VANCOUVER — a recreation has gone critically flawed when the coach begins his press convention with a press release.
“I apologize to the followers,” Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet advised reporters Thursday evening. “We’re not enjoying ok at residence. It is on me. Guys performed gentle tonight. I believed we had been able to go; we weren’t. It is on me.
“I’ve obtained to get this staff to play more durable within the first intervals. Spurts right here and there, however not sufficient from numerous guys. So, obtained to go practise tomorrow and go proper again to the drafting board.”
With winger Dakota Joshua getting back from most cancers and rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki scoring his first Nationwide Hockey League purpose, the Canucks had causes to be impressed Thursday evening at Rogers Enviornment.
They misplaced 5-2 to the middling New York Islanders, who outshot the Canucks 24-6 within the first two intervals. The sixth Vancouver shot was added by the official scorer after the sport, and not one of the six was from inside 20 toes.
The primary half of the Canucks’ six-game homestand — two dismal losses sandwiched round a powerful win — displays the inconsistency that has plagued the staff because the season started.
They’re 6-1 on the highway, 2-3-3 at residence.
For those who had been grading the Canucks’ final seven video games, beginning with the 6-0 debacle towards the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 30 in Vancouver, the marks could be: F, C+, B, A, D, B, F.
On a report card, their trainer’s remark could be one thing like: “Johnny Canuck is a shiny, well-intentioned pupil, however his consideration wanders and he wants to use himself extra persistently.”
The mother and father could be known as in for a gathering.
Tocchet might be holding his personal conferences.
“We’re too gentle of a staff,” he stated, referring to the Canucks’ tendency at residence to evaporate in entrance of their checks. “You can’t guess the place the puck goes (on the forecheck). You do not have to kill individuals, you do not have to ram guys by way of the boards, though each now and again I would not thoughts it. I would relatively a man simply keep in entrance of a man. That is your man. We’re simply spinning off (individuals). It is obtained to cease. That is actually what it comes all the way down to.
“It is a irritating scenario as a result of the followers are (paying), what’s it, two, three, 5 hundred bucks. . . and we’re throwing some duds at them. So I apologize to the followers once more. We have to right this.”
From the time Lekkerimaki opened scoring on a rush 2:40 into the sport, shocking New York goalie Semyon Varlamov with a fast, heavy, short-side shot from the left-wing circle, the Canucks had two pictures the remainder of the primary interval: one from centre ice, the opposite from close to their very own blue line. These “pictures” got here 13 minutes aside. Varlamov might have been doing Sudoku.
Though the Canucks trailed everywhere in the ice, someway making one of many NHL’s oldest groups look quick, they didn’t path on the intermission as a result of the Islanders managed solely a poorly-defended power-play purpose at 17:23 from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Energy performs completed 5-1 for the Islanders, which was an correct reflection of zone stress.
You may need thought the Canucks’ second interval couldn’t presumably be worse than the primary. And also you’d have been flawed.
Quinn Hughes’ turnover led to a flukey double-deflection purpose for Islander Scott Mayfield 14 seconds into the center body. However there was no dangerous luck, solely dangerous defending, when Islander Pierre Engvall planted himself goal-side in entrance of defenceman Carson Soucy and scored simply on a rebound at 2:10 after Simon Holmstrom beat Canuck Teddy Blueger to the slot for a point-blank probability.
Not a lot mattered after that, together with the 20 volume-shots the Canucks tossed in direction of Varlamov within the third interval.
Naturalstattrick.com had the ultimate high-danger possibilities 11-2 for the Islanders at five-on-five.
“We simply maintain making a behavior of creating different groups’ nights manner too simple,” Canuck centre J.T. Miller stated. “They appear like they’ve time and house as a result of we do not do something to disrupt them on the forecheck. We turned over manner too many pucks at this time. So, yeah, it is not good.”
Nonetheless 8-4-3 regardless of their recurring issues, the Canucks face their first back-to-back video games of the season this weekend, towards the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday and the Nashville Predators the following evening.
“We have simply obtained to place in a full effort each evening,” defenceman Vincent Desharnais stated. “There isn’t any secret weapon. We’re simply too tender. We’re not enjoying to our identification. We obtained one purpose tonight and we simply stopped enjoying. They simply outplayed us. They wished the sport extra. That is what occurred, and that is what occurred towards another groups, too. It is simply unacceptable. We have simply obtained to be higher.
“We will lose video games. We won’t win all 82, so it is regular to lose video games. But it surely’s not regular to lose video games like we’re doing proper now. We’re letting our goalies down. We’re not enjoying to our requirements proper now. Now we have an enormous stretch of video games coming, and we have to determine it out. We have to come back collectively, play as a staff, play exhausting. That is our identification. That is when the Canucks are so exhausting to play towards: in-your-face hockey, straight forward. Now we have ability; we are going to rating objectives as soon as we get there. However we’re simply not enjoying exhausting sufficient. That is the underside line.”
