Canucks in NOVEMBER
L 2-1 vs PHI - A lacklustre effort to start the month as Vancouver only managed 14 shots on Niemi and Zbynek Michalek's first of the year was the only shot to beat him. Markstrom allowed two goals on 28 shots.
W 4-3 vs PIT - The second line of Bonino, Letestu and Justin Williams was looking good. Bonino and Letestu both had a goal and an assist and Williams potted his fifth of the year. Chris Tanev scored the winner with just over a minute to go in the third. Markstrom made 29 saves to earn the win.
SOW 3-2 @ BUF - Dan Bylsma makes some lineup changes, reuniting Burrows with the twins and dropping Lupul back to the 4th line while moving Horvat up to the 3C. Chris Tanev tied it up at two halfway through the third and overtime would solve nothing, so in the shootout it was Joffrey Lupul playing hero with the only goal for either team to give Vancouver the victory. Markstrom made 30 saves.
L 4-3 @ NJD - Vrbata is good to go and slots back into the lineup while Burrows returns to the press box. Justin Williams had two goals but in the end it wasn't enough as Mike Cammalleri had three assists while driving the Devils offense to score four goals on 23 shots against Thomas Greiss.
L 2-1 @ CBJ - An abysmal performance from the Canucks, allowing 42 shots on Markstrom who kept them in it all game. Justin Williams scored in the third to put Vancouver up 1-0 but with ten minutes left Atkinson broke the Markstrom shutout bid and Kyle Brodziak scored with five minutes to go to give the Jackets the win.
W 4-1 @ OTT - The Canucks were outshot 41-24 but Markstrom made forty saves to earn the win. Vancouver had three first period goals, from Bonino, Vrbata and Lupul, and then held onto the lead. Lupul added his second of the game in the third before Erik Karlsson broke Markstrom's shutout effort with just four minutes left.
L 3-2 @ TOR - The Canucks played a much more sound game and outshot the Leafs 30-23 but the Markstrom magic wore out and he allowed three goals. Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist. Tanev and Kassian scored for Vancouver.
L 3-1 @ MTL - Carey Price was solid as usual, saving everything except a Yannick Weber bomb from the point. Matt Halischuk scored two goals on Jacob Markstrom, who saved 20 in the loss.
W 2-0 @ WPG - Thomas Greiss gets a start and makes the most of it with a 35 save shutout. Daniel scored both Canuck goals, only his third and fourth of the year.
SOL 3-2 vs CHI - Chris Higgins had a goal and an assist and Thomas Greiss made 37 saves in his second consecutive start, but in the end Vancouver loses it in the shootout with Kane and Toews both scoring on Greiss.
SOL 4-3 vs NJD - Both teams were flying offensively, with the shots ending up at 42-38 for the Devils. Free agent signing Matt Read scored his first two goals of the season for New Jersey. Tanev had two assists and a stellar defensive game with four blocks and two hits. Markstrom had 39 saves but was outdueled by former Canuck Cory Schneider in the shootout when the only goal to beat either netminder was New Jersey's Andreas Engqvist slipping one by Markstrom for the win.
W 2-1 @ MIN - In a rematch from their playoff series last spring the Canucks brought their A-game against the Wild and Alex Burrows raised his game for the occasion, scoring the only two Canuck goals and they would be enough. Markstrom made 27 saves.
SOW 3-2 @ DAL - Markstrom made 34 saves in the win and Vancouver finally came out on top in a shootout, with Joffrey Lupul beating Lehtonen to seal it.
L 3-2 @ ANA - Kesler scored against his former team and offseason signing Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist for the Ducks. Greiss made 24 saves in the loss.
Record (November): 13-10-2 (6-6-2), 28 points, 1st in Pacific
Player Stats:
Goals - Bonino, Vrbata, Williams (8), Tanev, Lupul (5)
Assists - Henrik (15), Bonino (9), Daniel, Holden (7), Vrbata, Williams, Higgins, Letestu (6)
Points - Henrik (19), Bonino (17), Vrbata, Williams (14), Daniel (11)
Plus/Minus - Williams (+5), Henrik, Daniel, Tanev, Hamhuis (+4), Holden, Lupul (+3)
PIM - Hamhuis (29), Kassian (23), Richardson (14), Lupul, Michalek (12)
Shots - Bonino, Vrbata (58), Daniel (56), Henrik (50), Weber (45)
Hits - Richardson (44), Bonino (42), Holden (41), Henrik (39), Hamhuis, Kassian (37)
Takeaways - Tanev (16), Richardson, Bonino, Holden (12), Russell (10)
Blocks - Tanev (81), Russell (58), Holden, Michalek (43), Hamhuis (37), Higgins (25)
FO% - Horvat (57.2), Bonino (52.4), Henrik (50.1), Richardson (47.2)
Goalies:
Markstrom - 11-5-1, 1.92 GAA, .941 SvPct, 13.01 GSAA
Greiss - 2-5-1, 2.36 GAA, .923 SvPct, 1 SO, 1.40 GSAA
Injuries:
none
Summary:
In spite of a much less consistent month
Vancouver finds themselves competitive and at the top of their division.
Markstrom has played a key role in their success and is top ten in multiple goaltending categories in the league, while
Greiss has performed reasonably well but not gotten results in the win column.
The
Sedins have continued to be productive, and
Henrik has returned to his playmaking ways after turning into more of a scorer last year.
Daniel has yet to find his scoring touch and
Vrbata has really become the go to sniper on that line. Scoring by committee has been effective so far, with
Bonino,
Vrbata and
Williams all tied for the team lead with eight goals. Physical winger
Zack Kassian has fallen out of favour with
Dan Bylsma and has spent the past six games in the press box after failing to bring much scoring touch or truculence in his first nineteen games.
Chris Tanev has found an offensive touch, scoring five goals from the blueline already as he continues to establish himself as a top pairing defenseman alongside
Dan Hamhuis.
Yannick Weber hasn't really brought the offensive pop coaches expected he would, even with PP1 time and he may be on the bubble in the top six with veteran
Kevin Bieksa still hungry for icetime.
Prospect Watch:
RD Rasmus Andersson (OHL) 19gp, 4-10-14, +3, playing with courage and physical edge
RD Erik Cernak (OHL) 19gp, 4-8-12, -1, his shot is getting heavier and his first steps are quicker, defensively he's looking more effective more consistently
LD Vince Dunn (OHL) 19gp, 1-13-14, E, improving his stick checking skills
C Jared McCann (OHL) 18gp, 9-17-26, E, he's looking stronger and making great reads in the offensive zone while also playing sound positionally in his own end
LW Kirill Kaprizov (RUS) 16gp, 11-8-19, +1, his stick skills are improving, both on and off the puck, and he's stepping into more of a leadership role
G Thatcher Demko (NCAA) 9gp, 7w, .922sv%, 2.53gaa, has been working on his pads and demonstrates improving mental toughness
RD Dylan DeMelo (AHL) 23gp, 1-6-7, -1, has been working on his shot blocking form and playing more aggressively
LD Kevin Gravel (AHL) 23gp, 2-8-10, +4, has been making better reads at both ends of the ice
C Danton Heinen (AHL) 23gp, 6-5-11, +1, has been playing with more aggressiveness and has shown improvement at breaking up plays on defense
LD Carson Soucy (AHL) 23gp, 2-5-7, +2, has been showing determination shift to shift and displays an improving understanding of how to find open ice on offense
RW Jake Virtanen (WHL) 19gp, 12-13-25, -1, doing a better job of reading off his teammates and finding openings to get his shot off