The Vancouver Canucks’ 4-3 loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars last night was anything but disappointing to fans or the Canucks organization. Ryan Kesler played his first game in more than ten months and almost everyone expected that in his first game back, Kesler would be slow to read plays and not in full game form. They were wrong. Kesler hit the ground running, scoring his first point with an assist on Chris Higgins’ goal and constantly outplaying the other team and a few of his team mates. Kesler also hit a few posts, had four shots on goal and won nine faceoffs, pretty good for a player who hasn’t played since last years playoffs.
The big story of the game, however, was Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin’s two points that leap-frogged him past former captain Markus Naslund as the Vancouver Canucks’ all time points leader. The standing ovation he received by the fans afterwards lasted through the rest of the play and continued through the next whistle, finally allowing Henrik to thank the fans in return. It was heart-warming to see such a deserving player get recognition from the sold out crowd in Rogers Arena. While the Canucks couldn’t hang on to the lead and get the win, it was a memorable game and will not be soon forgotten.