Vancouver fell 4-3 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In what was a game with plenty of chances, the Vancouver Canucks (38-16-7) fell 4-3 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins (27-21-8) on Tuesday night. Despite the loss, Vancouver tied their season point total from 2022-23, collecting their 83rd point of the campaign. The Cancuks also gave up a lead when leading after two for just the fourth time this season, dropping their record to 31-1-3.
Despite a strong effort from Thatcher Demko, mistakes cost Vancouver in their loss to the Penguins. While the Canucks did play well for parts of this game, costly turnovers and missed assignments let Pittsburgh back into the game and ultimately snagged the game-winner in overtime. Hopefully, this game will serve as a lesson for the rest of the season as Vancouver turns their focus to the L.A. Kings on Thursday night.
Quotes
Tyler Myers on the team's performance tonight:
"I didn't like the way you came on the second. First 10, 12 minutes, I thought it was a good opportunity for us to really step on them but we gave them life. We were throwing a lot of pucks in the middle, a lot of turnovers. We weren't getting pucks deep. And we have to realize and we have to mature as a group. That's when we're at our best. We have some guys that can really skate. When we don't get pucks down low, it doesn't allow them to do that. We got to grow as a group. I felt like we gave them a point tonight, an extra point and, just going to come together talk about it and keep getting better."
Brock Boeser on the team's performance:
"Yeah, I mean, we've talked about that when we have to play for 60. In the second, we let them back in the game, and we were just not playing to our standard of, you know, playing simple, getting pucks behind the D, so it costs us."
Rick Tocchet on turnover issues:
"There were a lot of turnovers. They were self-inflicted turnovers. That's really what it was. They made some turnovers, too; it was a turnover fest in the second period. It was who was going to make the less turnovers. They won."
Rick Tocchet on the play of his defence:
"Not too good. I thought our D were holding up pucks too long. You know, Pittsburgh is good at smothering, and if you get it by that layer, I think we would have been fine, but we're holding on too long. To be honest, a lot of pucks got knocked down. To be quite honest, a little sloppy tonight. I thought our game plan was to get by their layer, and we didn't, and we had to pay for it."
Facts and Stats
- Nils Höglander scores in his 200th NHL game
- Tyler Myers becomes the 27th defenceman in Canucks history to record 100 points
- J.T. Miller hits the 30-goal mark for the third consecutive season
- J.T. Miller ties Matt Cooke for ninth all-time on the franchise's all-time shorthanded goals list with eight
- Canucks score shorthanded for the first time since Nov. 24 against the Seattle Kraken
- Thatcher Demko moves into sole possession of sixth on the Canucks all-time points by a goaltender with five
Scoring Summary
1st Period
VAN: 10:23- Nils Höglander (18th) from Tyler Myers and Ilya Mikheyev
VAN: 17:43- Brock Boeser (34th) from J.T. Miller and Filip Hronek (PPG)
2nd Period
PIT: 2:13- Rickard Rakell (7th) from Sidney Crosby
PIT: 9:36- Rickard Rakell (8th) from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (PPG)
VAN: 10:05- J.T. Miller (30th) from Elias Pettersson and Thatcher Demko
3rd Period
PIT: 9:45- Lars Eller (11th) from Valtteri Puustinen and Kris Letang
Overtime
PIT: 1:42- Erik Karlsson (8th) from Lars Eller and Reilly Smith
Canucks Next Opponent
Up next for Vancouver will be a Pacific Division battle with the Kings. This will be the first of four meetings between the Canucks and L.A., who will face off twice in the next seven days. Game time is set for Thursday at 7:00 PM PT from Rogers Arena.
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