Canucks Tie Franchise Record With 10th Straight Loss, Suffer 6–0 Defeat Against The Edmonton Oilers

The Vancouver Canucks have officially tied a franchise record. Their 6–0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers tonight marks their 10th-straight loss, which ties the club-high for the longest losing streak registered during the 1997–98 season. With Kevin Lankinen under the weather, it was Nikita Tolopilo who started tonight, stopping 29 of 35 shots faced. 

For the first period, things actually seemed alright for the Canucks. After trading opportunities with Edmonton and generating a similar level of shots and scoring chances, Vancouver let the floodgates open in the second period, surrendering all six goals against during this span. The sequence of goals was kicked off by a goal that Vancouver challenged for and lost, putting them on the penalty kill. Soon after, it was 2–0. 

From there on, Vancouver looked as though they’d lost the ability to remain in this game. Untimely slips on ice and poor efforts coming back into the defensive zone resulted in the Oilers putting up four more goals before the end of the second period. Five of the six total goals came off the rush, with Vancouver quickly watching the game collapse directly in front of them. Digging themselves into an early hole seemed to vaporize Vancouver’s confidence. 

“Things got away from us in the second, just little details we’ve got to keep working on, get more consistent with. You look at our games — there's a lot of good in it, but there's a lot we’ve got to clean up. We just have too many mental lapses throughout 60 minutes — and it costs us,” Tyler Myers said post-game. “Mental lapses can lead to less offence. You know, [if we] play the right way, get in front of guys, good changes, I think all that stuff adds up. It’s going to put us in the offensive zone more. It’s going to give guys more rest. It just trickles down the line. So [we’ve] got to keep focusing on those details, get better at them.” 

Allowing multiple goals in rapid succession has been a trend for the Canucks as of late. On Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, they allowed back-to-back goals within the span of 15 seconds. The game before that, against the Montréal Canadiens, Vancouver allowed two goals in 30 seconds or less on two separate occasions. Tonight’s six-goal second period saw all of Edmonton’s tallies come within 15 minutes, with the shortest window between two being around 40 seconds between the third and fourth goals. Edmonton’s final three second-period goals were scored within the span of two minutes. 

“[It] just starts with hard work,” Brock Boeser said. “Starts with understanding where we are and and, every day you come to the rink, it doesn’t matter how old or how young you are, you’ve got to work on your game and come and get better as a group.” 

It was a particularly rough night for Vancouver’s younger players. Not only did Tolopilo give up six goals — though these were not completely on him — but young defencemen like Zeev Buium and Victor Mancini had their share of defensive gaffs. Liam Öhgren, who has put up solid efforts for Vancouver as of late, went from starting the game with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser to being put back on the third line.  

“There's not a lot of room for error,” Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote said of Vancouver’s younger players after the loss. “We’re going to keep building and keep working on it, and keep teaching the details and keep supporting these guys. We’ve got to build their confidence and teach them how to survive these situations when they happen, so that they're going to grow. They're going to grow from this. And we’ll keep helping them through.” 

While many who are on the side of “team tank” may appreciate what this loss does for Vancouver’s chances at drafting first overall, at the end of the day, this was a bad loss for the Canucks and their fans. The kind of loss in which a team is serenaded off home ice by cheers for the opposition can never be considered a good one.   

1st Period: 

No Scoring. 

2nd Period: 

3:11 - EDM: Jack Roslovic (13) from Curtis Lazar and Jake Walman   

6:49 - EDM: Zach Hyman (17) from Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid (PPG) 

11:42 - EDM: Kasperi Kapanen (2) from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ty Emberson 

14:31 - EDM: Jack Roslovic (14) from Isaac Howard and Matt Savoie 

15:08 - EDM: Kasperi Kapanen (3) from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 

16:34 - EDM: Vasily Podkolzin (11) 

3rd Period: 

No Scoring. 

Up Next: 

With tonight’s loss, Vancouver’s Monday night matchup against the New York Islanders could be one for the record books, as an 11th-straight loss would set a new franchise record in losing streaks. The Canucks’ last regulation win came against the Islanders on December 19, when they won by a score of 4–1 on Long Island. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. 

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