Canucks Sixpack: Bo Horvat Steals the Show

Dec 20 2017, 3:30 am

On what was supposed to be Eddie Lack night, Bo Horvat stole the show as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Wednesday Night.

The big storyline of this game was supposed to be Eddie Lack vs Jacob Markstrom.

Or “Benning’s Choice” if you will…

But as our fearless Leader rightfully points out:

As it turns out, Bo Horvat didn’t care about the goalie duel as the young center broke out in a big way and stole the show with a huge game, scoring two goals including the game winner.

Savour this one Canuck fans and celebrate with a Sixpack!

Final Score: Canucks 3 – Hurricanes 2

Canucks goals: 3

  1. Sven Baertschi (6th goal) – Assisted by Matt Bartkowski and Chris Tanev
  2. Bo Horvat (4th goal) – Assisted by Adam Cracknell and Alex Biega
  3. Bo Horvat (5th goal) – Assisted by Linden Vey and Sven Baertschi

Hurricane goals: 2

  1. John-Michael Liles (2nd goal) – Assisted by Jordan Staal
  2. Jordan Staal (8th goal) – Assisted by Noah Hanifin

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1. The Return of Eddie Lack

Was there any doubt that I was going to lead off with Eddie Lack?

It was always going to be the big story going into this game and really, has there ever been any kind of story between these two franchises?

I guess there was one story a couple of years ago…

Vancouver Canucks acquire Date Carolina Hurricanes acquire
Sean Burke
Enrico Ciccone
Geoff Sanderson
January 2, 1998
Martin Gelinas
Kirk McLean

Probably should have hung onto Martin Gelinas. Might have saved Vancouver some pain a few years later.

Anyways, the Canucks welcomed back their old friend Eddie with a small tribute:

Either way, the Canucks got the win so…

Eddie Lack 0 – Jacob Markstrom 1

2. Chris Higgins Gets the Mystery Scratch

Not that Higgins has really done much to justify his position in the lineup, but I found the Higgins healthy scratch a little curious.

Real curious actually…

I don’t know. Maybe it’s because there were a couple of trades today, but this move doesn’t exactly scream “Willie Desjardins”.

Probably won’t matter now anyways as Jannik Hansen appears to have gone and injured himself:

Great.

3. Lack vs. Markstrom

It’s almost poetic that Ryan Miller had to miss this game due to a nagging cramping issue (just drink some water man…). I say poetic because Lack and Markstrom represent two different paths that Jim Benning had to choose between this past summer.

Well, actually he didn’t have to choose because he had the opportunity to keep both and based on how Markstrom has played in his limited starter’s role, i’d say he probably should have kept both.

For better or worse (decision still pending), Benning chose the Markstrom path.

If you ask the Vancouver Sun’s Ian McIntyre, it was because Lack was a character.

That pretty much sums up how I feel about goalies in this market. No matter what they do, they will eventually become the villains. Then get traded and go onto Allstar caliber seasons with other teams.

4. Welcome Back, Sven

True. But this goal is wow.

Baertschi goal vs CAR Jan 6

This is one of those goals that I can watch over and over again because it reminds me why this guy was worth burning a second rounder on.

I don’t know what to say. The body movement and shot placement on this breakaway are absolutely perfect. It’s a simple move but extremely effective when done properly because it throws the goalie off.

At the beginning of Baertschi’s shot, you can see Lack leaning to the right because that’s where Sven’s looking. That is, until he switches it up and shoots top left. This would explain why Lack puts his glove up by his face.

5. Bo Has Some Confidence

Confidence is an amazing thing. It can take you from some dark places to scoring in two straight games and looking damn good doing it.

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With the way Horvat was playing, Brad Marchand could smell a Horvat goal (or two) coming from his rats nest in Boston (because he has a big nose…).

Here are some examples of said moves even before he starting scoring:

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And:

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And again:

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He’s here.

6. Team Tank vs Team Playoffs

Team Playoffs: “Only I may dance”

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Team Tank is Bart.

Big thanks once again to gif-master Ryan Biech @ryanbiech for making me look good.

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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