In what’s been a recurring theme on the season, the Vancouver Canucks were shutout and generated almost zero chances without Brock Boeser. A 3-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks officially ended their playoff hopes.
It’s starting to get to the point where 2017-18 could be the worst season in Vancouver Canucks history, and it’s not going to be close when all is said and done. The team fell 3-0 to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night, but that’s not the biggest story.
The main takeaway is how unbelievably horrid the offense has been. Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 made it short and sweet:
#Canucks have now gone 200 minutes without scoring a goal.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) March 15, 2018
5 straight losses for the Canucks. 3 straight games without a goal. Officially eliminated from the playoff race.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) March 15, 2018
With 11 games left, the Canucks now sit at 25-37-9. They have 59 points, though the Arizona Coyotes (57 points), have two games in hand, while the 31st-place Buffalo Sabres have 56 points and also have a pair of contests in hand.
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Listen, I understand the Canucks have had a lot of injuries. Playing without Brock Boeser, top defenceman Chris Tanev and most of your top-nine forwards is tough.
But general manager Jim Benning can’t be pleased, seeing how much he’s tried to rebuild the offence. As usual, the scoring woes just get worse.
To get 32 shots on John Gibson (few of them were actually quality chances), and not get a goal? Wow. The sad thing is, a large portion of Canucks Nation is condoning this.
Hard not too when you know they’ll likely land a top-five pick, perhaps the top selection where they could land Rasmus Dahlin.
So this is what the Canucks have to show for it? Four years under Benning, and they go nearly four consecutive games without scoring a goal? Is Brock Boeser really that much of a one man team?
Of course not, but maybe this team just doesn’t have the mental toughness to close out the season. It’s easy to understand why most of these players just want to reach the finish line now, but that’s part of the game. You win some, you lose some. You don’t give up.
The Ducks didn’t even have their best effort. Our friends at Pucks of a Feathers weren’t pleased with how Anaheim played, either:
We feel just as bad about it.
— Pucks of a Feather (@PucksofaFeather) March 15, 2018
(Side note, Anaheim made it 2-0 seconds after I tweeted that).
The Canucks continue to show all the flaws on this team. Three more shutdown defencemen and three or more impact scoring forwards are needed.
The Sedins and Bo Horvat were having great seasons with Boeser on the ice. Strange how they’ve struggled so much without the rookie star. Then again, these guys have carried the offence too long. Somebody else has to step up.
Next: Canucks: No reason to call up Thatcher Demko
So the Canucks were shut out once again in Anaheim. Judging by how they’ve played lately, Vancouver can probably expect three more wins at the absolute max. That puts them in great position to win the draft lottery. If that happens, then all of this frustration will be well worth it.
But until that time, this team has to get back to scoring goals.