After going winless in three games to begin the 2024-25 campaign, the Vancouver Canucks showed more of what made them so good last season, with four consecutive victories. With three of the wins coming on the road, this further proved that they are one of the better teams in the NHL.
As a result the Canucks, entered Monday night in confident mood, but unfortunately for the fans went on to lose 4-3 in overtime, to the Carolina Hurricanes. Let's get to our three takeaways, from what was a highly entertaining contest:
1) Canucks display their mental fortitude
The Canucks will be the first to admit themselves, that they are not yet playing up their full potential. And this should be something to concern opponents, considering they sit sixth in the Western Conference standings as of Tuesday morning.
With a 4-1-3 record, this references the Canucks managing to pick up points in all but one of their eight games to date. This is a team displaying tremendous resiliency, even in games where they are second-best.
Arguably the clearest example of just this came on Monday night, when the Hurricanes came flying out of the gates with a superior 13-5 advantage in shots on goal during the opening 20 minutes. By the end of the second period, the visitors had a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead.
However, such is the spirit and camaraderie of this Canucks roster, that they refused to lay down. The result was a deepened resolve during the third period with two goals, including Puis Suter's wrist shot with just over three minutes remaining, to take the contest to overtime.
Yes the Hurricanes would ultimately win the game just 47 seconds into overtime. However, that the Canucks could fight back from a losing position when they were being thoroughly outplayed and claim a point, speaks volumes.
Postgame, as much as Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet credited the comeback, he did also bring his regular dose of reality to the situation. As per the team's X account on social media, he said:
""Yeah, the last 10 minutes was great, but before that, we have to learn. I don’t think we were ready to play - Carolina was. They believed in what they were doing. (They) beat us to pucks, and we had a lot of guys early on not moving their feet, not winning battles. And then we decided to do (the right) things and made a game out of it. So take the positives out of it, getting a point, but I still think there are lessons to be learned.""