Vancouver falls 4-1 in their final game of 2023.
The Vancouver Canucks (23-10-3) fell to Philidephia Flyers (19-11-4) 4-1 in their final game of 2023. Despite the loss, Vancouver will still enter 2024 at the top of the Pacific Division as they currently hold the tiebreaker over the Vegas Golden Knights. This was also the first time all month the Canucks lost a game by more than two goals, with the last occurrence coming on Nov 30 when Vancouver lost 4-1 to Vegas.
Overall, the Canucks played an ok game but couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. They had more shots that were blocked or missed the net (29) than they recorded in the game (27) and had difficulty generating second-chance opportunities against Samuel Ersson and Carter Hart. In short, they couldn't establish momentum throughout the game and skated away without a point for the second time in December.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet on his team's performance tonight:
"We talked about this. It's going to get harder and harder. This is a learning lesson. We just gotta be more invested in the game; we weren't invested. It's not even about the loss... there were some parts of our game wasn't good, obviously. We have to get back to the drawing board."
The most significant note from this game was that Quinn Hughes recorded his 250th assist. Recording the milestone in his 319th career game, he became the third fastest defenceman in NHL history to hit 250 assists, trailing only Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch. Expect plenty more milestones and astonishing facts from the Canucks captain in 2024 as he is now just 60 points away from tieing the franchise record for most points by a defenceman.
Facts and Stats
- Quinn Hughes becomes the third defenceman in franchise history to record 250 assists
- Teddy Blueger extends his point streak to seven games
- Vancouver was held to one goal or fewer for the fourth time this season
- Former Canucks head coach John Tortorella picks up win number 723, moving past Alain Vigneault and into sole position of tenth all-time in NHL history.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
PHI: 15:03- Egor Zamula (2nd) from Tyson Foerster and Joel Farabee (PPG)
PHI: 16:24- Sean Walker (4th) from Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny
PHI: 17:09- Joel Farabee (12th) from Bobby Brink
3rd Period
VAN: 0:25- Teddy Blueger (5th) from Dakota Joshua and Quinn Hughes
PHI: 5:01- Garnet Hathaway (4th) from Ryan Poehling (SHG)
Canucks Next Opponent
Vancouver will welcome in 2024 with a visit from the Ottawa Senators. The Canucks will be looking for the season sweep after beating the Senators back in November by a score of 5-2. Game time is set for 7:00 PM PT on January 2 from Rogers Arena.
