VANCOUVER – At the end of their nightmare, the Vancouver Canucks had a California dream.
Jake DeBrusk guided in an overtime setup from Elias Pettersson as the Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Tuesday to complete a four-night, three-game sweep of the National Hockey League’s California teams.
The Canucks long ago clinched last-place overall, and this has been one of the most bleak and disillusioning seasons in franchise history. But the shape of what comes next for the rebuilding team can be seen in the enthusiasm, emotion and intensity of its final week.
Like his players, coach Adam Foote displayed some emotion after the team collected just its ninth home win on Fan Appreciation Night at Rogers Arena. And that emotion was not anger or despair or even regret. Foote was proud.
“With the trade deadline (March 6) and the names flying around, we're going into rebuild, we're getting rid of some older players and some money,” Foote began. “And guys’ names are flying around. I mean, yeah, they're paid pros, and they're supposed to be able to handle it. But they're human as well, and this is a market we all know that’s tough. To see who’s here, and how these leaders now are forming the new culture, I mean, you see Teddy (Blueger) fighting, you see Fil (Hronek) fighting.
“There’s been so much going on with our captain leaving, you know, the injuries. And it's not excuses, it's just fact. And they've been getting torn apart as a group for a very long time. And they decided, ‘Hey, this is our team.’”
Foote praised not only Blueger and Hronek, who initiated a scrap with Mathieu Joseph after the King’s heavy hit on Canuck rookie Zeev Buium, but also veterans Brock Boeser and Marcus Pettersson for the way they’ve been leading Vancouver’s many first- and second-year players.
“The way they're leading, it allows the youth to grow and grow faster and allows them to be more of a free spirit,” Foote explained. “They're holding them accountable, but in a different way, which is very positive to see. So it's not a fluke what happened the last three games. We’re doing things right. I’m proud of them.”
With Game 82 Thursday in Edmonton, the Canucks are on their longest winning streak since the week after the Quinn Hughes trade on Dec. 12.
Vancouver took a single point off of each of Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose, which were all desperate for them in the Western Conference playoff race.
Buium scored one of the prettiest Canuck goals this season to tie the game 3-3 on Tuesday, finishing a give-and-go through traffic with Nils Hoglander after Buium had twice danced the puck around stickless Quinton Byfield.
Second-year defenceman Elias Pettersson (Junior) also scored, while DeBrusk had two goals, giving him nine of his 23 goals in the last 12 games. Goalie Kevin Lankinen, another key part of the leadership group, made 31 saves and, like DeBrusk, is finally playing something close to his best hockey.
“It’s been a tough go, especially for the fans,” DeBrusk said. “The biggest thing I've noticed is how the seats are still pretty much packed, and it's a good crowd every single night. You know, it's a small consolation, but especially on fan appreciation night — guys were talking about it, it was in our minds — it went the distance (and) it was nice to get that one.”
Buium goes boom
When Foote name-dropped Buium into his post-game press conference, it wasn’t to talk about the 20-year-old’s goal. He praised his competitiveness, displayed late in the second period when the rookie was knocked down twice behind the Vancouver net but jumped up both times to re-engage and eventually put some lumber on Trevor Moore.
“That's a big, heavy team, and they stuck with it,” Foote said. “Like you saw Zeev, got knocked down twice, he got up and he went right back at the guy. He had no fear. That's got to be a good feeling for the fans to see that. He's young guy and he’s going to get stronger, but he's playing tenacious. And, you know, it's a good sign for the future.”
“You just get up and you're a little pissed off, so you try to give a bump,” Buium explained. “I mean, you're competing; you're just getting in their way. Everybody gets annoyed when people are hurting each other. I mean, it's just hockey, right?”
Culture club
Buium on the change in culture and attitude on the Canucks: “You can tell it has changed just by the way we play. We really came together off the ice and (have) gotten to know each other and care about each other. It's little things. I mean, Teddy steps up for Liam (Ohgren) the other night, and Fil steps up for me. He didn’t have to do that. (But) then you're willing to go out there and block anything. I think for all of us, it’s really starting to come together and starting to move forward and not track back. And hopefully we can just carry that into the next game and next year.”
Douglas fan club
After scoring his first NHL goal in Sunday’s overtime win in Anaheim, Curtis Douglas failed to double his career total against the Kings. The six-foot-nine winger-enforcer saw only one shift in the third period, but still registered a couple of hits in his 7:12 of ice time.
After spending most of the last five years in the minors, the 26-year-old from Oakville, Ont., is eligible for Group 6 unrestricted free agency this summer, so the Canucks need to make a decision before July 1 on their waiver pickup.
“I liked his energy because you just know he's going to hit, you know he's going to forecheck, he's always going to play with emotion, and that kind of drags our guys into the pile,” Foote said before the game. “There's value, for sure, with what he does and what he brings. I know (Ducks Jacob) Trouba and (Radko) Gudas knew he was out there, and that's a good thing.”
Another potential UFA who could help the Canucks next season, Blueger, said he hopes to get a better idea where he stands with the organization in exit meetings after the season ends on Thursday. After the Canucks pivoted hard towards a rebuild with the December trade of Hughes, Blueger said he wanted to be part of whatever comes next. Sounds like Foote wants him back, although the coach doesn’t yet know his own future with the Canucks.
