Kings 2, Canucks 1 (SO) – Win streak exceeded despite Halák’s heroic deeds

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One thing the Vancouver Canucks have been able to count on almost every night this season has been great goalkeeping.

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Thursday night in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena was yet another case of this, as the Canucks got an outstanding performance from Jaroslav Halák.

The Slovakian was upside down all night, giving his tired teammates a chance to win. In the end, the Canucks lost 2-1 in a shootout to the Los Angeles Kings. Their winning streak may be over, but they have still racked up points in the eight games that Bruce Boudreau has coached.

The Canucks were completely dominated in the second period, but only trailed 1-0 due to Halák, who also stopped a third-period penalty shot from Brendan Lemieux. Lemieux scored in the second half to put the hosts ahead.

Throughout 40 minutes, the Canucks had been outgunned with shots and plenty of chances. They had played the night before and had not played in the previous two weeks.

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Scoring goals in Halák’s starts hasn’t been one of the Canucks’ strengths this season: They had scored just 10 goals in the veteran’s six starts this season.

At least they got him a crucial one tonight, as Bo Horvat scored on a power play in the third period to tie the game at 1. And the Canucks pushed the play in the third, after those two tame opening periods.

The winner of the shootout was scored by Viktor Arvidsson.

This is what we learned …

One way

The Canucks had only five shot attempts in the second period. It was no surprise that the Kings scored the only goal of the middle stanza.

If the Canucks’ first period was some effort on a rope-a-dope, the second period was a pure beating.

And somehow they came out losing just one goal.

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In the second, the Kings drove the puck 32 times into the Canucks’ net in five-on-five. It was pure mastery of a team that looked pretty tired.

Holding on there

Halák made save after save in the center of the frame, none better than the one he made with just two minutes to go in the second intermission.

The Canucks left a hole in the top of the slot for Adrian Kempe to skate. The winger picked up a perfect angled pass from Anze Kopitar, who burst into the area down the right wing and then shot to find Kempe behind.

Kempe roared in, doing a backhand deke to the right, hoping to catch Halák leaning in the opposite direction, but the veteran goalkeeper managed to stretch, covering the back of the net and giving Kempe nowhere to put the puck.

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In addition to his third-period penalty save at Lemieux, he threw a glorious opportunity for Kopitar dead in the slot with just over a minute left in the third to preserve the Canucks’ hopes.

Light step

After an offside just 30 seconds into the game, the two teams played exactly 13 minutes of whistle-free hockey, establishing a breakneck skating pace but not accomplishing much.

There were shots fired and there were certainly no chances for any of the goalkeepers to freeze the puck.

The period itself took just half an hour to play, well below the usual 40 minutes it generally takes. The Canucks out-shot the Kings seven to five, but in terms of shot attempts, the Kings had the advantage, 16 to 11. And high-danger opportunities, opportunities within a foot or two of the goal area, They were 5-0 for the Kings, according to hockey data tracking website Natural Stat Trick.

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When asked during a quick-break phone call if he had ever heard of or remembered witnessing a full period without a whistle, Canucks retired man Jim Robson told Postmedia that he had no recollection of such a case.

He then joked: “I can’t remember many like the one we just saw though!”

The question of capacity

After the Ontario government announced that sports facilities in the province would be limited to 50 percent of capacity or 1,000 fans, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors announced that they would simply run out of fans altogether until allowed. again larger crowds.

When asked if a similar capacity reduction could be coming to places like Rogers Arena, the BC Health Ministry did not respond directly.

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“Public health continues to monitor what is happening in the province and around the world and we are prepared to adjust our approach as necessary to keep people safe,” the ministry said in an email.

There is an informational meeting with Provincial Health Official Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix on Friday morning. It remains to be seen if they announce further capacity reductions.

It’s also very possible that the NHL will simply reschedule the Canucks’ two home games next week (Jan. 5 vs. the New York Islanders, Jan. 8 vs. the Ottawa Senators).

The isolated

One question that is unclear is what happens if Brock Boeser, Phillip Di Giuseppe and Justin Dowling clear the isolation after five days due to a negative test result. The convention states that you cannot return to Canada until 14 days after infection, but The rules on the Canada Border Services Agency website are written in such a way as to suggest that all you really need to return to Canada is a negative test and to be free of symptoms.

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A source told Postmedia that they believed the three Canucks players could fly back to Canada if they did not show symptoms and were not quarantined through a negative test result. Official inquiries were made as to whether the three could return to Canada within 14 days to the Canucks, NHLPA and CBSA, but none responded as of press time.

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