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: