Things are getting a lot tighter as the season gets closer to the playoffs and every game is worth so much now. It was an eventful week at the Rog bookended by Canucks wins to Anaheim and Toronto. I am obligated to talk about the disaster that was the LA Kings matchup only because this is a week in review and I would be cheating myself and all of you.
The theme of the week seemed to be “turtling“. This is the action one does when one does not wish to fight a combatant for fear of their life. On Monday, Zack Kassian would amplify his hero status when he challenged Patrick Maroon and you guessed it, this happened:
First the setup from 2014:
Now the sequel:
Twitter went bananas and thus the world was given a great gif….t. Not to be lost in all this was Ryan Kesler getting um, levelled by Kassian and when Kesler wanted to get a bit of revenge he was politely hipchecked by Chris Tanev; love that guy!
The Kings/Canucks tilt was a snoozer and we didn’t even deserve to be a part of it. Honestly, that’s all I want to talk about from that night.
Finally, the Leafs came to town and wouldn’t ya know it, the Nucks kicked their butts! Once again, turtling was the theme of the night, Leafs fans were one step closer to seeing Connor McDavid in a buds jersey. Jannik Hansen provided the reptile relief for this game and ANOTHER classic clip was born.
(Credit to Hockey Night in Canada and Canucksarmy.com)
Say what you will about the Canucks this year, they have made it entertaining in a ton of games this season. Sure, they have soiled the sheets and gone down by two goals more times than you can shake a stick at but they’re still in the hunt and really, thats all that matters.
So let’s get into it:
THE GAMES WE PLAYED
Vs. Anaheim Mighty Ducks – WIN 2-1 (The turtle was born)
RECAP: Ryan Kesler came back, took a puck to the noggin in warmups, got Kassian’d in the first followed by Tanev’d right after. Bo Horvat lit the lamp uh-gen, Eddie Lack had a bit of puck luck but otherwise stunning and Zack Kassian scored the GWG late in the third as well as being super cool when he tried to fight Patrick Maroon.
Vs. Los Angeles Kings – LOSE 4-0
RECAP: I mean, do you really care? The Kings beat Vancouver again, proved we still can’t quite hang with them yet and made us long for an easier opponent. Would have liked to see A goal but that didn’t happen.
Vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – WIN 4-1 (TMNT 2: Turtles involved but no Super Shredder)
RECAP: I called out Chris Higgins in my game day preview for Canucksarmy.com, and what happens? He scored. I seem to remember the last time I did that in my Shawn Matthias article, Higgy lit the lamp that time too! Derek Dorsett had a SHG and 2 assists, the power play was dreadful and we saw another turtle incident. For a Leafs/Canucks tilt it really wasn’t a barn burner. Once again, let me state this: That Hansen mock turtlnecking Phaneuf was a thing of beauty!
3 THINGS FROM TWITTER
Courtesy of @ZoSoNuck
https://twitter.com/tronarmy/status/576248288157921280
So all in all, a good week. Vancouver was leap frogged by Calgary but then took the lead again after the Leafs game. Zack Kassian is quickly gaining steam as the most popular player in Vancouver. I love this because he still is so raw and is finally coming into his own. Might we see the emergence of Kassian the Conquerer come April? Maybe.
Last but not least, I DO NOT HATE CHRIS HIGGINS. This team is showing they have a lot of depth and Higgins looks like he has definitely lost a step this year. He is a tough worker bee and I would love to see him come back to the 2011, heck the 2010 version and prove he still has it all going on.
You can now read my ramblings on the Canucks Army Game Day Preview. So thankful to those guys for noticing me and giving me a great opportunity. I would also like to thank former blogs The Farm Club and Two Pad Stack for the first real writing gigs.
Ok I’m done. *drops the mic*
Follow me on twitter: @always90four
A L W A Y S 9 0 F O U R 