What the Canucks need to do to find success again

After a hot offensive start, the goals have quickly dried away in the last six games. What can the Vancouver Canucks do to get back on track?

The first month of the season was an offensive explosion for the Vancouver Canucks. They seemed to score at will and regularly put up 5+ goals a game. Then November hit, and poof! The goals disappeared.

The 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils marked the Canucks’ fourth-straight game where they were limited to two goals or less. It was the fifth time in just six games that they have been unable to score more than two goals.

The Canucks’ top four scorers of J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Bo Horvat combined for 23 goals in October. In six games in November, they have combined for just five goals. The team’s scoring percentage has plummeted and the momentum that they built has quickly slipped away.

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The Devils’ game was another example of what is going wrong with the Canucks lately. They’ve been starting games out flat, taking penalties, and giving up the first goal. They spend the rest of the game chasing, which is not a recipe for success. Vancouver is now on a four-game skid and they need to stop the bleeding as soon as possible.

The Canucks did outshoot the Devils as the game went on, but that’s typical in a hockey game. Once a team establishes a lead, they tend to shoot less than the team that’s chasing. Besides, many of the shots Vancouver did get were not high-danger opportunities. The Canucks were unable to sustain pressure on the Devils and really test McKenzie Blackwood.

What Vancouver is going through is very normal for any NHL team during a season. Teams go through stretches where everything they put on the net seems to go in. It’s easy to get carried away with all the winning and get a big head. But once the shooting percentage starts to level out, it can be devastating, especially for a young team like the Canucks.

The key for Vancouver is to keep a clear head through this rough patch. They need to stay disciplined, be responsible defensively, and soon that strong structure will translate into goals. If they start letting their emotions dictate the game, they will continue to take stupid penalties and fall behind in games. This team has the talent to get out of this slump. As long as they stick to the plan, it will only take a matter of time.

It might sound crazy to say, but this slump is good for the team. An NHL season is not all sunshine and rainbows and this team needs to understand how to deal with adversity together which will ultimately make them a stronger team.

Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. They had a magical season where everything was going their way through 82 games. They set regular-season records, won the Presidents’ Trophy and then got swept in the first round.

The St. Louis Blues, on the other hand, were dead-last in January, had a fight in practice, and had to go through the wringer all season long to claw themselves into playoff contention. They became Stanley Cup champions.

While a four-game losing streak isn’t the end of the world, having these players go through scoring droughts and learning how to navigate through them will help build their mental toughness and bring this team together. If they can get through this without collapsing, this team will come back stronger than before.