Kraken 2 Canucks 1: Preseason Postgame PatDown

Pacific Northwest rivals grind through low-event night in Abbotsford

Jeff Paterson photo - Kraken 2 Canucks 1: Preseason Postgame PatDown

As hockey games go, that was certainly one. Not a good one, but a game nevertheless. Certainly the paying customers in Abbotsford deserved more from the Canucks and Kraken in terms of entertainment on Wednesday night. However, what they saw was a low-event affair contested by a mix of established NHL'ers and those that one day hope to be. In the end, the Kraken found a way to break a 1-1 tie with the winner just past the midway mark of the third period sending the Canucks to their fourth defeat in five preseason outings (1-3-1).

Here are some thoughts from the Abbotsford Centre:

*There is clearly some concern on the part of Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet about his team's inability to score in the preseason. The Canucks have eight goals in five exhibition games and five of them came in Satuday's 5-2 romp over the Oilers. Other than that, the Canucks have been held to one goal on three occasions and shutout in the other. Sure, Elias Pettersson, JT Miller and Quinn Hughes all skipped Wednesday's game in the Fraser Valley, and their absence was felt. But the game provided an opportunity for others to step up and Carson Soucy was the only one to score for Vancouver. Forwards have managed to put pucks in the net in just two of the team's five preseason games so far (Conor Garland in Seattle and Pettersson, Andrei Kuzmenko and Phil Di Giuseppe against Edmonton). It's been far too quiet for the likes of Anthony Beauvillier, Nils Höglander, Jack Studnicka, Dakota Joshua, Pius Suter and Nils Aman. All six were in uniform on Wednesday, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the box score.

*Casey DeSmith may be wondering what he got himself into when he was acquired by the Canucks. He has made two preseason appearances and has yet to see a forward score a goal for him. He was sharp in Edmonton last week when Quinn Hughes managed the Canucks lone goal and, while not busy facing just 16 shots on Wednesday, DeSmith made a handful of solid stops and watched as Carson Soucy scored the team's only goal. Somewhere Jaro Halak is looking on and nodding remembering his time in Vancouver when the Canucks seemingly could not generate offense when he was between the pipes.

*Seattle didn't have a shot on goal through the first 15 minutes of the game and finished the first period with only two. However, one of them went in moments after a Kraken power play. While the visitors didn't put many pucks on net in the opening period, it felt like they controlled play and had the run of offensive zone time. Rick Tocchet felt the same way after the game admitting he liked his team's second and third periods, but he wasn't thrilled with the first. He also noted that while he liked the Canucks penalty kill, he doesn't like how many times the PK is being tested in the preseason. On Wednesday, the power plays were 4-1 in Seattle's favour. Tocchet knows his team needs to rid itself of some bad habits before next Wednesday's regular season opener.

*In terms of roster battles, there were few standouts for the Canucks on Wednesday. Cole McWard suited up for the fourth time in the preseason and this time didn't have Quinn Hughes to lean on. Instead, McWard was paired primarily with Guillaume Brisebois who took a pair of minor penalties. The duo was fine, but neither player took a step forward in trying to lockdown a spot in the opening night line-up. The same can be said for Christian Wolanin, although the Canucks had just one (abbreviated) power play -- an area Wolanin likely would have been used. Up front, the Joshua-Aman-Studnicka line was invisible for much of the night at even-strength while Beauvillier whiffed on a solid scoring chance on a second period rebound. And Nils Höglander has regressed from the early days of training camp when he started alongside Pettersson and Kuzmenko. On Wednesday, he failed to muster much in any area of the game playing on a line with Brock Boeser and Aatu Raty.

*Full credit to those that purchased tickets for NHL preseason hockey in Abbotsford. From goal line to goal line on both sides of the rink, the stands were full. But it was impossible not to notice several sizeable pockets of empty seats in both end zones at the Abbotsford Centre. Once the Canucks line-up was revealed early Wednesday, that likely didn't do wonders for walk-up sales in the hours leading to puck drop. You also have to wonder if perhaps the novelty of preseason NHL hockey has worn off a little in Abbotsford with the AHL Canucks ready to start their season in two weeks time. Fans can see many of the players that played on Wednesday for AHL prices staring on October 20th. Whatever the case, if the Canucks thought bringing the NHL preseason to Abbotsford once again would produce an automatic sellout, that wasn't the case. Surely Hughes and Pettersson would have sold a few more tickets. So maybe there is a lesson to be learned.

The Canucks have a team day off on Thursday and will finish the preseason on Friday night at Rogers Arena against Calgary.