Game #47 Vancouver Canucks vs. Winnipeg Jets game recap

The Canucks are at the end of a tumultuous three week 7 game road trip. Some good news and some bad news heading into the game. The good news: Bo Horvat makes his return to the lineup after missing 6 weeks with a broken foot. As for the bad news, defenseman Erik Gudbranson was placed on the IR with an injured back prior to the game, effectively ending his availability until after the all-star game. One other tidbit of news, forward Michael Chaput has been placed on waivers with the intention of sending him back to Utica if he clears. Now onto the game recap

Game Highlights

• Patrick Laine scored his 21st goal of the season in what turned out to be the only goal of the game
• Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck had a 29 save shutout. There was a scary moment with three minutes left when Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey's stick clipped Hellebuyck just above the eye. Luckily, the trainers were able to patch him up and Hellebuyck finished the game
• Canucks backup Anders Nilsson had a strong game stopping 35 shots and allowing just Laine's shot, which he had no chance on, to beat him
• both teams were 0-2 on the PP

My Take

• The Winnipeg Jets swept the season series vs. the Canucks
• I thought this was easily the Canucks best game vs. the Jets this season. The other 2 games they were never really in. Today, they hung with the Jets and could have won this game with a bit of puck luck
• Bo Horvat, not surprisingly, looked like the freshest Canuck given it was his first game in six weeks whereas the rest of the team had a short turnaround from last night's loss. Horvat finished the game with 19:05 ice time and was on the ice for the lone goal against. He had his chances and should get better as he gets his timing back after the lengthy absence
• Jake Virtanen was scratched to make room for Horvat. Last night was a rough game for him. Hopefully he does better next chance he plays, which could be next game, depending on the status of Vanek. Thomas Vanek was hit  hard a couple of times. While he finished the game, he may be sore tomorrow.
• Now that the team is healthy again, save for Gudbranson, the Canucks should have a better chance to win most nights.