The Vancouver Canucks moved to 10-2-1 on Thursday, Nov. 9, defeating the Ottawa Senators 5-2 in Ottawa. The victory is Vancouver’s fifth in a row and leaves them within a win of the Pacific Division lead. Albeit the score may look like a one-sided victory for the Canucks, the game itself was quite the opposite. Here are three takeaways from the contest.
Ilya Mikheyev Showing His Worth
After signing a four-year, $19 million deal with Vancouver in the summer of 2022, Ilya Mikheyev’s debut season with the Canucks did not go as planned, as he suffered a torn ACL that ruled him out of the second half of the season. Usually going down with a major injury like that in the first year of a four-year contract spells bad business for both the player and the organization itself. However, the Russian winger looks even better than before to start the season.
After netting two goals last night, including this smooth back-heel goal that would make Harry Kane proud, Mikheyev now has eight points (five goals, three assists) in nine games while playing on the first line with Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko. Not only has he shown he belongs on the first line with his offence, but his defensive game – something he’s always been known for – has been excellent. According to Natural Stat Trick, he ranks first among all Canucks players who have played at least 100 5-on-5 minutes in high-danger Corsi against (HDCA) with 21.
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Mikheyev’s two-way impact is vital to this team. It’s a huge reason why general manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford went out of their way to sign him last summer. There have been very few pure two-way forwards in recent Canucks history and watching him play both sides of the puck night in and night out has to be a refreshing sight for Canucks fans. As he, Pettersson and Kuzmenko continue to gel even more, they have the potential to become one of the elite first lines in the league.
Who Needs PDO When You Have P.D.G.?
Phil Di Giuseppe might be the most valuable top-six forward in the league right now in terms of output compared to contract. After adding two assists last night, he now has six points (two goals, four assists) in 13 games. Those numbers may not pop out at you but he has provided great balance to the second line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. Both Miller and Boeser have been on an absolute tear offensively to start the season (both scored again on Thursday night) but Di Giuseppe has been the workhorse, consistently winning puck battles and helping set up the other two.
His journey to get to this point has been a rollercoaster. After previously spending time with the Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators and New York Rangers, he has spent the majority of his career in the American Hockey League. After getting his chance late last season to prove to head coach Rick Tocchet he was worthy of being a key part of the lineup, Di Giuseppe has taken that opportunity and ran with it. Being rewarded with top-six minutes on a potential playoff team shows the trust Tocchet has with his 30-year-old winger, and if keeps playing like this, that second line should continue to produce.
Canucks Can Win Both Dominantly and Ugly
You could make the case that the Canucks’ performance against Ottawa was their worst all season. Maybe their loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 17 was worse, but regardless, both games were relatively ugly. They were outshot 30-16, had trouble stringing passes together in the offensive zone and overall looked downright sloppy a majority of the game. But what they did do was convert on the few opportunities that came their way, while the Senators did not.
The Canucks are playing great hockey. They have the record to prove that, PDO or not. However, there will be nights like these where the breaks don’t bounce their way or they just look sluggish. But the sign of a great team is winning games like these. Goaltender Casey DeSmith was, yet again, solid against Ottawa, making timely saves to prevent the Senators from taking the lead in the second period. Pettersson and Hughes did not have their best games by any means, but they showed up when it mattered most, especially on Vancouver’s fifth goal scored by Pettersson off of a pass from Hughes.
Vancouver currently has the highest goal differential in the league by a wide margin (plus-33), thanks in part to their 8-1 and 10-1 victories against the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks respectively. Being able to dominate teams en route to victory is one thing, but being able to win games that you more than likely shouldn’t is another. Quite frankly, that’s the sign of a great team. This Canucks group seems to have genuine poise and resilience, qualities previous Canucks teams lacked. Yes, the season is still young and there is a lot of hockey left to be played, but Canucks fans may have a truly special team on their hands and Thursday night’s result proves that sentiment.
