Canucks Surrender Three-Goal Lead, Fall In Overtime To The Avalanche
The Canucks fell 4-3 in overtime to the Avalanche on Wednesday night.
Photo by Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports - Canucks Surrender Three-Goal Lead, Fall In Overtime To The AvalancheDespite jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Vancouver Canucks (42-17-8) fell to the Colorado Avalanche (42-20-5) 4-3 in overtime. The Cancuks got goals from J.T. Miller, Ilya Mikheyev and Nikita Zadorov, while Casey DeSmith stopped 30 of the 34 shots he faced. Despite the loss, Vancouver extended their point streak to five games but saw their record when leading after two periods drop to 34-1-4 on the season.
While the Canucks played well for the first 40 minutes, they took their foot off the gas, which allowed the Avalanche to come back and win in overtime. Outshot 17-3 in the third period, Colorado took advantage of the power play, scoring twice on four opportunities, while Vancouver finished the night failing to convert on their three chances with the man advantage. If anything, tonight's game showed just how dangerous the Avalanche can be and should serve as a learning lesson for the Canucks that they need to push the pace of play all game, regardless of the score, to avoid blowing multi-goal leads.
Quotes
J.T. Miller on the Canucks performance against Colorado:
"Good start, and then we let a tired team get back into it. Eventually, take over the game, and we lost."
Rick Tocchet on the Canucks blowing a 3-0 lead:
"Obviously, that goal to make it three to one was kind of a head-scratcher, but I think that they started to go. MacKinnon and them started to fly and we just couldn't get anybody to grab hold of the puck. Whether it was on the forecheck or breakout, just to kind of slow things down. We were a little hot potato, and we were kind of soft on the puck in mostly the third. It's a hate to say it but a learning lesson. We need some guys to dig in on certain situations. We couldn't get anybody to grab a puck along the boards and hold it."
Rick Tocchet on the Canucks play in the third period:
"Indecisions, not playing through people, not skating when you had the puck, it just felt like everybody kind of froze at certain times, which sucks because the first half, it was working. Obviously, the way we have been playing, it just felt like we couldn't get enough guys to composure or meet guys, pressure to pressure. Like everybody just wanted, like, let's get the game over with by just whatever and I think it's something we have to learn from. I mean, we need people to grab a hold of it. Their guys, MacKinnon, said I'm taking this game. We need someone or a couple of guys to counteract that, and I thought we didn't. Casey DeSmith battled really hard for tonight for us so that's a positive."
Tocchet on the Canucks not playing aggressive in the third period:
"Playing aggressive doesn't mean playing stupid like diving in. We lost our F3 a bunch of times, and they started to come at us. Aggressive to me is being smart. We want people to go in; we want you to be F3 and go overtop of something.. I thought we lost our F3 in the second half of the game. Now, I don't know if they thought it was an easy game, point night or whatever cause we were up 3-0, but that's Colorado. When there is a missed shot, like we did it a couple of times. Forward goes down the wing, and we take a low-percentage shot; it goes the other way. That's how they got the transition going, and that's how they have their legs. I think we look at our goals: Garland held it and went around the net; Miller went around the net, like we held the puck, but then we started throwing pucks around, and that's what happened. Somebody goes the other way, and now we gotta defend; now they are on the forecheck; it's just a domino effect, and that is where you need someone to take over. I thought we were searching for people at that point."
Facts and Stats
- J.T. Miller's 34th goal of the season sets a new career high
- Recording point #385 on his first period goal, J.T. Miller passes Alex Burrows for 17th on the all-time franchise points list
- J.T. Miller records his 25th multi-point game of the season
- Ilya Mikheyev snaps his 34-game goalless streak
- Casey DeSmith records his second career assist
- Brock Boeser records his second consecutive season of 30+ assists
- Canucks have outscored their opponents 20-11 in the first five minutes of games this season
- Nikita Zadorov records the first Gordie Howe Hat Trick of his career
Scoring Summary
1st Period
VAN: 00:24- J.T. Miller (33rd) from Ian Cole and Brock Boeser
VAN: 2:44- Ilya Mikheyev (11th) from J.T. Miller and Nikita Zadorov
2nd Period
VAN: 4:23- Nikita Zadorov (4th) from Conor Garland and Casey DeSmith
COL: 19:57- Mikko Rantanen (34th) from Devon Toews and Casey Mittelstadt
3rd Period
COL: 3:19- Nathan MacKinnon (42nd) from Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen (PPG)
COL: 8:43- Ross Colton (14th) from Miles Wood and Samuel Girard
Overtime
COL: 00:28- Valeri Nichushkin (25) from Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar (PPG)
Canucks Next Opponent
Vancouver will get a few days off before welcoming Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for the only time this season. The Canucks came out victorious the last time these two teams met, with Miller playing the hero in overtime. Game time is set for Saturday at 7:00 PM PT from Rogers Arena.
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