a reason.
But it does show that this team isn’t a bottom-feeder. The roster, as flawed as it may be given the lack of quality defencemen and penalty killers, has talent.
But it may have something else.
“We have a lot of heart,” said Boudreau. “We’ve got a great goaltender, there’s no doubt about it. And when we do make mistakes, he stopped two or three clean-cut breakaways tonight — he’s a wall back there. When you have that, it’s a little bit of relief when the team isn’t doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing… There’s a lot of heart, there’s a lot of will, and a lot of want.”
The last line of defence 🧱 pic.twitter.com/PXNH6JLhGe
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 19, 2022
With Jaroslav Halak out of the lineup, Thatcher Demko was forced to start all five games on the road trip. While he put up a sub-.900 save percentage in five games, he showed his All-Star form in the last two wins, stopping 62 of the last 65 shots he’s faced.
The reemergence of Elias Pettersson was the biggest positive of the road trip. Not only did Pettersson score three goals in the last two games, he has been doing the dirty work — screening goalies, digging for loose pucks, and pressuring defencemen on the forecheck.
Högs 👉 Podz 👉 Petey 🚨 pic.twitter.com/emIFrtPugo
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 19, 2022
Boudreau is also impressed with the emergence of a new checking line, centred by Juho Lammikko, with Tyler Motte and Matthew Highmore on his wings. The hard-working trio combined for four goals in the last five games.
Hard work has its rewards 👊 pic.twitter.com/JlylgbhXDU
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) January 19, 2022
“You could see that we wanted this game a lot. It meant a lot to us to be able to go with a two-game winning streak home, where we haven’t been in over a month,” Boudreau added. “I think the big thing is belief and want. These guys want it. They don’t want to be thought of as a bottom-placed team or anything like that. A lot of them have hearts of lions and it showed in this trip.”
More work is left to be done, particularly on the penalty kill, where the Canucks allowed six goals in 12 opportunities on the road trip. The power play also sputtered at times, converting on just three of 21 chances with the man advantage.
There’s no time to pat themselves on the back yet either. The Canucks are three points back of the Calgary Flames, who hold the final playoff spot based on points percentage, but Vancouver has played four more games.
That’s still a hill to climb, and there are many teams still in the chase for the final playoff spot.
There are lots of teams in the playoff chase (NHL.com)
Add the fact that Florida and St. Louis, two top 10 teams in the overall standings right now, are next on the schedule — and it’s obvious that tough tests are in still in the Canucks’ future.
But with Boudreau, anything seems possible.
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