CALGARY —Points to ponder before, during and after the Canucks extended their win streak to five games Sunday in a 5-2 win over the Flames at the Saddledome that vaulted them into second place in the Pacific Division:
MYERS IS LOUD, PROUD:‘When we’re chipping them in and when we have the speed like we had tonight, you can tell other teams have trouble breaking the puck out’
Tyler Myers simply goes about his business. He doesn’t talk a lot and doesn’t score a lot.
So when the towering defenceman scored twice Sunday and saw his teammates play a pretty flawless game, he couldn’t help but open up about what has gone right after everything looked wrong when the club dropped four of five games.
That seems like so long ago.
“We talk about it every day — simple hockey,” stressed Myers, who had more shots (4) and points (3) than anyone in the opening period. “We’re starting to realize more and more that chipping pucks in because one of our biggest strengths is our forecheck. When we’re chipping them in and when we have the speed like we had tonight, you can tell other teams have trouble breaking the puck out.
“It resulted in a lot of chances and we’re not spending as much time in the D-zone. That can tire you out if you’re doing it too much. It was really good structure tonight and we just have to continue that.”
And what about netting more goals? Myers had 11 in his Calder Trophy winning rookie season with the Buffalo Sabres in 2009-10. He’s also scored nine goals in a season on three other occasions.
“I’ve been around long enough now to know they (goals) come in bunches and that’s what it seems like my last 10 years,” he added. “You really just try to play as consistent as you can and keep the same mindset going in.”
Tanner Pearson also scored twice on a night where the big guns — Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller — didn’t find the net.
“We’re not a team that can just rely on one or two guys,” said Canucks coach Travis Green. “We have to have buy-in throughout the group whether defending or trying to score. We had a good meeting and our team responded.”
DEMKO BUOYED BY RETURN: ‘My recovery from this one (concussion) was a little bit smoother. I was able to get back on the ice quicker’
Two concussions in a 15-month span, and not playing since a wild 6-5 overtime win over the Sabres on Dec. 7, made the Thatcher Demko curiosity meter move Sunday.
How would he react after coming back from his second concussion from friendly fire? Would he fumble the ball after Jacob Markstrom made nine-straight starts and a career-high 49 saves Saturday in a 3-2 win our the Los Angeles Kings?
There was early evidence that there wasn’t reason for any long concern. Maybe it was that body of work when Markstrom was away on a leave of absence to visiting his ailing father in October. Demko went 2-1-0 and allowed just five goals to provide early proof that Green could call upon the backup whenever he needs to spell off Markstrom or if the coach wanted to go with his gut feeling.
The 23-save win Sunday was satisfying, but so was how quickly he recovered from his second concussion.
“My recovery from this one was a little bit smoother,” he said. “I was able to get back on the ice quicker and was only off the ice eight days, so that helps. Just being in your gear helps and I was really excited to get back in tonight and to get the win is the cherry on top.
“The big thing was playing our game and not sitting back. Our goal is to get into the playoffs and be good all year and you can’t turn it on late.You have to be solid all season to stay in the mix.”
It made the Flames’ final goal Sunday easier to digest because Demko was totally out of position and scrambling to face the shooter.
“A little old school,” laughed Demko. “I don’t know if I’ve ever thrown a skate out like that before. It was just kind of a weird play and sometimes you’ve just got to laugh.”
WARD PUSHES RIGHT BUTTONS:‘When players have ownership, they’re a lot more committed and a lot more accountable.’
Geoff Ward had a lot of draw upon when he replaced Bill Peters as Flames interim head coach on Nov. 26.
Amid a dark cloud of disturbing discontent within the franchise when Peters resigned — his former minor-league player Akim Aliu said via Twitter that the coach had directed a racial slur toward him during the 2009-10 season — Ward had to quickly weather the storm as the promoted assistant.
He not only leaned on a rich coaching resume in the OHL, ECHL, Europe, AHL and more than a dozen years as an NHL assistant in Boston, New Jersey and Calgary — a calm and measured demeanour moved the mood meter from panic to pleasure on the ice and in the room.
It’s why the Flames won their first seven games under Ward’s direction.
“It’s the having fun thing,” Flames captain Mark Giordano said before Sunday’s loss. “When every win is a relief, it’s not a good thing and when every loss feels like you’re at rock bottom, that’s when you know you’re not going through a good time.
“He has been an easy guy to communicate with. We went through a tough time as an organization together and handled it the right way. We wanted to make sure we stuck together and his little tweaks have helped our system. He sees the game well and is not afraid to tell us when we’re doing things right or wrong.”
There was a noticeable difference in the mood of the Sunday morning scrum and the atmosphere in the room. Ward sounded a lot like Green in preaching a partnership with his players as opposed to a dictatorship.
“When you have players who feel like they have ownership, they’re a lot more committed and a lot more accountable,” said the 57-year-old Waterloo, Ont. native.
“It’s making sure we’re really hitting on what we need to focus on in practice, so we’re not out there a long time. It’s short, hard and a get off.”
LUCIC HAS COACH IN CORNER:‘Just be Looch. Play your game. Do what you do. He brings a strong winning culture to our room.’
Three goals in 39 games aren’t going to move the applause meter.
However, three goals in a four-game span following a coaching change piqued the curiosity of how Milan Lucic can benefit the Flames in the tough second-half push toward a playoff position. The Vancouver native not only has a history with Ward — the Flames interim boss was an assistant coach with the Bruins for seven seasons — so Lucic is getting a lot more rope to just do his thing.
Lucic had a career-high 30 goals as a 22-year-old terror as the Bruins outlasted the Canucks in the seven-game 2011 Stanley Cup final. He seems far removed from four additional 20-goal seasons with the Bruins, Kings and Oilers, but Ward sees something else.
What’s the message to a 31-year-old left winger with three more years at a US$6 million annual cap hit, who was aligned with Derek Ryan and Dillon Dube on Sunday?
“Just be Looch,” said Ward. “Play your game. Do what you do. He brings a strong winning culture to our room and we have a lot of guys who don’t have a lot of playoff experience, so the intangibles that he brings to our room are huge.
“He knows what it takes to win and he preaches it all the time on the bench and he works a lot with our young guys. He’s almost like an extra coach some days. And you know what you’re going to get on the ice with him all the time — the effort, the physicality and the strong defensive play.
“And playing with a right-shot centre has always helped. He had David Krejci in Boston. That plays into his strengths with us and a lot of nights it’s been our best line.”
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