Ryan Miller channeled his inner Kirk McLean, Alex Burrows channeled his inner Greg Adams and Luca Sbisa channeled his inner Gerald Diduck as the Canucks shutout the Devils 2-0 on Pat Quinn tribute night at Rogers Arena.
With Omar taking the night off, it is my privilege to write the world famous #SixPack tonight. People often ask what it takes to get mentioned in the #SixPack. It usually takes wit and intelligence, but with me in charge…
Rob is cool #vcbcanucks
— reindeerkayak🌲 (@Moosekayak) November 26, 2014
https://twitter.com/Pagnificent/status/537484504844091392
It’s just that easy.
1. Pat Quinn Tribute
I have to start with the moment of silence and tribute for Pat Quinn before tonight’s game. Just like the Luc Bourdon ceremony back in 2008, I thought the Canucks handled this wonderfully and appropriately. They held a moment of silence before the game, followed by a great rendition of “Oh Danny Boy” by Mark Donnelly.
The team will have another night to celebrate the life of the Canucks legend, but tonight was absolutely the right touch. If I were to guess on when that Pat Quinn night will be? How about March 14th against the Toronto Maple Leafs?
2. Cruising to Victory
OK, now to the game on the ice. The Canucks outshot the Devils 36-20 and were in good control of this game despite the close score for most of it. Ryan Miller got the shutout but didn’t have to do anything spectacular.
Bieksa/Sbisa were +14 and +11 in even-strength corsi versus Chicago. +12 and +13 so far tonight. Canucks might have something there.
— Harrison Mooney (@HarrisonMooney) November 26, 2014
Not even a Sbisa-Bieksa pairing could derail this game.
Say what you want about Sbisa, but he consistently throws big, heavy bodychecks that hurt the opponent. He laid out Patrick Kane with a questionable/unpenalized hit on Sunday and crushed Jaromir Jagr with a beauty tonight.
GIF Jaromir Jagr is mildly impressed pic.twitter.com/XiUAPAaKh2
— steph (@myregularface) November 26, 2014
"Hi, my name is Sbisa, what's your name?"
"My name is Jar-"
"IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS." pic.twitter.com/xdbpd5nTXm
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) November 26, 2014
Did you guys see how much dust flew off Jagr on that hit? It was like someone shook out their door mat.
— BrowntoBure (@BrowntoBure) November 26, 2014
@botchford : Jagr got run over by the Sbizza truck… pic.twitter.com/0p1KVdUUGb
— Cory (@CoryHergott) November 26, 2014
3. Jags
#legend @nine30shineshop pic.twitter.com/sxT8dZrxog
— Tron Funkinblow (@tron_funkinblow) November 26, 2014
Speaking of Jagr, what a treat to get another chance to watch him in action. He is one of the greatest players in NHL history and he is still a top performer at age 42 (he turns 43 in February). He might be the best 42-year-old to play the game since Gordie Howe.
Jagr is Still a beast!! Not the same production or speed obviously but the leg strength and net drive is something to watch. #vcbcanucks
— Mike Stefanuk (@Mike_Stefanuk) November 26, 2014
Jagr looked dangerous all night. He protects the puck wonderfully with his big frame and is tough to get knocked off the puck.
#vcbCanucks So does this mean the Sedins will be relevant for 8 more seasons too? #Jagrmodel
— Disco Stu (@TheDiscoStu) November 26, 2014
That would be nice.
4. Bo is here to stay
Canucks TV caught a really cool moment on video earlier today, as 19-year-old Bo Horvat got the news that he will not be sent back to the OHL this season. That doesn’t mean that he won’t be loaned to Canada’s World Junior team in December, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Notice the Sedins were the first two guys up to shake Bo’s hand.
How young is Bo Horvat? His favourite players growing up were Jonathan Toews and Mike Richards.
Horvat was 11 in 2006?
BRB checking into a retirement home #Gramma— Dee ☕ (@forevercanuck) November 26, 2014
Horvat is here to stay and he has earned it. Horvat hasn’t looked out of place and the 4th line is better for it. Once again he was an absolute beast in the faceoff dot tonight, winning 7-of-8 draws.
https://twitter.com/TenZowie/status/537468536575102976
Bo Horvat’s gain is Linden Vey’s loss, at least in the short term. But that’s a nice problem to have.
https://twitter.com/sedinary/status/537476235090464769
5. Cory Schneider
Horvat is starting to make fans feel a little bit better about the Cory Schneider trade. Maybe Mike Gillis didn’t get “nothing” after all.
Schneider, for his part, had a great game stopping 34-of-36 shots. Unfortunately for him, the team in front of him didn’t do much for him.
Marek Zidlicky was silky soft on the Canucks’ first goal, allowing Burrows to beat him to the front of the net and gain position on him. Zidlicky booted a puck into hit net for another late in the 3rd.
Zidlicky has 2 assists tonight
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) November 26, 2014
6. First Place, Again
At some point, the Canucks are going to really feel the loss of Dan Hamhuis, who will miss months with an injury. It hasn’t happened yet though. The Canucks are rolling and are sitting in first place in the conference after 22 games. That’s more than a quarter of a season. This isn’t a blip. The Canucks are a good team.
Grab your popcorn Canucks fans.
Popcorn flying > fists flying #Canucks https://t.co/Ov9sjrYvAF
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 26, 2014
Now, that doesn’t mean that the Canucks are poised for another President’s Trophy and they’ve got a lot of work before they can secure a playoff spot, but it’s great to see this team playing well again.
Pat Quinn would be proud.
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