The Canuck Way
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Canucks: Playing full 60 minute game is important now more than ever

By Brayden Ursel

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 20: Adam Gaudette #88 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates his goal against goaltender Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks with teammates Tyler Myers #57, Jordie Benn #4 and Antoine Roussel #26 during the second period at Rogers Arena on February 12, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Ben Nelms/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 20: Adam Gaudette #88 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates his goal against goaltender Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks with teammates Tyler Myers #57, Jordie Benn #4 and Antoine Roussel #26 during the second period at Rogers Arena on February 12, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Ben Nelms/Getty Images) /
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The Vancouver Canucks are struggling, but now is not the time to slow down. Travis Green must push his hockey club to play their best from start to finish.

For a little while now, the feeling of your average Vancouver Canucks fan seems to be that this team will without much of a doubt, make the 2020 playoffs. That isn’t exactly a guarantee, and now that the Canucks have dropped three straight games, (very winnable games I might add) the playoff picture is most definitely starting to slip.

As of March 2nd, Vancouver dropped from second place in the Pacific, (74 points) down to the first wild card spot. The Nashville Predators are nipping at their heels, they’re just two points back of the Canucks with their grip on the final playoff spot in the west. That’s just the start of it though, the Winnipeg Jets and the Arizona Coyotes are both tied with the Predators at 72, and the Wild from Minnesota are still in the thick of things with 71 points.

The Canucks could have easily widened the gap between rivals on Sunday night. After playing what appeared to be the perfect road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, with a two-goal lead heading into the third, Vancouver let off the gas, took two bad penalties and gave up four unanswered goals. What a collapse for a team that’s used to having an MVP goaltender in net.

With Jacob Markstrom being re-evaluated in two weeks, the Canucks need everyone to be better, and after that awful performance in Ohio, the Canucks need to prove they can close out games and play a hard-fought 60 minutes.

Markstrom isn’t around to bail they team out, and people need to remember that even though Thatcher Demko is bound to one day be an NHL starter, he’s still a rookie with only 33 professional games. With that being said, it’s up to the core, the supporting cast, and the defence to step up and come together.

Canucks: 3 takeaways from 5-3 collapse vs. Columbus. dark. Next

If Vancouver can get the little things figured out, they have what it takes to get to the 2020 playoffs. Everyone has to be better, and it starts with the captain, Bo Horvat. If he can lead by example, rally the troops and play a full sixty minutes, then this team will be just fine. Don’t hit the panic button just yet.

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