Canucks: 3 takeaways from the 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators

It might be time to put the belief-o-meter away for the Vancouver Canucks.

The team continued their Eastern road trip with a Wednesday afternoon tilt against (you guessed it) the Ottawa Senators. This would mark the fourth and last contest of their recent mini-series, as well as the final time the two clubs would face each other this year.

Despite the Canucks winning the first five match-ups in convincing fashion at the beginning of the season, Ottawa had been able to come away with victories in two of the last three games, including Monday’s 2-1 deflating loss. The Canucks needed to bounce back with a much-needed win to not only finish this four-game series at a .500 record but to also stay mathematically “relevant” in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Spoiler alert. That didn’t happen.

The Canucks ended up falling short to the Senators by a lopsided score of 6-3, in what was easily the most disappointing game since their return. With the loss, the Senators leap-frogged over the Canucks into the sixth spot in the Scotia North Division, leaving many fans wondering if the team will be able to stumble their way out of the all-Canadian basement before the end of the season.

Nevertheless, here are three takeaways from last night’s loss to the Senators:

1. Fatigue is officially a factor

We all knew that the Canucks were in for quite the uphill battle for the remainder of the season. Since returning from their COVID-19 outbreak, the team was set to play 19 games in 32 days, including five back-to-back contests, with limited practice time and rest in between.

For the most part, the team was able to play pretty well from the get-go, either coming away with the two points or just grinding away for as long as they could. But, as expected, the team was bound to hit a wall sooner or later, and fans were able to witness that collapse on Wednesday.

The Canucks came out of the gate looking sluggish and under-prepared, coughing up an early goal just over two minutes into the first period after a defensive miscommunication between Olli Juolevi and Tyler Myers. They kept the Senators at bay for the rest of the first frame, but, once again, were victim to their own slow start at the beginning of the second period.

The Senators scored two goals in 32 seconds, taking full advantage of the Canucks’ sloppy puck management, poor decision-making skills and subpar defence in their own zone, and forcing head coach Travis Green to call an extremely heated timeout. Despite notching three tallies of their own, the team was never able to find their footing or maintain consistent pressure, and they appeared to be chasing the puck until the final whistle.

Entering this contest, the Canucks were a disappointing 4-18-1 after conceding the first tally, and they lived up to those statistics against the Senators. Yes, it’s hard to fully criticize a team given their current health in the aftermath of a brutal COVID-19 outbreak, and these factors will undoubtedly be taken into consideration for the rest of the year when evaluating the team. But it’s also important to face the facts.

The Canucks were outshot, out-chanced and outplayed for 60 minutes, and they’ll need to find a way to at least appear competitive every night before it really goes downhill for them.

3. Dude, where’s the powerplay?

Much like their overall scoring prowess, it’s also safe to say that the Canucks are struggling on the man advantage.

Since returning to the ice in mid-April, the team has only scored two goals on 14 powerplay attempts, putting them 23rd in the league at 14.3% over that two-week span. Of course, it doesn’t help that the team is still without Pettersson, who appears to have no timetable for a return from his wrist injury, but you would think that other players would be able to step up in his absence.

Spoiler alert. That didn’t happen either.

The Canucks went scoreless on the man advantage on Wednesday and were unable to generate anything on two separate opportunities.

The first powerplay came halfway through the first period with the team only down 1-0. Much like the other three games against Ottawa, the first unit had trouble entering the offensive zone, coughing up pucks in the neutral zone on a consistent basis. The second unit had a little more success, registering one shot on goal, but you’ll need much more than that if you’re looking to tie the game up and keep it somewhat competitive.

The Canucks were rewarded one more chance late in the third period, but that opportunity turned out to be worst than the first one. There’s no denying that it was much too late for the Canucks to start the comeback at that point, but they blew a quality chance to at least gain some powerplay confidence for future games.

Both units could barely pass the centre line without turning the puck over, forcing Thatcher Demko to stay alert and make three incredible saves on the rush. (Yes, he caused the turnover on one of them, but it’s important to also focus on the positives every so often, you know?)

Listen, we wholeheartedly expect the Canucks to take more penalties instead of drawing them, especially given their current fitness and fatigue levels, but that doesn’t mean that they can let their powerplay fall to the wayside. Quite frankly, it might be the only weapon that the team has to stay afloat and not be blown out in their upcoming games, so Newell Brown and co. will need to figure out how to turn this ship around, and fast.

Other newsworthy notes:

• Nils Höglander recorded one assist last night, bringing him up to 20 points in 43 games this year. He has registered at least one point in six of his last ten games, and currently sits sixth in team scoring.
• The Canucks’ penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 on Wednesday, with forwards Matthew Highmore and Tyler Motte leading the shorthanded charge. Motte was promoted to the Lotto Line on Wednesday, skating alongside Miller and Boeser, and he did not look out of place. He finished the night with one assist and a plus-one rating in just over 17 minutes of ice time.

The Canucks are right back in action on Thursday, facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 4:00 pm PST.

What were your thoughts on the Canucks’ 6-3 loss against the Senators? Make sure to drop a comment below!