‘It wasn’t there tonight’: Canucks suffer most mystifying loss yet

VANCOUVER — By definition, the next normal means a decrease threshold for disappointment. A lot is anticipated from the Vancouver Canucks, who additionally anticipate a lot from themselves.

Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on dwelling ice could have been probably the most disappointing of the season and, with simply 5 Vancouver wins in 16 video games at Rogers Area, that’s saying one thing.

There have been a handful of equally perplexing performances by the Canucks — “duds” coach Rick Tocchet referred to as them throughout an particularly dismal homestand in November — which are nearly not possible to determine even with the varied challenges the workforce has confronted within the opening third of the Nationwide Hockey League season.

Saturday’s loss is probably the most mystifying but, coming with the workforce nearly again to full power and simply two nights after a 4-0 win towards the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers that was pretty much as good and full because the Canucks have regarded this season.

J.T. Miller is again. Thatcher Demko is again. Brock Boeser is totally wholesome. Jake DeBrusk is scoring and Conor Garland is enjoying the very best hockey of his profession. Elias Pettersson was enjoying his greatest hockey of his season till Miller returned two video games in the past and, till Saturday, so was Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.

After which, after a relaxation day Friday, they opened Saturday’s annual reminder of the 2011 Stanley Cup Ultimate by getting outshot 16-4 by way of 20 minutes by Brad Marchand’s workforce. Pure Stat Trick had high-danger scoring probabilities 11-0 for the Bruins.

Torched 5-1 and 8-1 in Winnipeg and Seattle to open its western highway journey, Boston scored twice within the first interval, twice within the second and 26 seconds into the third.

“Let’s face info, we have now 4 or 5 guys, they’re struggling,” Tocchet informed reporters post-game. “They’re struggling to get emotionally invested within the recreation, and that is my job to get these guys (invested). Sure guys, we have got to seek out one other gear from them. They have to grasp that it is the NHL, and you’ll’t play one good recreation and two dangerous or no matter. 

“This can be a recreation, a sport, the NHL, the place you need to be jacked as much as play the sport. It’s a must to be emotionally within the recreation. Typically the fellows, it takes them like half-hour to get within the recreation for no matter motive.”

That is about Tocchet’s harshest normal criticism of his gamers because the coach mentioned within the playoffs’ second spherical final spring that the Canucks couldn’t beat the Oilers “with 12 guys.”

Talking about this season, Hughes mentioned: “I imply, we have been capable of win some video games with out a few of these guys (who have been lacking) simply because our compete degree was excessive and depth. And I feel that is what it comes right down to.”

Down solely 2-0 after the primary interval on account of Demko’s work in his second begin in practically eight months, the Canucks have been nonetheless within the recreation when the center interval started.

Tocchet pooled Garland, Boeser and Miller onto one line. And on the second shift of the interval, the Canucks surrendered a breakaway aim to Pavel Zacha at 1:12 — from a neutral-zone faceoff — when defenceman Mark Friedman pinched and Carson Soucy was caught on the improper facet of the ice.

By any measure, with or with out the puck, the Canucks have been dreadful in their very own zone. They couldn’t make a go or weren’t even making an attempt to. They banked pucks off the glass or dumped them down the ice or just gave them again to the Bruins to regroup within the impartial zone and launch one other assault.

“I simply did not perceive the primary interval,” Tocchet mentioned. “I imply, we have now performs to be making (and) we’re icing a puck. Or a ahead’s obtained a puck with 5 toes of fine ice to take and make a play and we dump it in. I do not know if that is nervousness. I do not know what it’s. We had a time off yesterday, we had some guys below the climate. Possibly having a time off … I do not know. We have got to attempt to determine it out shortly.

“To me, the icing is inexcusable for all of us. I am not simply blaming the defence; it is the forwards. That to me simply provides the opposite workforce plenty of juice.”

It wasn’t simply the defence, however the Canucks’ blue line on Saturday, except for Hughes and maybe Noah Juulsen, didn’t carry out to NHL requirements not to mention the requirements of a workforce aiming to enhance on a 51-win season from a yr in the past.

Tocchet mentioned this week that the house hex is now extra psychological than bodily, though it positive regarded like each on Saturday.

It was so dangerous for the Canucks that respectful rookie Max Sasson wasn’t capable of have fun his first NHL aim, for which he had been ready and dreaming about for his lifetime.

Miller set him up at 10:13 of the ultimate interval, then quietly collected the puck for Sasson. A minimum of he obtained that.

“I do not know why, however guys are tense at dwelling for no matter motive,” Tocchet mentioned. “We appear slightly bit extra relaxed on the highway to make a play. Right here, for some motive … we simply wish to punt it as quickly as we get it. So we have got to determine that out.

“We have been simply watching a video after the sport; there’s 10- to 12-foot passes accessible, and we’re flipping pucks. Not simply the defence, it is a group. However some guys tried tonight, so I am unable to throw all people below the bus. Some guys actually labored exhausting tonight.”

Now 2-2-1 on their homestand, having adopted one among their greatest video games this season with one among their worst, the Canucks face the Colorado Avalanche Monday at Rogers Area earlier than enjoying back-to-back highway video games in Utah and Las Vegas.

They’re 15-9-5 this season however, truthfully, no one can say with certainty which workforce the Canucks shall be on Monday.

“If we wish to be a extremely, actually good workforce, we have now to seek out methods to string these (good) performances collectively,” Hughes mentioned. “Such as you mentioned, we performed actually good towards Florida. And it wasn’t there tonight.”

ICE CHIPS: After a powerful return to the lineup from damage on Thursday, defenceman Derek Forbort was unable to play Saturday on account of sickness circulating by way of some Canucks. Goalie Kevin Lankinen additionally stayed away from the workforce, making Arturs Silovs the backup to Demko towards the Bruins.