Canada Wins Gold! - This Week in CanucksLand.
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Now it’s time for this week in CanucksLand.
The week started off with team Canada beating Finland 5-3 in regulation. It was a good game for Canada, it got scary at the end but they were able to hold on and clinch their spot in the final against the USA.
Now it’s time for the big game, the finals Canada vs USA for gold in the four nations. The puck dropped and both teams came out swinging the play was fast and the were getting chances and Nathan Mackinnon would break the scoreless tie with a beautiful shot from close to the blueline and Canada would once again take a 1-0 early against the USA, but like last time the USA would answer with Brady Tkachuk scoring a greasy one in front of the net to tie the game for the States and this is when it would get scary for Canada as the USA would score again with Jake Sanderson putting one past Binnington to take a 2-1 lead making the game look like the round robin game. That would be broken when Mitch Marner would send Sam Bennett in and he would Roof it past Hellebuyck to tie the game and after a scoreless but entertaining third the game would go to overtime. I would like to start with an apology to Jordan Binnington as he make three amazing game saving saves on Matthews and Brady Tkachuk to keep Canada in this game. After Braydon Point would beat out a USA player to get a icing call, off the draw Cale Makar would ring it around to Marner and when Matthews saw him wide open he would leave his check to cut off Marners time and space, but he would leave McDavid the greatest player in the world wide open in the slot and after Marner passess it to him he would bury the golden goal to give Canada a 3-2 win in overtime and winning the Four Nations in the most viewed game in a long time and one of the best hockey games of all time i was so stressed in that overtime and i’m so happy and proud of this Canadian team.
Now back to the regular season with the Canucks facing off against the Golden Knights in Vegas. I do have a full article on the game if you want to check it out but I’ll go over it quickly here. I think it was a good game for the Canucks as they were close but would fall 3-1. Lankinen had another amazing game and the Canucks did have chances to tie the game at 2 and they even had one called back when Hoglander bounced one in off Blueger but Blueger had made contact with Adin Hill. If the Canucks win tonight (this was written on Sunday afternoon) then i won’t feel as bad as i do about the loss here, but they need points coming out of the break and they did get it.
Next I want to talk about Brock Boeser and what the Canucks can and Should do with him. The Canucks are projected to have $12 million dollars in cap space next season according to Puckpedia which would give them enough to resign Boeser, but as of right now the team and Boeser’s camp are not close to an extension and trade talks have reignited for Boeser and there's rumors that teams are calling about him. Now I don;t want to get into rumours but I will talk about the facts when it comes to a Boeser trade. He is currently second in team points with 35 making him the teams top scoring forward and is on pace for 53 points. He only has 18 goals and is on pace for 27 this season and compared to his 40 goal year last season it’s not his best year. I personally think that the Canucks should resign him and not trade him, but that might not be realistic and they would be better off getting assets for him. Now what is a realistic return for him, the Canucks are projected to have $11 million in cap space at the deadline and a Boeser trade would add to that. If they fall out of a playoff spot I think that getting draft picks in return would be a must. I know this draft is weaker, but two first round picks would go a long way for the team, now if they are in the playoffs I think that they should ride it out and try hard with an extension as Boeser was very valuable in the playoffs last year and could be that way again. Ultimately I would like Boeser to stay but it might not be the case and they would be smart to get assets for him.
Lastly I want to talk about Keifer Sherwood and how he’s been the best bottom 6 forward the Canucks have had since Tyler Motte. He recently became the fastest player to 300 hits in a season doing it in 52 games and on top of that he’s having a career year with 13 goals and is on pace to pass his career high in points of 27 with his currently at 23. Although the Canucks season has been disappointing he’s been a highlight and looks to hopefully push the Canucks to a playoff spot and hopefully a better season next year. This team needs valuable bottom 6 players like Sherwood if they want to win. Which brings me into the topic of the bottom 6 in Vancouver. it’s solid but it’s missing one more piece in my opinion and that's Drew O’Conner or Sherwood with them playing in the Top 6 right now it weakens our bottom 6. So the piece we need is a top 6 forward who would bump them down the line up and give that depth the boost from them and help us be a solid team. Overall, I know this might be a cherry pickled topic. It's still a good thing to look at because it shows that the Canucks have the players in the bottom 6 to help them win but they have them in the Wrong spots Because we are missing that one big piece up front.
In conclusion, the week has been great for Canada and okay for the Canucks, but if Hughes comes back then we should be poised to make a push for the playoffs and hopefully a Boeser extension. The Canucks face Utah, LA, Anaheim and Seattle next week.That is it for this week, I’ll see you guys next week in CanucksLand.