Canucks Player Grades: Sherwood indispensable in 4-3 SO win vs. Blues

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The question now is: Where would the Vancouver Canucks be without Kiefer Sherwood?

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Vancouver’s favourite hockey team is now down nine players, after Brock Boeser took a shot right in the jewels in the game’s opening minute.

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Such a moment could have crushed the spirit of the Canucks, who have run through one of the most unfortunate stretches of injuries in living memory. How many more cases of bad luck can they encounter?

They surely must be hoping that if anyone is to be, say, struck by lightning, it not be Sherwood.

The winger is a bolt of energy and you worry that being hit by electricity from the sky might instead dim his powers. God knows the Canucks need his powers right now.

Sherwood had a hat trick Thursday in St. Louis, one of two major factors guiding them to a 4-3 shootout win over the Blues. The other was Kevin Lankinen — more on him in a moment.

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Sherwood, though, is up to nine goals on the season. The Canucks have 32 goals on the year, which means he’s been good for 28 per cent of the team’s goals.

For comparison’s sake, Wayne Gretzky scored 92 goals in 1981-82. His Oilers scored 417 games, which means the Great One accounted for 22 per cent of his team’s goals.

Kevin Lankinen’s night

When the second St. Louis goal went in, you couldn’t help but think of the talking point that’s come up more than once in the last week or so: Is Kevin Lankinen turning into a problem?

It had not been a good start to the year to the Canucks’ second keeper, with his save percentage well under .900.

But he was electric the rest of the way. He did yield another goal, but he had no chance on that one. He had 36 saves on the night, giving his team a chance to win.

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They won because Jake DeBrusk had the lone goal in a shootout.

Injury record

If you are wondering what the record for most injuries inside your first dozen games on a season is … well you’re looking at it.

According to the excellent NHLInjuryViz account on Bluesky, no team in recent memory has had as bad a start to the year as the Canucks have had, losing nine players inside the season’s first 12 games.

One hopes that what Boeser is dealing with is just a bruise, and that he’ll be able to play Saturday in a hometown game for him in Minnesota.

Now let’s take a look at how these Canucks fared on the night …

Forwards

Elias Pettersson: B

He’s being leaned on heavily right now and he’s rising to the occasion. He was an even player despite taking on the tough St. Louis matchups. Didn’t look like scoring but the Canucks just needed his smart play on this night. Dominated on faceoffs.

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Jake DeBrusk: C+

His finish was better than most of his night: He got buried in his own end defensively and struggled to make an offensive difference before potting his winning goal in the shootout.

Brock Boeser: Incomplete

Did that hit him in the you-know-whats? One 33-second shift does not a fair grade make.

Lukas Reichel: C+

He gets on the puck well but he’s struggling to get his shot off quickly enough. Another game with some great scoring opportunities that he can’t deliver on.

Evander Kane: B

Great forecheck that led to a turnover that became a Sherwood goal. Another great forecheck led to the moment we’d all been waiting for: An actual goal. And then it wasn’t a goal. But it was a heckuva shift. This was probably his best game in blue and green.

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Kiefer Sherwood:A

Johnny on the spot for his first goal, then lasers for his second and third goals. Team MVP right now.

Aatu Installments: C+

Winning lots of faceoffs and that’s good because he’s still struggling to be noticed offensively.

Drew O’Connor: B-

He’s really back on his groove as a forechecker.

Mackenzie MacEachern: C

He’s the 19th forward to dress for the Canucks this season. They used 22 forwards all of last season.

Max Sasson: C+

Continues to skate well. He’s found a nice role on this team.

Arshdeep Bains: C+

Another solid game. Had a really nice scoring chance. Should have buried it.

Linus Karlsson: B-

His best game as a Canuck? Played well on the boards and defensively. With Boeser out, got extra ice time and used it well.

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Defence

Junior Pettersson: C+

Got caught too deep on opening goal by Holloway. Role reduced as game wound on. He’s a bit up and down these days.

Filip Hronek: C+

He’s had to play a ton before but he wasn’t great on this night. Struggled to control his own end. He’ll be better.

Marcus Pettersson: B

Played huge minutes and made a positive difference in just about every one.

Tyler Myers: B

Some vintage forays. He and M. Pettersson remain a solid duo.

P-O Joseph: C+

A competent game under pressure.

Tom Willander: B-

Rookie is finding his feet. Still needs to improve his reads and some puck decisions, but skated miles and was deserving of his ice time.

GOAL

Kevin Lankinen: B+

The first two goals, you need a save there. No getting around that. But he got so much better as the game went along and was the Lankinen we saw so often last season.

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