With Jordan Schroeder sidelined by an illness, the Minnesota Wild made an emergency call-up from their AHL farm team in Des Moines Wednesday morning, bringing up Cristoph Bertschy from the Iowa Wild.
听
With that announcement, hockey fans across North America鈥攏ay, the world!鈥攔ose up as one in anticipation of Christoph Bertschy facing off against Sven Baertschi, a sure-to-be-legendary Bertschy vs. Baertschi battle.
听
It would be the first time the two B(a)ertsch(i/y)s would appear in the same game since the 2012 World Junior Championships, when the two played in two games as teammates for Switzerland, and possibly the first time the two had ever played against each other. The stakes could not possibly have been higher; this game would surely go down in the annals of history.
听
Alas, it was not to be.
听
Bertschy played, but Baertschi didn't, sitting in the pressbox so Jake Virtanen could get in the lineup, and the world was robbed of the Bertschy vs. Baertschi meeting they deserved. This game could have broken every viewership record in the books, such was the international interest, but hey, at least I watched this game.
听
听
- Seriously, though, the potential confusion for John Shorthouse with two B(a)ertsch(i/y)s on the ice could have been delightful, particularly since they inexplicably both wear #47. I mean, Shorty鈥檚 a pro, so he probably would have been fine, but I was really hoping for 鈥淏urrows to Bartkowski, up to Baertschi, taken away by Bertschy, but Bartkowski pokes the puck away and now Baertschi battles Bertschy along the boards.鈥�
- This game did not start out well for the Canucks, who got hemmed in the defensive zone for long stretches in the first period. Ryan Miller was up to the challenge, giving up lots of rebounds, but recovering well to make some good saves early on, keeping the Wild off the board like a surfer鈥檚 broken leg.
- Here鈥檚 the thing: even a broken leg and Miller couldn鈥檛 do the same for the Wild for long, who opened the scoring on the power play, as the Canucks鈥� penalty killers all fixated on the puck along the boards, leaving Thomas Vanek, the Wild鈥檚 leading goalscorer, alone in the slot. In my professional opinion as a hockey writer, they shouldn't do that.
- The one positive that could be taken out of Sunday鈥檚 ugly game against the New Jersey Devils is that Radim Vrbata did break his slump, even if it was with less than a second remaining in the game. Even if it was meaningless in that game, it wasn鈥檛 meaningless for Vrbata, who seemed to take it as a positive sign. It literally wasn鈥檛, as it was a power play goal, so he didn鈥檛 get a plus.
- Despite being dominated in the opening frame, the Canucks before heading into the first intermission thanks to Vrbata鈥檚 freshly-buoyed confidence. Also thanks to Jared McCann鈥檚 lovely backhand pass to set up Vrbata, who then confidenced the puck just inside the far post. Confidently.
- Underrated part of that goal: Alex Edler鈥檚 no-look, cross-ice pass to send McCann into the offensive zone. I mean, he鈥檚 no 鈥攈e鈥檚 severely lacking in swag鈥攂ut look how much room McCann has on the right wing: every Wild player got sucked over to Edler鈥檚 side of the ice because he didn鈥檛 spare a glance towards McCann before passing.
- This was one of McCann鈥檚 best games, picking up the assist, taking a team-high 7 shot attempts, 4 of them on net, and even winning the majority of his faceoffs, going 5-for-9. More than that, his line with Vrbata and Chris Higgins was dominant in puck possession, something we haven鈥檛 been able to say about McCann, like, ever. The Canucks outshot the Wild 12-2 with McCann on the ice. The Wild only had 4 shot attempts with McCann on the ice. Never separate McCann and Vrbata. McCann should wear one of those and Vrbata always has to hold the tether. Even for bathroom breaks. It's for chemistry.
- Vrbata kept the good times rolling with . After a great save by Miller on a shorthanded Charlie Coyle breakaway, the Canucks power play set up. Henrik tried to find Dan Hamhuis backdoor, but his pass was picked off by Mikael Granlund, landing directly on Vrbata鈥檚 stick, almost like Henrik...planned it...holy hell, what if he did?
- One-goal lead heading into the third period: certain loss, right? Jannik Hansen breakaway: no chance at a goal, right? Wrong, you stupid hypothetical person asking those questions. Daniel Sedin sprung Hansen on the breakaway and the 贬辞苍苍颈苍驳驳谤忙惫濒颈苍驳 like the net was a mouth and he was peanut butter .
- Does that simile make sense? No. But it sure seems like it should.
- The goal was necessary, as the Wild pulled within one in the final minutes. Really, the Canucks played well in the third period, forechecking hard, creating offensive chances, and overall refusing to sit back defensively. It still took a crossbar and some lucky bounces to keep the Wild from sending this game to overtime. The Canucks鈥� defence, like , goes all to hell in the final frame.
- It鈥檚 not the youth to blame, either. Coyle鈥檚 goal that made it 3-2 was preceded by a brutal turnover by Henrik Sedin in the defensive zone and the Wild鈥檚 final-minute push for a tying goal was enabled by an Alex Edler penalty that came after Radim Vrbata turned the puck over in the offensive zone with an over-ambitious centring pass instead of getting the puck deep and killing the clock. I guess the Canucks need to start benching their veterans in the third period for these rookie mistakes.
