The Vegas center had three points as the Golden Knights handed the Canucks just their third loss at home this season.
The Vancouver Canucks once again started slow but could not catch up as they fell 4-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights. Jack Eichel led the way for Vegas with three points, while Adin Hill and Logan Thompson stopped 21 shots combined in the victory. With the loss, Vancouver drops to 15-8-1 on the season and is 3-5 over their last eight games.
Plain and simple, this was not the Canucks night. They made costly errors with missed coverages in their own zone and couldn't not generate any form of sustained pressure throughout the game. A good indicator of this was the shots on goal totals. In all three periods, the Golden Knights surpassed double digits, while Vancouver didn't even hit nine in one of them. Overall, this was a good example of how much farther the Canucks need to develop as a team before they are ready to call themselves contenders.
How Vegas played should be used as an example by head coach Rick Tocchet in how he wants Vancouver to play. This was a tired Golden Knights team that was playing their third game in four nights, all on the road while also missing two of their top four defencemen, yet they were able to execute their game plan to perfection. They skated hard, made sure lanes were blocked by sticks and didn't take a shift off the entire night. In the end, they showed why they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions as they once again sent Canuck fans home frustrated.
The main lesson from this game is that Vancouver needs to be ready to go from the opening puck drop. This has been an issue over the last few weeks and really burned the team tonight. With tough matchups throughout December, the Canucks will need to fix this issue; otherwise, they could start slipping down the standings as the holiday season approaches.
Stats and Facts
- J.T. Miller's 23 points this month were tied for the second most by a Canuck player in the month of November
- Andrei Kuzmenko's goal was his first since November 2nd
- This was the third time in 17 games this season that Thatcher Demko has faced 40 or more shots
- The Canucks recorded double-digit giveaways (11) for the fourth time this season
Game Summary
1st Period
VGK: 4:46- Ivan Barbashev (5th) from Jack Eichel and Mark Stone
VGK: 16:18- Jack Eichel (9th) from Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Hague
2nd Period
VGK: 11:27- William Karlsson (11th) from Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo (PPG)
3rd Period
VGK: 0:16- Brett Howden (4th) from Alex Pietangelo and Michael Amadio
Van: 4:01- Andrei Kuzmenko (4th) from J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser
Canucks Next Opponent
Up next for Vancouver will be a Saturday night battle against the Calgary Flames. This could also be the Canuck debut of recently acquired Nikita Zadorov, who was traded from Calgary to Vancouver before tonight's game. Game time is set for 7:00 pm PT from the Scotiabank Saddledome.