Canucks Can't Scare Up A Win, Fall 4-2 To The Maple Leafs On Halloween

Another night, another loss for the Vancouver Canucks as they fell 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Brock Boeser scored on the power play while Max Sasson picked up his fourth goal of the campaign in the loss. In net was Leevi Meriläinen, who stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced. 

The Canucks once again struggled to put forth a full 60-minute effort. While Vancouver had a strong first period, their play in the second was the difference as Toronto outshot them 13-6 and outscored the team 2-0. With the defeat, the Canucks are now 1-11-1 over their last 13 games and have been outscored 57-30. 

"I thought the first period, we played great, and second period we defensively weren't as sharp as the first period," said Brock Boeser post-game. "They have too many good players over there. You could see them get their chances, their looks, and they tilted the ice, and they had momentum. We were kind of just sitting back and couldn't find our way out of it, and gave up a couple that cost us."

Unlike some losses this season, this game can't be blamed on a lack of effort. While Vancouver struggled in the second, they played a strong game but couldn't find a way to equalize in the third. Post-game, Head Coach Manny Malhotra spoke about where his team is in terms of playing the style of game he wants. 

"Getting closer," said Malhotra. "It's not close to where we need to be or need to get to, but there is progress. And it's frustrating as we talk about these games after loss after loss. But we do see improvement in different areas of our game, and it's just tough to see those when there's no correlation to wins." 

Saturday's matchup was also Jacob Quillan's first in a Canucks uniform. The 24-year-old was acquired earlier this month from the Maple Leafs and called up on Friday after Filip Chytil was placed on IR. In the end, Quillan logged 11:58 of ice time, recording one shot, one hit, and winning four of his nine faceoffs. 

"It was good to get the first opportunity against them, said Quillan post-game. "Not really playing for revenge or anything. Just fresh start with this organization, and glad to be here as they wanted me here. So I'm thankful to play for them." 

Finally, the biggest positive of the night was arguably the penalty kill. Vancouver went a perfect two for two and killed off 1:08 of five-on-three time. Considering all the issues the penalty kill has had this year, tonight should be viewed as a step in the right direction. 

Ultimately, this loss was similar to others suffered this season. The Canucks played well for a good portion of the game, but eventually lost due to a lack of execution and a poor stretch of play. In the end, Saturday was yet another tank-friendly game at Rogers Arena as Vancouver came close, yet still skated away with a loss. 

1st Period:

1:23- TOR: William Nylander (10) from Nick Paul and Jake McCabe

10:30- VAN: Brock Boeser (5) from Filip Hronek and Jonathan Lekkerimäki (PPG)

2nd Period:

3:47- TOR: Auston Matthews (11) from Darren Raddysh and Jack Roslovic

12:34- TOR: Zack MacEwen (2) from Morgan Rielly and Teddy Blueger

3rd Period:

9:27- VAN: Max Sasson (4) from Brendan Gallagher

18:23- TOR: Teddy Blueger (2) from William Nylander and Anthony Stolarz (ENG)

Up Next:

Vancouver Canucks vs Anaheim Ducks, November 3, 7:00 pm PCT

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