Let’s state the obvious and get it out of the way early: no one should want to see Quinn Hughes ejected from a hockey game. The sport is infinitely better with the Vancouver Canucks captain doing all of the things that make him one of the best players on the planet. Even the hockey fans in Ottawa, who surely hoped their Senators would benefit without Hughes in the game, were robbed of their one and only viewing this season of the reigning Norris Trophy winner. So in that respect, Sens fans lost twice on Saturday.
Look, we’re not here to re-litigate the call against Hughes. It happened, the already short-staffed Canucks persevered in the absence of their most important skater and won the hockey game. And beyond the result, there were three silver linings to the fact Quinn Hughes hit the showers much sooner than anyone could have anticipated.
A forced vacation
By the time the puck drops in Boston on Tuesday, Quinn Hughes will have skated a grand total of five shifts of game action in a week. This is a player that entered Saturday averaging a team-high 25:18 of ice time per game. With the Canucks about to play back-to-backs and then early starts in Buffalo and Detroit, Hughes will be well-rested for the toughest portion of the team’s schedule to date.
By the time they finish with the Red Wings on Sunday, the Canucks will have played four games in five and a half days. Honestly, an easy week at the office isn’t the worst thing that could happen to Hughes. He should be rested, ready and raring to go. And a motivated Hughes will very likely be a handful for opponents in the games ahead. Plus, the way Brady Tkachuk was running around Saturday, he likely would have spent the night looking for retribution on his buddy Hughes for the hit on Josh Norris. And Hughes needed no part of that. So maybe the on-ice officials did him a favour.
Hronek hrose to the occasion
People have wondered for a while now what Filip Hronek would look like without Quinn Hughes at his side. We’ve seen shifts here and there, but nothing like we saw on Saturday. And to his credit, Hronek was the best defenceman on the ice once Hughes was turfed from the game. He logged a season-high 27:38, had an assist, and was on the ice for all four Canucks goals on the night, and the team outscored the Sens 3-0 in his 12:49 at 5-on-5. But arguably his best work was done on the penalty kill right after Hughes had been ejected.
Hronek played 3:05 of the major power play with the Canucks leading 1-0. He was strong, poised, and looked like the kind of player who, perhaps, on occasion, should be tasked with carrying his own pair on this defense a little more often. Hronek will get Hughes back as his running mate on Tuesday and those two will continue to dominate together. But the Canucks now have some evidence to support Hronek being able to thrive away from the captain if that’s something they choose to explore in the future.
Split decision
Even before Hughes left the game, the Canucks flashed signals that they had seen enough of the Carson Soucy-Tyler Myers tandem. Myers started the night with Erik Brännström while Soucy was paired with Noah Juulsen. Now once Hughes was ejected, the Canucks were down to five defencemen which complicated matters when it came to finding constant partners. Soucy spent most of his night with Juulsen, led the Canucks in 5-on-5 ice time and saw his team outscore the Sens 2-0 in those minutes. It wasn’t perfect, but given the circumstances, that duo held up. Myers, on the other hand, skated primarily with Brännstrom as his most regular partner. In their 9:18 together at 5-on-5, the Canucks controlled 85.9% of the expected goals.
So that’s encouraging and certainly something to consider moving forward. Myers also made a great read to break up the attack and send the Canucks the other way on the play that led to Teddy Blueger’s 2-1 goal. On the night, Brännström logged a season-high 20:57 in all situations and looked good doing so. The biggest takeaway from the game, though, was that by choice and through extenuating circumstances, Soucy and Myers spent exactly 21 seconds together at 5-on-5. So maybe, just maybe, less is more when it comes to keeping those two apart. Based on the evidence presented Saturday, it’s certainly something for the team to consider.
Now, all of this is a remarkably small sample against an Ottawa team that is chasing its tail these days. There will certainly be stiffer challenges ahead for the Vancouver Canucks. But for one night in the nation’s capital with the body blow of losing their captain early, the rest of the defence stepped up in a big way to help the hockey club open its six-game road trip with a much-needed victory.
