Vancouver Canucks: 3 things we learned from 5-4 loss to Avalanche

After jumping out to a 4-1 lead, the Vancouver Canucks unraveled and played mistake-filled hockey, letting the Colorado Avalanche pull off a 5-4 victory in overtime. Here are three things we learned from the tough loss.

The Vancouver Canucks were piecing together one of their finest performances of the season, jumping out to a 4-1 lead late in the second period. Then the penalty kill forgot how to do its job, the Canucks couldn’t generate more offence and Anders Nilsson was hung out to dry. He deserved much better.

Head coach Travis Green didn’t learn from his mistakes, putting the Sedin twins out in overtime. The result? The younger and faster Avalanche skated circles until Daniel took a careless penalty, setting up Nate MacKinnon‘s game-winner.

Another frustrating loss for the Canucks, who were looking to build off an excellent 6-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday. This team couldn’t close out an easy win on home ice, and there are few things to be positive about in this one.

Here are three things we learned from Tuesday’s game.

Nikolay Goldobin time

One of the many head-scratching decisions by the Canucks thus far in 2017-18? Not giving Nikolay Goldobin much playing time — even though management pledged to roll with younger players this season.

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Green played Goldobin for just 12:48, but the speedy Russian managed a goal and one assist on the contest.

He was arguably Vancouver’s top forward on the night. Goldobin also got 2:15 of power play time, which suggests Green may finally be ready to give ‘Goldy’ more opportunities.

Goldobin has scored six points in 17 games this season, but it’s not all about the score sheet. He’s among the few speedy forwards this team has, and his skill set is terrific. There’s no reason for him to not be an NHL regular at this point.

Coach Green should be giving Goldobin much more ice time. Why not give him Goldobin some top-six minutes? There’s no reason for him to only be an occasional player this late in the season.

Bo Horvat stays hot

Bo Horvat scored his 16th goal of the season in this contest, and looks poised to reach the 20-goal mark for the second-straight year. And boy, have the Canucks missed his offence. They simply aren’t the same team without him.

Horvat has four goals in his last five games now. Since his return on Jan. 21 against the Winnipeg Jets, Horvat has 11 goals in 14 contests. With his top centre back, Sven Baertschi has also regained his scoring touch. He has six points in his last four games.

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The Canucks may have lost this game, but Horvat continues to produce as a top-line centre. Just imagine what his point totals would be if he didn’t miss a month-and-a-half of action. But 31 points in 42 games will do.

This is another lost season for the Canucks, but at least Horvat is providing this team with more optimism for the long-term future. Vancouver’s offence is so much better when the ‘Killer B’s’ line is in full health.

Dear Jim Benning, fix the defence

General manager Jim Benning extended Erik Gudbranson for three years on Tuesday. But even if ‘Guddy’ morphs into the top-four shutdown blueliner that Benning apparently sees, that’s not going to be enough.

The Canucks continue to be owners of one of the league’s worst defensive units. There are zero excuses for blowing a 4-1 lead, let alone allowing a team to go five-for-six on its power play opportunities.

You can’t win in the NHL with the type of performances this defence is putting up. Benning has to add a couple of blueliners this offseason. I can’t emphasize that enough. The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

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Gudbranson is here to stay. Derrick Pouliot and Chris Tanev have done their jobs and should be here long-term. No other defenceman should be a guarantee to come back in 2018. The Canucks have to sign or trade for some blueliners this offseason. There’s no way they can get better until they learn how to clean up the mistakes in their own zone.