|
Canucks flirting with danger as they drop season-high 4th-straight game |
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday March 4 - Arizona Coyotes 4 - Vancouver Canucks 2
Even when they were perched atop the Pacific Division, I was concerned about the number of shots the Vancouver Canucks were giving up, and their over-reliance on the heroics of Jacob Markstrom.
Now that they're mired in their worst losing streak of the season, I'm worried about the exact same things.
The Canucks made life difficult for themselves when they failed to protect another third-period lead and ended up with a regulation loss against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.
Here are your highlights:
Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson scored the Canucks' goals, beating a solid Darcy Kuemper three minutes apart in the third period and lending credence to the idea that their playoff experience from their time with the Los Angeles Kings has helped give them the tools to step up in big-game situations.
But the hockey gods were cruel to the Canucks again on Wednesday — giving the Coyotes an early lead when the puck bounced into the net off Thatcher Demko's back in the first period, and giving the Coyotes two point-blank chances when the puck caromed directly into the slot off of Troy Stecher's skate in the corner on Nick Schmaltz's tying goal.
And in addition to facing 39 shots, Thatcher Demko took plenty of contact over the course of the evening. Playing just his second game since missing more than two months with a lower-body injury, Kuemper also had to shake off one collision. But this made me nervous...
And so did the second half of this postgame report.
The Canucks are off on Thursday, so we won't get updates on the status of Demko or any of the team's other injured players until Friday morning at the earliest, when the team prepares to face Colorado.
With all the question marks on defense going into Wednesday's game, the final outcome was about what I expected. Quinn Hughes not only dressed for the game, he ended up second overall in ice time at 22:53 as he played a conservative 5:52 in the first period, 7:10 in the second and a whopping 9:51 in the third.
His first-period tripping penalty on Phil Kessel — which led to the Coyotes' opening goal — made me wonder if his mobility was impeded by whatever is bothering him. But he did pick up his 44th assist of the year on Toffoli's power-play goal in the third, keeping himself five points ahead of Cale Makar in the rookie scoring race and with 16 games left on the schedule to keep moving up this incredible list.
As for Tyler Myers, after taking a long skate on Wednesday morning, he missed his first game since joining the Canucks at the beginning of the season. Jordie Benn returned to the lineup for the first time in six games and put in a solid 14:19 of work on his off-side, paired with Oscar Fantenberg and playing on the penalty kill.
Chris Tanev's 19:37 was exactly his average ice time this season, but more than he'd played in his three previous games. But it was Troy Stecher who was probably most exposed by Myers' absence. At 18:09, he played nearly three minutes more than his average this season, and he was responsible for five of the Canucks' eight giveaways on the night, including that bounce off his skate that set up the Coyotes' second goal and wiped away the momentum that the Canucks had built earlier in third period.
Also — a quick shoutout to Jake Virtanen, who spent most of the night playing on Bo Horvat's wing and had a prominent night. In 15:09, he finished with a team-high six shots, including a breakaway attempt that was foiled by Kuemper.
He also got credit for the takeaway that set up his shot-and-rebound play to earn an assist on Pearson's goal.
In addition to the Coyotes earning two points to catch Vancouver in the Pacific Division standings, the Calgary Flames also erased a 2-0 deficit in the third period of their game against Columbus on Wednesday, earning a regulation win and moving three points ahead of the Canucks.
Even after the loss, Vancouver still woke up in the first wild-card spot in the West, but that could change on Thursday night.
The big game to watch is Minnesota at San Jose, at 7:30 p.m. PT. The Wild are currently just one point behind Vancouver, at 73.
Also, Nashville (72 pts) hosts Dallas; a win would move them into a tie with Vancouver, Winnipeg and Arizona, but Vancouver would still hold the edge thanks to their games in hand. And Chicago (68 pts) hosts Edmonton (80 pts) at 5:30 p.m. PT.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»