Canucks: The problems from last year are on display again

The Vancouver Canucks’ old problems have resurfaced in the midst of their current slump, in which they’ve dropped five of their last six games.

Two weeks ago, the Vancouver Canucks entered the month of November with a beautiful 8-3-1 record, having won eight of their last 10 games.

Following a 2-1 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 1, Vancouver regrouped and soundly defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-2. But the team proceeded to lose four games in a row, and the performances in those contests weren’t exactly inspiring.

It looked like the Canucks had regained their form following a convincing 5-3 home win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Instead, they went back to old habits on Thursday night in a disappointing 4-2 home loss to the Dallas Stars

Canucks fans don’t need a reminder about how brutal the month of November has been to this team in recent years. A strong performance in October last season went to waste, when Vancouver dropped eight straight games in the month of November.

So how did Elias Pettersson‘s team go from dominant and virtually unstoppable throughout most of October to mediocre in November? One simply just has to look at the fact that last year’s problems have returned here in 2019-20.

The Canucks had the 22nd-ranked power play last year at 17.1 percent. It’s been much better this season (24.1 percent), but Vancouver has struggled with the man advantage during this slump, if you ignore the perfect 3-for-3 effort against Nashville on Tuesday:

• 0-for-4 against St. Louis Blues on Nov. 5
• 1-for-4 against Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 7
• 0-for-2 against Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 8
• 1-for-3 against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday
• 0-for-3 against Dallas on Thursday

Not awful by any means, but certainly not good enough, especially against top opponents like the Blues and Stars.

The Canucks brought in J.T. Miller and Micheal Ferland to fix the top six and thus add more secondary scoring. Miller is third in team scoring with 19 points, but prior to injury, Ferland only had five points in 12 games.

Before his two-goal output against Nashville, Tanner Pearson hadn’t scored since Oct. 12 against the Philadelphia Flyers. After scoring nine goals in 19 games with Vancouver last year, there was reason to believe he’d produce at a solid 20-goal, 45-plus point pace.

Brandon Sutter‘s injury has affected the offensive woes, too. He had five goals and three assists in 19 games. But even without Sutter, the Canucks have more than enough talent to make up for his loss. But Jay Beagle (one goal), Josh Leivo (two goals) and Adam Gaudette (two goals in 10 games) haven’t been able to supply the much-needed secondary scoring.

And of course, the blue line has to shoulder some of the blame. Jacob Markstrom (see last week’s overtime loss to St. Louis) and Thatcher Demko have been forced to bail out the team more than usual. The Canucks have allowed four-plus goals in four of the last five games, and if the goaltending wasn’t so good, Vancouver wouldn’t be in a lot of these contests.

So there you have it. A suddenly struggling power play, a lack of secondary scoring and more defensive miscues have led to Vancouver playing the same November hockey that we saw a year ago.

It’s simply a case of the same old problems from a year ago, and if they can’t figure it out soon, Vancouver’s joyful start in October could be forgotten about in short time. It’s up to head coach Travis Green and all the young stars to find some answers, and quickly.