After blowing a third-period lead and surrendering the lsing goal with 30 seconds left against Calgary in Game 1, the Canucks are feeling the pressure for tonight’s all-important tilt at Rogers Arena.
Just as Daniel Sedin.
“I don’t think we played a bad game last game, but we lost,” Sedin said, per Sportsnet. “Tonight we look at it as a must-win.”
Sedin has been a hot topic over the last 24 hours, thanks in large part to his ice time in Game 1. Vancouver’s leading point-getter in the regular season played just 16:14 while fellow forwards Nick Bonino (16:24) and Chris Higgins (16:53) played more.
“We play our best when we’re fresh,” Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins explained of his ice-time distribution. “Maybe [the Sedins] should have had a couple more minutes, probably wouldn’t have hurt. But … there’s no sense burning them out one game.
“They’re going to be fresh for the next game, and maybe in the end that’ll pay off.”
In light of those comments, it’ll be interesting to see how much Desjardins plays the Sedins tonight -- especially if it’s tight in the third period, like it was on Wednesday. Sedin played just 4:45 in the final frame in Game 1 ; by comparison, grinding winger Derek Dorsett played 4:59.