Vancouver loses to San Jose for the first time in almost four years.
For the first time since December 2019, the Vancouver Canucks (14-7-1) lost a game to the San Jose Sharks (4-15-2). While the Canucks, who were playing their tenth game in 17 nights, made it close in the end, they could not find the tying goal late, falling 4-3 to their Pacific Division foes. Vancouver has now dropped four of their last six games and sits third in the Pacific with 29 points through 22 games.
It was obvious from puck drop that the Canucks were tired and may have been taking their opponent lightly. Despite ending the night with 11 more shots than the Sharks, they couldn't generate much at even strength and were making minor mistakes that eventually cost them. Whether it was not clearing the zone or letting a player skate by without initiating any form of contact, Vancouver didn't seem like they were fully into the game until late in the third.
A perfect example of this was the 3-2 goal scored by Mikael Granlund 22 seconds into the third period. Instead of Filip Hronek taking the body, he gets caught puck-watching, which allows the Sharks forward to get past the Canucks defender and beat Casey DeSmith. Add in the fact that both J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser had opportunities to seal off the middle of the ice, and you have a good summary of the Canucks play at even strength for most of the night.
When head coach Rick Tocchet was asked postgame about his team's play, he summed it up perfectly by saying, "It's a learning lesson; playoff teams don't do this." Every team is going to have off-games, but the best teams in the league rarely have efforts that resemble that of the Canucks on Saturday night. The hope is that with some off days, the team can reset and get back to the form they showed early on in the season.
Now for a positive, the Canucks play up a skater. All three goals for Vancouver came with an extra skater tonight. Hronek and Boeser were able to score on the power play, while Boeser also added another later with the net empty. This is encouraging as the Canucks had gone four straight without scoring a goal either with the power play or the net pulled, which was their longest stretch of the season. It was great that they found the net multiple times while up a skater tonight, but they need to ensure they stay consistent with the man advantage in order to remain successful for the rest of the campaign.
Lastly, the biggest talking point to come out of tonight's game was the decision to scratch Andrei Kuzmenko for the second straight game. While a case can be made that playing the same lineup that beat Seattle the night prior is the right move, it did not work as the Canucks could have used the wingers scoring ability and fresh legs throughout the game. With no confirmation postgame from Tocchet on whether or not the Russian winger will return to the lineup, speculation will continue to grow as Vancouver has a few days off before their next game.
Stats and Facts
- With his assist tonight, Quinn Hughes ties the Canucks record for longest point streak by a defender in franchise history at 11 games.
- Vancouver becomes the first team in NHL history to have two defencemen record 11-game point streaks in the same season.
- Hughes and Hronek became the second-fastest pair of teammate defencemen in NHL history to each reach 20 assists in a season. The fastest was Bobby Orr & Carol Vadnais during the 1974-75, who achieved the feat in one fewer game.
- Boeser's second-period goal snapped a five-game goalless drought.
- With three assists, Miller recorded his fifth three-point night of the season and 25th since joining the Canucks in 2019-20.
Three Stars
1) Mikael Granlund: 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 4 Shots, 1 Hit, 23:02 Time on Ice
2) Tomas Hertl: 2 Assists, 20:12 Time on Ice
3) Mike Hoffman: 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 2 Shots, 1 Hit, 16:00 Time on Ice
Canucks Next Opponent
The Canucks will have a few days off before facing off against the Anaheim Ducks at home on Tuesday night. Last season, Vancouver won the season series 4-0, with three of the four contests being decided by one goal. Game time is set for 7:00 pm PT.