Canucks in PRESEASON
L 7-5 vs OTT - Brad Hunt looked great (blocked 6 shots) even though he was -2 on a pairing with Scott Mayfield who looked way out of his depth. Kris Russell had a solid game at both ends, was +1 and had a goal and two assists. Bo Horvat was the only forward who looked particularly good. He had two assists on the night, threw four hits and was plus one. Cole Cassels was a -2 and looked lost in his own end, while Gaunce had 3 giveaways and created little offensively.
L 3-2 vs BUF - Dustin Jeffrey scored his second preseason goal in as many games. He wants to stick around. Michalek and Hunt were paired together and looked amazing in their own end. Paul Martin endeared himself to coaches, teammates and fans by blocking five shots in his first preseason game with the team. Oh yeah, he also scored a goal on one of his four shots. Jared McCann and Josh Anderson both looked rough at both ends of the ice, not helping their cases to make the team. Max Lapierre was good in his preseason debut, throwing eight hits and getting an assist. Brendan Gaunce struggled in his own end and was -2. Veteran Alex Burrows looked rough in his own end for the second straight game.
** First Round of Cuts **
D Scott Mayfield assigned to Utica
LW Alex Iafallo assigned to Utica
LW Ronalds Kenins assigned to Utica
LW Jared McCann assigned to Utica
**
L 4-0 @ DET - well, Hamhuis and Tanev had an incredibly solid game, allowing no goals against, playing their roles to perfection and combining for four takeaways, seven blocked shots and four hits. Corrado had four blocked shots but didn't play great and was -3. Russell was decent, Schultz was awkward in both ends. Burrows had another rough game and was -3. Brendan Gaunce was -4 and looked awful, especially on defence. Goc didn't do much to help his case. Cassels was quiet but solid, 62.5% on faceoffs and a takeaway. Josh Anderson was -3 and ineffective. Virtanen threw four hits in eight minutes of icetime.
L 4-2 vs BUF - Bo Horvat had both Canuck goals and was the best forward on the ice for them. Ben Hutton had a picture perfect game defensively and also took three shots on goal. Pouliot and Martin were -3 together. Everybody was mediocre at forward besides Williams and Horvat. Virtanen and Mallet both looked terrible defensively, however Mallet did pick up an assist and make three hits.
L 7-1 @ TBL - Brad Hunt stood out as the best defenseman for the Canucks, scoring the lone gals and blocking three shots while doing his job well in all three zones of the ice. Nikita Filatov notably played his defensive role very well. Dustin Jeffrey, Marcel Goc and Alexandre Mallet had an abysmal game and went -4 as a line. Jeffrey did do his job offensively better than any other forward but had nothing to show for it. Cole Cassels was -1 but played well defensively, had a takeaway and was 70% in the circle. Gaunce also looked decent and had an assist, two blocked shots and three hits but was only 50% on faceoffs. Brandon Tanev threw two hits but otherwise wasn't noticable. Josh Anderson had an assist and three hits in his best game of the preseason. Virtanen didn't look good in his own end but he did have five hits.
**Second Round of Cuts**
G Casey DeSmith assigned to Utica
D Frank Corrado assigned to Utica
C Brendan Gaunce assigned to Utica
RW Alexandre Mallet assigned to Utica
**
W 3-2 @ CBJ - Paul Martin had a stellar game paired with Chris Tanev, scoring a goal and playing his defensive role perfectly. Brad Hunt was the second best defenseman on the ice, with three shots, a takeaway and three blocked shots. He was paired with Michalek, who didn't play well in his own end but did score a goal. Cole Cassels had another solid game, picking up an assist and taking three shots while being plus one for the night. Neither Josh Anderson nor Jake Virtanen really seized their opportunity as they both struggled in their own end and made very little impact on the game. Virtanen had a hit and two shots and Anderson a shot and two hits. Marcel Goc was abysmal. Nikita Filatov played well, looked confident offensively, took four shots and had an assist and a takeaway while being plus one. Brandon Tanev had five hits and had a good overall game at both ends.
SOW 3-2 vs FLA - Brad Hunt didn't look great playing his off side. Hutton had another solid defensive showing, he will probably be a victim of the numbers game but staying around this long is a testament to how much the coaching staff appreciates him. Alex Burrows looked like his old self alongside the twins, scoring a goal on two shots. Josh Anderson had a sloppy game defensively and failed to contribute offensively as well. Virtanen had two hits and two shots and was plus one. Henrik and Daniel both scored in the shootout to to end the preseason on a good note.
**Final Round of Cuts**
D Ben Hutton assigned to Utica
D Nick Schultz assigned to Utica
RW Josh Anderson assigned to Utica
**