Canucks: 2 takeaways from the 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs
The belief-o-meter has officially crashed for the Vancouver Canucks.
The team wrapped up their most recent four-game road trip on Saturday night, facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final time this season. They were able to find moments of energy here and there throughout the game and were even able to keep the shot totals fairly close after 60 minutes, but that was essentially all they could muster.
The Canucks were handed their fourth straight loss in the end, falling to the high-scoring and fast-paced Maple Leafs by a score of 5-1.
The loss kept the Canucks at the bottom of the Scotia North Division, two points behind the sixth-place Ottawa Senators, and 14 points behind the current fourth-place Montreal Canadiens.
Although they’re technically not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs just yet, it would take a miracle for the team to climb their way back into the postseason, let alone out of the basement of their division.
The Canucks still have 11 games left on the calendar, and each one of those contests is going to be harder than the next.
Of course, we shouldn’t put too much criticism on how they’re going to perform down that 11-game stretch, especially given what the team has recently gone through with their COVID-19 outbreak, but, at the end of the day, it’s time to face the facts: this isn’t a playoff-calibre team.
At this point, the main focus for the Canucks should be to stay healthy and to dress the players that will make them competitive on a nightly basis. Yes, it will be tough to watch, but it’s all they can do right now.
With that being said, let’s take a look at two takeaways from last night’s loss to the Maple Leafs:
Tiredness, turnovers and tough breaks
These three factors were on full display during Saturday night’s contest, and, as briefly alluded to above, should be expected to stick around for the remainder of the season.
Fortunately, unlike their previous sluggish and unprepared opening shifts throughout the road trip, the Canucks appeared to have found some energy and speed to start this game, much to the surprise of everyone watching at home.
They were making smart, simple plays in the neutral zone, and were able to limit the Maple Leafs to no high-danger chances in the first seven minutes as a result. They even opened the scoring, with Tanner Pearson finding the back of the net after a clean offensive zone face-off win from captain Bo Horvat.
As you can guess, that was short-lived.
The Canucks started to slow down after 20 minutes of play, with the physical and mental exhaustion rising to the forefront as expected. They were unable to complete simple tape-to-tape passes and looked to be one step behind on every play.
The Canucks continued to make the game more difficult for themselves, allowing too much open ice for the Maple Leafs’ to complete numerous stretch passes, as well as blindly throwing the puck up the middle of the ice to be easily picked off.
They were able to control most of the damage in the second frame, only surrendering one goal, but it was evident that the team didn’t have enough steam for the third period. They gave up three more goals in the final 20 minutes, and were only able to record four shots on goal.
Like we’ve seen so many times before, even the hockey gods didn’t allow the Canucks to catch any sort of much-needed lucky break.
From a few grade-A chances from recent waiver-claim Jimmy Vesey to Horvat’s disappearing puck trick in front of the net in the third period, it seemed that nothing was going in the team’s favour, essentially just adding more salt to the wounds of players, coaches and fans.
Yes, it was cringe-worthy and difficult hockey to endure overall, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t a complete trainwreck for the Canucks.
Whatever life they had come across in the first period seemed to have disappeared in the blink of an eye, forcing them to just hold onto dear life for the remaining 40 minutes until the final whistle.
Let the kids play
The heading says it all.
With a 14-point difference between fourth and seventh place in the all-Canadian division, it’s safe to say that the Canucks’ playoff dreams have basically been extinguished.
Yes, the glass-half-full crowd might still be hopeful for a miraculous, never-before-seen winning streak to cap off the year, but it’s about time that we all face reality. Plus, we’re conditioned to be disappointed by this team on a yearly basis, and it’s important to keep grand traditions like that alive.
The Canucks have thrown in the towel on this year, which means that management and coaching staff should be looking to give their talented prospects more opportunities to play.
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And so far, the young guns haven’t disappointed.
Nils Höglander continues to build upon his strong rookie campaign, having recorded nine goals and 11 assists in 45 games. There’s no question that he has been one of the more impactful and high-energy players in the top-six forward group, with many fans hoping that he can maintain solid chemistry with Horvat on the second line.
Höglander even saw some time on the first powerplay unit on Saturday night, and should be a staple on the man advantage moving forward, even if he isn’t expected to play that role once Elias Pettersson returns from injury (whenever that may be).
Olli Juolevi and Jalen Chatfield have solidified their roles as bottom-pairing defencemen as of late, and should hopefully see small increases in their average TOI as the season winds down. There’s no doubt that both blueliners have aspects of their game that require significant improvement, but now’s the time to work on those defensive fundamentals.
Factor in Kole Lind, who has looked solid in his first two professional games, as well as Jonah Gadjovich, who has officially been recalled by the team and should be expected to make his NHL debut once his seven-day quarantine is completed, and the Canucks should be well-equipped with a handful of talented, eager prospects moving forward.
Can confirm @FriedgeHNIC's indications about Jonah Gadjovich.
— Patrick Johnston (@risingaction) May 2, 2021
He's on his way to Vancouver. Will have to quarantine of course. 15 goals in 19 games for Utica this year after 13 in 38 last season.
And if management plays their cards right, these players could drastically reshape the franchise for years to come.
The Canucks are set to return home on Monday night, where they’ll face off against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers for the first of five straight games. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm PST.
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