Canucks’ Offence Stalls In 5–2 Loss To The Detroit Red Wings

The Vancouver Canucks’ losing streak has officially hit nine games. Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Lekkerimäki were the two Canucks who found the back of the net in the team’s 5–2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, with their two goals making up two of the 13 shots Vancouver produced all game. In net, Kevin Lankinen stopped 26 of 31 shots faced. 

For the fourth time this season, the Canucks surrendered not only the first goal of the game, but also the second. Lucas Raymond and William Wallinder tucked the puck past Lankinen to give Detroit the early 2–0 lead. They’ve now surrendered the first two goals of the game in consecutive matchups, having also done so against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. This was the seventh time Vancouver surrendered the game’s opening goal. 

Throughout the season, in the games that Vancouver has surrendered the first two or more goals, they’ve actually been able to put up valiant come-back efforts that see them either tie — or come near to tying — the game. They severely lacked that urgency in tonight’s disappointing offensive efforts. 

Vancouver managed to get one back on the power play after Anton Johansson sent the puck over the glass. While up a player, Pettersson cut the deficit to one after a couple attempts at firing vintage one-timer shots from the dot. This goal put Pettersson in sole-possession of two more franchise milestones — 10th all-time in power-play goals and eighth all-time in power-play points. 

The second period was a brutal one for the Canucks. While they surrendered one goal to Michael Rasmussen, as a whole, Vancouver was unable to get the puck out of their own zone. They had very few — if any — chances in Detroit’s zone and did not register a single shot on goal during this span. This came after a first period that also saw them produce very limited offence. 

“[We’re] not playing nearly aggressive enough,” Drew O’Connor said post-game. “I think, as forwards, we have to do a much better job of getting on the forecheck and getting pucks back to our D cleanly, so they can deliver pucks. When we get the pucks to them, they can put it on net for us. So it starts with that.” 

Vancouver finally managed to produce their next shot on goal around eight minutes into the third period, nearly 40 minutes after their last, putting together a sequence that saw them lob three in one shift. By this point in the game, Detroit made a goaltending change, putting rookie Michal Postava in net for the third. 

 The most embarrassing part of tonight’s loss, the players said, was the fact that when Vancouver finally registered that elusive shot on goal, Rogers Arena erupted into a chorus of sarcastic cheers. 

“It’s embarrassing,” said Brock Boeser. “We are a way better hockey team than we’re playing, and to consistently show up to the rink and be disconnected out there [...] We showed that we were a better team last year than [how] we’re playing right now.” 

Shortly after they registered their first shot in nearly 40 minutes, Vancouver gave themselves a second goal on the night. Marco Rossi, back after a two-game absence due to illness, collected a feed from Zeev Buium, bringing the puck into Detroit’s zone and making a net-front pass to Lekkerimäki while under pressure. Lekkerimäki tapped the puck in to bring the Canucks’ goal count to two. 

The effort was not enough, however, as Vancouver dropped their ninth-consecutive game in an uninspired effort. 

Canucks Head Coach Manny Malhotra spoke on his team’s performance post-game. 

“For the most part, it was inability to sustain momentum, come up with pucks, win puck battles, kill plays in the D-zone. It’s just a lot of effort-based things that just weren’t there.  

“If you look at the mistakes, a lot of them are effort-based. And as much as we want to talk about structure and being in the right place at the right time, when you don’t win battles and you don’t box people out, and you allow the opposition to get to the paint, a lot of bad stuff’s going to happen. So we can talk about knowing or not knowing the systems, but until there’s an adequate effort put forth, the systems don’t really matter.” 

1st Period: 

4:18 - DET: Lucas Raymond (2) from Albert Johansson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård 

6:04 - DET: William Wallinder (2) from Lucas Raymond and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård  

7:02 - VAN: Elias Pettersson (4) from Filip Hronek and Jonathan Lekkerimäki (PPG) 

8:56 - DET: Lucas Raymond (3) from Viktor Arvidsson and Alex DeBrincat (PPG) 

2nd Period: 

14:58 - DET: Michael Rasmussen (1) from Anton Johansson and J.T. Compher 

3rd Period: 

4:00 - DET: Emmitt Finnie (4) from Viktor Arvidsson 

10:37 - VAN: Jonathan Lekkerimäki (4) from Marco Rossi and Zeev Buium 

Up Next: 

Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, October 25, 7:00 pm PT 

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