When I spoke to Brendan Gaunce last week about what he needed to do to get back into and stay in the lineup, there was one word he used that stood out: “irreplaceable.” He wants to be a player that you can’t take out of the lineup because no one else can do what he does.
So far in his career, he’s proven himself defensively, but that’s not enough to be “irreplaceable.” For that, you have to provide something at the other end of the ice as well, and that’s where Gaunce has struggled. Heading into this game, Gaunce had just three career goals in 108 NHL games. Two of them deflected in off his body and the other was on a shot that fooled a goaltender because his stick broke while he was shooting.
Against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, however, Gaunce came a hair away from doubling his career goal total. With intentional, stick-intact shots. A Brendan Gaunce two-goal game sounds like fiction, but it was pure, unadulterated fact. And he did it while playing on a shutdown line that played big minutes against the Blackhawks’ top line.
A shutdown forward that can also kick in a couple key goals? Gaunce looked pretty damn irreplaceable when I watched this game.
- Obviously it’s just one game and it’s not like Gaunce transformed into some sort of offensive dynamo — his two goals were on his only two shot attempts all game — but it’s still great to see a hard-working player like Gaunce get rewarded.
- The Canucks showed some surprising physicality early with a couple big open-ice hits. It was surprising mainly because of who delivered them. First Sam Gagner drilled Tomas Jurco in the neutral zone, then Sven Baertschi dropped Anthony Duclair in the defensive zone. They were the most surprising hits since “Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes. Obviously it’s a fantastic song, but how in the world was it a number one hit?
- Unfortunately, the tough guy version of Sam Gagner didn’t last long. He played three more shifts in the first period after his big hit, then left the game with an upper body injury. It’s unknown if the injury was related to the hit, though Gagner did seem to get the worst of it at the time.
- Brock Boeser is struggling to find space to unleash his award-winning shot, as teams are keying in on him and getting into his shooting lanes, but he has still been able to create opportunities for others. He tried to give Henrik Sedin his first goal in 33 games midway through the first period, chipping a rebound out of a scrum with Blackhawks goaltender Anton Forsberg down and out. Unfortunately, Henrik has the slowest release since Chinese Democracy and Forsberg was able to lunge across to make the save.
- The Blackhawks opened the scoring when Boeser’s former North Dakota teammate Nick Schmaltz sped past him on the wing, picked up a pass, and drove to the net behind an unsuspecting Derrick Pouliot. If only the defenceman had been Troy Stecher, it could have been a full-on Fighting Hawks reunion. Schmaltz made a strong move to the backhand that opened Jacob Markstrom up like a daisy in the sunshine, allowing him to tuck the puck five-hole.
- Five-hole was a theme in this game. When Stecher sprung Gaunce and Bo Horvat on a 2-on-1 with a bank pass, Gaunce wristed the puck five-hole on Forsberg faster than Forsberg could say, “I have no idea who this guy is.” Forsberg likely anticipated a pass to the more prolific Horvat, so even as Gaunce was in the act of shooting, he didn’t react fast enough, leaving plenty of room between his pads.
- Boeser’s hard work to create chances for others showed up again on the Canucks’ second goal, as he out-battled his old buddy Schmaltz, getting the puck to Alex Edler at the point. He passed across to Troy Stecher, who whipped a puck towards the net, where Horvat got tippier than a first-time paddle-boarder and tipped the puck five-hole on Forsberg.
- Canucks fans sometimes (or most of the time) complain about unfair reffing, though that’s not unique to the Canucks fanbase by any means. But sometimes you don’t want the refs to give the Canucks a power play, like when Henrik was “tripped,” but actually just seemed to lose an edge of his own accord. If the ref lets that go, it’s a minor fall (with no major lift) and everything’s fine. But the ref called a trip, so now it looks like a dive, and suddenly Blackhawks fans are being insufferable on Twitter. Just let it go.
- Jake Virtanen showed some more tantalizing flashes of potential in this game. He lacks consistency, but it’s understandable why some see a top-six future for the Abbotsfordian One. He did some great work on the forecheck leading up to the 3-1 goal, forcing a turnover, then flinging the puck on net when Henrik Sedin’s pass back to him was deflected. Daniel made like the puck was the hatches, and battened it down. Or, batted it down. Five-hole on Forsberg, as is tradition.
- After the Blackhawks came within one off a Boeser turnover, which I dropped the gloves with earlier, Gaunce put the game out of reach with his second goal. He broke out with Loui Eriksson, who drove wide on Erik Gustafsson, creating a little spaece to centre the puck. Meanwhile, Gaunce showed his strength by getting his stick on top of Brent Seabrook’s and refusing to let it be lifted. When the pass came, Gaunce elevated it like a master chef, surprising Forsberg, who was obviously expecting it to go five-hole.
- Full credit to Gaunce’s linemates, Brandon Sutter, Loui Eriksson, and occasionally Markus Granlund. They were effective in a shutdown role and created some offence along the way. I’m not a big believer in overplaying a shutdown line, but I am a big believer in Brendan Gaunce.
- Since the shutdown line was on the ice to defend the lead late, Gaunce had two opportunities to complete the hat trick into the empty net. One was blocked by Jordan Oesterle, while the other missed the net from within the defensive zone. Good thing. I’m not sure the world is ready for a Brendan Gaunce hat trick. There are too many other insane things going on right now.
