3 takeaways from a shocking 3-0 Canucks loss to the Edmonton Oilers

I’m almost afraid to ask, but how are we feeling, Vancouver Canucks fans? At this point, I’m not even disappointed anymore, just numb to all the losing.

The Canucks don’t have any more games left this month, and in February, they’ve won a grand total of two matches out of *checks note* 13?!

Yeah, even I didn’t think it was that bad, but it is. But hey, there are still some positives that can be taken away from last night’s loss. Surprising, I know, but there are.

Without further ado, here are three takeaways from another 3-0 loss to the Oilers.

The pretty boys line

Before the game, we found out that Nils Hoglander would be lining up beside Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser on Vancouver’s first line. Naturally, Canucks fans were quick to coin a new nickname for this dynamic trio.

The good news is that their play lived up to the billing, as they ended the game with a 52.17% corsi and an expected goals percentage of over 70% at five on five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Hoglander, in particular, stood out (as usual) with his work ethic and hustle. He even laid out a few big hits, including a particularly memorable one in the second.

Although the Canucks didn’t get the results they wanted, don’t be surprised if the coaching staff elects to keep this trio together for the next game.

A tale of two Jakes

Oh, Jake Virtanen. No post-game thread is complete without mentioning the hometown fan favourite.

What do you mean you want him traded? Everyone loves Shotgun Jake!

Jokes aside, Virtanen drew the ire of fans early in the game by taking two penalties in the first 10 minutes of the first, although one was the result of an unlucky clearance attempt that flew over the glass.

But since it was Virtanen who did it, no one gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Surprisingly, he managed to turn things around in the second, generating plenty of chances and coming within literal inches from scoring.

Virtanen also managed to draw a penalty in the third, although the Canucks didn’t really do anything with that opportunity. More importantly, he actually ended the game with a 51.72% corsi and 55.40% expected goals percentage at five on five, so Vancouver generated more chances than they gave up with him on the ice.

If Virtanen could consistently play like he did in the latter half of the game, no one would be calling for him to get traded. Unfortunately, those types of performances are far and few between.

Demko stood tall

After allowing four goals on Tuesday, Thatcher Demko had a strong bounceback game last night and was the main reason why the score didn’t end up more lopsided. To put things into perspective, the Canucks gave up four breakaways to Edmonton… in the first half of the game alone!

The young netminder made some highlight-reel saves that seemed like sure goals, with one on some random players named Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl that stood out in particular.

The only goals he conceded came on two of Edmonton’s elite power play, which is currently ranked top 10 in the league on the man advantage.

According to Evolving-Hockey, Demko actually saved 1.65 goals above expected last night, which means that the game easily could’ve ended 5-0 for the Oilers. Unfortunately, Mike Smith was even better, saving an absurd 3.33 goals above expected.

The Canucks won’t run into performances like Smith’s every game, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that the team lacked pushback and has lost 11 out of their 13 games this month.

Other notes

• Jayce Hawryluk made his Canucks debut last night but only played 3:28 minutes in total, so if you asked me how he did, I honestly have no clue. We’ll need a bigger sample size to properly evaluate his game, but what’s the point in having him in the lineup when he plays so few minutes?
• Travis Green decided to shuffle around the defence pairings, electing to have Quinn Hughes beside Travis Hamonic and Jordie Benn alongside Tyler Myers. Considering the Canucks gave up more scoring chances this game than they had in a while, I think it’ll be better to re-unite Hughes with Benn moving forward.
• Zack MacEwen was a healthy scratch once again, but I think there’s a case to be made for him to play ahead of a guy like Antoine Roussel. Roussel just hasn’t been the same player since his ACL injury and has often been a detriment to the team, like when he was penalized for randomly feeding Jesse Puljujarvi with some fists during Tuesday’s game.

The Canucks get the weekend off before heading to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Monday. I’m looking forward to racking up some more moral victories then!