Three reasons why the Canucks will miss the playoffs

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It’s pretty much over at this point. In fact, you could say it was over weeks ago or even months ago. After another loss by the Vancouver Canucks, this time a 3-2 overtime defeat at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, their playoff hopes are taking their last breaths.

According to a model from Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, the Canucks playoff odds are at 1%. It looks like one more loss makes it official. So yes, it’s pretty much over. There still will be playoff hockey in the Lower Mainland, however. The Abbotsford Canucks clinched a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs on Sunday and the Vancouver Giants have already booked their spot in the WHL playoffs and they have three regular-season games remaining.

Vancouver had a very poor start which led to Jim Benning and Travis Green being fired and Bruce Boudreau coming in back in December. Eventually, Jim Rutherford was named President of Hockey Operations and Patrik Allvin was named General Manager. The Canucks did win their first seven games under Boudreau but it has been up and down since then.

Let’s look at three reasons why the playoffs won’t be happening for the seventh time in the last eight years. It is also disappointing that the Canucks still have not played a playoff game at Rogers Arena since their first-round exit to the Calgary Flames in 2015.

Apr 3, 2022; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner (90) reacts after a shot from Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller (9) goes past him in the third period at Rogers Arena. Vegas won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports /

#1 Slow starts, late pushes

This also kind of sums up the Canucks season. They went 8-15-2 under Green and then there was the seven-game win streak and some impressive wins over the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. But despite those wins, it is too little and too late.

In a bunch of games this season, the Canucks would start slow. In fact, Vancouver is dead last in first period goals with 43. They have given up 68 first period goals this season which is 10th in the NHL. Third periods have been much better for them. The Canucks have scored 78 third period goals which is 13th in the NHL. In terms of goals against in the third period, they have given up third- least in the final frame with 58. Only the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers have given up fewer third period goals.

The Canucks have looked slow and sloppy in their starts but seem to hit the gas pedal in third periods. Obviously, this shouldn’t happen and in order to win, you have to play a full 60 minutes.

“I don’t know why we don’t start on time,” said Boudreau after Sunday’s loss to Vegas. “Teams know this and they come out flying.”

#2: The Canucks have hard team beating teams they should beat

This team is a strange one.

The Canucks can beat teams good teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. Yet, they can’t beat bottom-feeder like the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils. (Though they did manage to beat the Devils for the first time since 2014 this season.)

In the 3-1 win in Denver for example, they played with energy and determination. In the 1-0 loss against Detroit, they had a tough start and couldn’t score and looked very sluggish.

It’s great when you can beat an elite team like the Avalanche but unacceptable if you lose (and even worse get shutout) to a Red Wings team in the cellar of the NHL. Losing those games against the teams the Canucks should beat were big blows to their playoff push.

Apr 3, 2022; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Vasily Podkolzin (92) and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) and forward J.T. Miller (9) and forward Alex Chiasson (39) celebrate MillerÕs goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period at Rogers Arena. Vegas won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports /

#3: The roster isn’t good enough

This was Benning’s all-in team after eight seasons on the job. He has been given the pink slip but the ramifications of his tenure are still hurting the team and will continue to do so for quite some time.

Benning’s final offseason saw him trade draft picks and three contracts set to expire this summer for Conor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson and his albatross contract. This trade was one step forward, two steps back for the Canucks.

Benning also traded a draft pick for Jason Dickinson and handed out overpayments to Travis Hamonic and Tucker Poolman. While Hamonic was eventually traded for a third-round pick to the Ottawa Senators, Poolman’s contract is still very baffling and he has spent a chunk of the season out of the lineup and isn’t effective when he is in the lineup. Dickinson was brought in to be a penalty killing and shutdown centre but has not been a fit at all.

Garland had a nice start to the season but has no goals in 17 games. The Canucks acquired him to be a reliable top-six player who can put up points but lately, he hasn’t been good enough. OEL did start the year good defensively but has started to look shaky in his own end. Plus, he hasn’t shown a ton of offence and only has four goals and 21 points this season. At an 82-game pace, that is 25 points and that is not good enough for someone making over seven million dollars.

J.T. Miller has driven the offence and Elias Pettersson has returned to form after a slow start. Other than that, Garland, Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat have been inconsistent and that can also describe the offence as a whole.

Other than Quinn Hughes, the defensive core isn’t good at all and needs to be reworked. The Canucks have been bailed out numerous times by Thatcher Demko’s stellar goaltending and he is a big reason why they haven’t been mathematically eliminated yet.

This team is a capped-out middle of the pack team with a bare prospect cupboard and pretty much every analytics model predicted they wouldn’t make the playoffs before the season began. Turns out they were right.

Next. Another slow start, failed comeback leads to 3-2 OT loss against Vegas. dark

Allvin and the new management group are going to have a big offseason to make sure the Canucks can get back into the postseason next season and for many seasons to come. But it is not going to be easy.

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