SEA 5 VAN 2: Postgame Patdown

The Vancouver Canucks have lost four in a row for the first time under Rick Tocchet after falling 5-2 at home to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. The Canucks are 0-2-2 in their last four hockey games and have been outscored 9-3 in their past two affairs. Time is winding down on the season with just five games remaining, but the Canucks aren’t at the finish line yet. They are professionals being well compensated to perform and it’s fair to expect a little more from the hockey club over the final five contests. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on the setback to Seattle:

1) The Canucks power play let them down on Tuesday night. Not only did they fail to score in five opportunities with the man-advantage. They mustered only four shots on goal in 9:06 of power play time. That included 53 seconds with a two-man advantage early in the second period with the team holding a 2-1 edge on the scoreboard. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to extend a lead against a Kraken team that played at home on Monday and had to make the trek north for its second game in 24 hours. However, instead of using the power play as a weapon, the Canucks surrendered a short-handed goal to Brandon Tanev after the first of the two Seattle penalties expired. That tied the game 2-2 and served as a springboard for the Kraken as it added three more goals on the night to win going away.

2) Last Friday against Calgary, the Canucks generated just 14 shots on goal through 60 minutes of regulation time. On Sunday against Los Angeles, the Canucks finished with 22 shots on net – but 13 of them came in the first period with just nine the rest of the way. On Tuesday against Seattle, the Canucks were held to 18 shots total and for the second straight game managed to barely make a dent on the shot clock over the final 40 minutes. It’s hardly any kind of blueprint to give yourself a chance to come back in hockey games and as a result there was no comeback in either of the past two outings. The 18 shots against the Kraken barely eclipsed the Canucks season low for shots in a game (16) previously set against Carolina back in October. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks generated just one high danger scoring chance at even strength over the final two periods of Tuesday’s game. Yawn.

3) Collin Delia has been a good news story for the Canucks this season. It’s important to acknowledge that much. But the first Seattle goal was one Delia had to have and it seemed to have the double impact of giving the Kraken some life while also serving as a body blow to the Canucks. With his team up 2-0 in the late stages of the first period, Delia appeared to misplay or at least misread Yanni Gourde’s snap shot off the rush. Officially, NHL.com had it as a 49-foot wrist shot that went through the legs of Canucks centre Nils Aman in the high slot. Still, Delia needed to be able to track the puck from that distance and find a way to fight the shot off. If the Canucks get out of the first period with their 2-0 lead intact, who knows how the night might have unfolded. However it seemed that Gourde’s 12th goal of the season seemed to ignite the Kraken who to that point of the hockey game had not found their game. On the night, Delia’s teammates needed to do more to pick their goaltender up after allowing his first goal of the game. With the loss, Delia falls to 9-5-2 on the season. The defeat was his first in regulation time since February 13th against Detroit.

4) With just five games remaining on the schedule, time is running out for some of the younger Canucks to leave a lasting impression on the coaching staff and management. Aidan McDonough is one of those players. The big winger has now appeared in four games. The past two (on Sunday against Los Angeles and Tuesday against Seattle) were both remarkably quiet for the big bodied winger who scored his first NHL goal in his home debut against Calgary on Friday. Against the Kings, McDonough played 7:31 and registered a single hit. Following that game Rick Tocchet implored more of his forwards to get involved on the forecheck. That felt like a call to action aimed directly at a player like McDonough. However, Tuesday looked remarkably similar to the effort 48-hours earlier. The game sheet shows McDonough logged 8:17 with one shot and one hit against Seattle. His individual Corsi was 30.8% and the Canucks were outshot 4-2 with McDonough on the ice at even strength. No one is expecting the 7th round draft pick to be a game-breaker at this stage, but it feels like there is more to give there. Hopefully there is more to give there. This isn’t about expectations that he’s going to score every night. However, as he carves out his pro career, McDonough is going to have to find a way to be more impactful on more shifts.

5) The Canucks are now winless on their season-ending five-game homestand. On the season, the Canucks are 17-20-2 at Rogers Arena. That is 17 wins in 39 games. The paying customer deserves better. With just two games remaining on the home schedule, the loss to the Kraken also ensures that the Canucks will finish below NHL .500 on home ice this season. Visitors to Vancouver are now 22-12-5 this season -- the 12 outright losses means 27 of 39 road teams have left Rogers Arena with some sort of parting gift in the standings. Only two of the 16 teams above the playoff bar in the league this season have fewer than 20 wins on home ice – Dallas (19) and Seattle (18). But both have incredible road records to make up for their short-comings at home (Dallas is 23-11-5 on the road while Seattle is now a remarkable 25-10-4). The Canucks simply need to be better at home and away. But there have been far too many no shows in front of the home fans this season. Tuesday was the 16th time this season the Canucks have surrendered 5 (or more) goals on home ice.