Nurse Returns, But Problems Still Persist in Vancouver

With questions swirling about whether or not Sarah Nurse would be the key that the Goldeneyes have been missing this season, her return for the Battle of Bay Street helped, but couldn't fix, the real issues the expansion team has been facing.

Nurse, who scored the Vancouver Goldeneyes' first goal in their home opener on November 21, missed the next 11 games with an injury. While it was no surprise that she was missed both on and off the ice by the Goldeneyes, the team just did not look the same without her in the lineup.

It was something that not even head coach Brian Idalski had expected when the Canadian was away from the team.

"She's very calming on the ice because she's super responsible, her hockey IQ's off the charts with simple plays. Yeah, we missed that a lot more than I really thought we would, especially off the start here," he said in December. "Leadership-wise, energy-wise, and just who she is as an athlete and player, [she's] pretty special."

And miss her they did. Prior to her return on January 17, the Goldeneyes were last in the league with only three wins, one of which they earned in her only game of the season. They were also tied for last place in goals for and against.

They've also had difficulty making simple plays and doing the little things well. They are routinely outshot by their opponents, averaging about 24 shots per game, compared to an average of 30 shots per game against. And even though the team often does manage a third period come back of some variety, either in shots for or in goals for, the lack of effort in the first two periods does not go unnoticed.

Not even a powerplay has proven to be a good opportunity for the Goldeneyes to get on the board. Ahead of the January 17 game, Vancouver sat at just 10% on the powerplay.

When the Goldeneyes did manage to produce offensively, it was up to the defenders to get it done. Claire Thompson leads the team in points, while Sophie Jaques leads in goals. Very few of the team's top forwards have found their stride this season, with Hannah Miller and Michelle Karvinen only having one goal apiece through the first 12 games.

In the faceoff dot, the forwards are struggling as well. Vancouver is ranked last in faceoff win percentage in the league.

Both Campbell and Maschmeyer have been strong, but they can't do anything about being unable to score.

So, as Sarah Nurse came off the long-term injured reserve and returned to the lineup for the Goldeneyes' first matchup of the season against the Toronto Sceptres, all eyes were on her possible impact on the game. Could she have been the one piece that was missing?

The answer? Yes, but ultimately, no.

As is evident from the stats above, no single player could possibly fix bad turnovers, being outshot, a lack of energy, bad defensive zone play, an inability to score, and the second-worst PP% in the league.

And yet, her presence was felt, both in the locker room and on the ice.

"Having Sarah back was a bit of a lift, and I thought [she] had a real impact, just on the bench, in the locker room, the whole feeling," Idalski said after Nurse's first game back.

Nurse scored the only Goldeneyes goal of the game, tipping a shot in from the point.

"I knew I wanted to make an impact on the ice," Nurse said after Saturday's game, "And I mean, that doesn't necessarily mean on the score sheet, but, you know, you have to go where goals are scored. We had a great play from our D, Nina, and it ended up going into the net. So it's great to get that goal for the girls."

While Coach Idalski said he didn't want to rush her back, Nurse played 22 minutes and took the second-most faceoffs, winning 7 of 19. She also fired 3 of the team's 24 shots on goal. It's likely that she'll get more ice time and more power play time as she fits back into the lineup.

And yet, many of the problems still persist. There were times in the game where the Sceptres had sustained offensive zone time because the Goldeneyes were scrambling in their own zone. The Sceptres outshot the Goldeneyes 20-4 in the first period, and they scored first. Only a press late in the third period by the Goldeneyes gave them a chance to win this game. And even though they came away with one point from the game, they still only have one win on the road through eight games.

"A lot of things are still within our game and what we're doing," Coach Idalski said after Saturday's game when asked about what he would take away from this game before the team plays the Sceptres again on Thursday, "So we need to clean up the way that we walk into the beginning of periods, the way that we turn the puck over, and how we're managing these situations. The process has been slower than everyone thought."

Nurse echoed his statement, saying that she'd had a bird's eye view of the past 11 games of the season, "Obviously, the process has been a bit slower, but we're right there... As the game went on and we started kind of figuring out how to combat what they were doing, I thought we did a good job of that. Once we tighten our game up and really make those hard plays, the game gets easier for us."

An upcoming international break, followed by a long homestand, is hopefully just what the team needs to get back on its feet. But with a third of the season half-over, the fixes need to come before it's too late.

Note: After this article was written, the Vancouver Goldeneyes traded for Mannon McMahon, Anna Meixner, and Anna Shokhina from the Ottawa Charge, in exchange for Michela Cava, Emma Greco, and Brooke McQuigge. Read more about that here.