Three Takeaways from Ottawa Senators-Vancouver Canucks as Sutter makes history
It was a good night for the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, but not so much for the Ottawa Senators.
In what was the one and only game in the NHL last night, the Vancouver Canucks took out their frustrations of a sluggish start to the 2020-21 season on the Ottawa Senators, dismantling their opponents in a dominant and ruthless 7-1 win.
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It was just what the doctor ordered for the Canucks who went into the contest 2-5-0, sitting in the wrong half of a very competitive and very entertaining North Division. Yes, it is still early days but, in a 56-game shortened season, every single game is crucial and Vancouver can’t afford to lose too much ground.
They certainly showed exactly what they are capable of with a scintillating performance on Monday, a dominant win headlined by Brandon Sutter‘s first career NHL hat trick, an achievement we looked at here. It was a game where the Canucks’ depth really came through with Tyler Motte, Tanner Pearson and rookie defenseman Olli Juolevi also lighting the lamp, while stud defenseman Quinn Hughes recorded his first goal of the year.
Austin Wilson scored the only goal of the game for Ottawa on what was a tough night for the Senators, and the rebuilding franchise currently prop up the North Division with a 1-4-1 record after last night’s crushing loss. Of course, the Sens were expected to be bad this year as they continue to rebuild, but they won’t want too many results like this one. So, now we’ve given you a recap of the game, let’s dive into the three main takeaways from a huge win for the Vancouver Canucks…
Three Main Takeaways as the Vancouver Canucks crush the Ottawa Senators
3. Thatcher Demko delivers a huge positive
As we mentioned up top, it has been a rough start to the year for the Vancouver Canucks and that extends to their goaltenders, Thatcher Demko and Braden Holtby with the Canucks ranked 30th in the NHL in Goals Against Per Game (4.25).
Holtby currently has a 3.70 Goals Against Average and a .888 Save Percentage, while Demko has a 4.33 GAA and a .890 SV% even after last night’s game, so that paints a rather ugly picture of just how bad the Canucks have been in their own zone so far this season and how what was perceived to be a strong goalie tandem has struggled so far.
However, Demko was outstanding on Monday with 34 saves to pick up his first win of the year, and he made some timely saves including stopping Connor Brown on a breakaway when it was a 2-0 game, and he also pulled off a stunning stop to deny Artem Anisimov point-blank which was then immediately followed by Brandon Sutter’s snipe to make it a 4-1 game. Yes, this performance came against the Ottawa Senators but it was still a huge night for Thatcher Demko, who needed this to boost his confidence after what was a tough start to the year for the young goalie.