Pittsburgh Penguins

Undermanned once again, Vancouver Canucks shut out by Penguins once again
March 12, 2017, 3:49 PM ET [167 Comments]
Carol Schram
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Saturday March 11 - Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - Vancouver Canucks 0

Talk about a bad matchup! After losing 4-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road back on Valentine's Day, the Vancouver Canucks dropped a 3-0 decision to the defending Stanley Cup champions on Saturday night at Rogers Arena.

Such as they are, here are your highlights:



Matt Murray collected his second shutout of the year against Vancouver, making 27 saves to go along with his 29-stop performance back in February. But it was Ryan Miller at the end other end of the ice that was named the game's third star, thanks to his spectacular 45-save performance.

The Canucks did get two pucks past Murray, but both goals were disallowed. I have no problem with the call on Sven Baertschi's high stick, but I thought Mike Chaput's first-period tally should have counted.




He did get tangled up with Murray's skate, but don't you think he was being pushed into the crease by Ron Hainsey?



It's not like the Canucks lineup had a lot of scoring punch on Saturday night. We learned just before gametime that two more key players were added to the list of the ill and injured.




Granlund's absence meant that Alex Biega was back in the lineup at forward for the second straight game, while Philip Larsen drew in on the blue line. Grenier didn't spend much time at all with the twins—he ended up with 6:17 of ice time, while Biega and Joe LaBate were each under six minutes.

The two teams played the first period pretty evenly, but the Penguins took control in the middle frame, outshooting Vancouver 23-8 while Miller made save after save. Ian Cole finally got the visitors on the board, giving them a 1-0 lead with 3:36 to play in the second.

That one-goal deficit held until the 16:54 mark of the third, before Ryan Miller was able to get out of his net to give the Canucks the extra attacker.

As Vancouver valiantly pressed to try to score in the dying minutes, the Canucks' in-house DJ at Rogers Arena fittingly busted out Motley Crue's "Same Ol' Situation." Cheeky, but appropriate.

In the end, the Canucks were missing nine players from their main roster on Saturday.

Forwards: Granlund, Eriksson, Gaunce, Goldobin, Skille, Rodin

Defense: Gudbranson, Tanev

Goal: Markstrom

Not quite mumps-level, but they haven't been able to make any traction toward getting healthier. And who knows how many of the remaining skaters are playing through one injury or another?

With that in mind, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Vancouver acquired a new body today.




Shore's a 26-year-old forward who has good size—he's listed at 6'3" and 205 pounds. Originally drafted in the second round in 2009, Shore has 24 points in his 80 NHL games. He spent most of last season in the AHL, with the Stockton Flames.

As another former member of the Calgary organization, Shore has a pre-existing relationship with Sven Baertschi and Markus Granlund.




The Canucks did practice today—rare for a Sunday but perhaps necessary with all the line-juggling that's going on.




Sounds doubtful that we'll see Goldobin on the ice again before the end of this homestand on Thursday.




To wrap up today, a couple of quick notes on the Canucks' NCAA prospects.

Adam Gaudette's season ended on Saturday night as his Northeastern Huskies were eliminated in two straight games by Boston University in the Hockey East tournament quarterfinals.

Gaudette, 19, finished third in team scoring with 26-26-52 in 37 games—a breakout campaign in his second college season. His teammate, Zachary Aston-Reese, was Northeastern's leading scorer this year—a Hobey Baker candidate and a college free agent that the Canucks are pursuing.




Over in North Dakota, Brock Boeser got back into the lineup this weekend after missing last weekend's games due to injury. Though he was slotted onto the fourth line, Boeser had a goal and an assist on Friday, then added another goal on Saturday as the Fighting Hawks swept St. Cloud State to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff next weekend.

Both Gaudette and Boeser are candidates to play some pro games once their college seasons have concluded—either at the NHL or AHL levels. How such a move would impact their entry-level contracts is, in a word, complicated.

Based on this info, it looks like Gaudette could see his contract slide if he plays less than 10 games. Boeser, who's now 20, would burn a year of his contract as soon as he plays his first NHL game.










It'll be interesting to see how both players' situations play out—especially with the Canucks so short of bodies up front.