3 takeaways as Canucks lose 4-3 in overtime at home to the Hurricanes
We break down an absorbing game on Monday night at Rogers Arena, with the Canucks battling hard to recover from an early deficit to claim a valuable point.
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."
2) Power play continues to short circuit
We can appreciate that perception is often reality, with the Canucks' power play offering such evidence. On the one hand, their 20.0 percent efficiency and 16th-best ranking through eight games isn't that bad, when you consider they were at 22.7 percent effectiveness and ranked 11th for the 2023-24 campaign as a whole.
However, if you delve a little deeper, there is at least some cause for concern. Particularly when you get past the 2-for-4 productivity in the season opener at home to the Calgary Flames.
Giving due credit to Ben Kuzma of The Province, consider that in the seven games since then the Canucks have gone just 3-for-21 on the power play, managing only 27 shots along the way. This converts to a 14.3 percent efficiency which would rank a lowly 26th in the NHL. (Interestingly one place ahead of the usually dangerous Edmonton Oilers, who have just a 13.8 percent efficiency.)
This is quite simply not good enough, and an area in which the Canucks must improve if they are to be labelled as genuine contenders come playoff time. In this respect, consider that their power play was left wanting during last season's playoffs, with a 13.9 percent efficiency which ranked just 12th among the 16 competing teams.
Against the Hurricanes specifically, the Canucks went 0-for-3 with the man advantage and just couldn't get anything going. While we appreciate the visitors are one of the better penalty kill units in the NHL -- seventh at 86.7 percent efficiency as of Tuesday morning -- you have to take better advantage, particularly at home in a game where you're second-best at even-strength.
Tocchet provided his no-nonsense analysis of what went wrong on the night on the power play, and where the team needs to improve. He said:
"Yeah, we're gonna have to make some changes, not working hard enough. Very lackadaisical - that's a high pressure team. We had the odd time when we had a couple of looks. ... When (Quinn) Hughes threw at the net, we had Millsy almost scored in front. That's the key against this pressure (penalty kill), being able to make one or two plays and get it to the net. I thought a couple of guys were playing slow and you can't play slow against a high-pressure penalty kill."
3) Kevin Lankinen keeps the Canucks in touch
If there was any doubt about where Tocchet's confidence lies right now on the goalie situation, surely Monday night removed any doubt? With Kevin Lankinen getting the start for a fifth consecutive game over Artūrs Šilovs, he seems all but anchored in as the number one pending whenever Thatcher Demko is finally ready to return.
Now we understand there are those who will point at Lankinen allowing four goals on 28 shots, and wondering what the fuss is all about? Further, that this was the second straight game where he finished with a less than average .875 save percentage.
However, if you watched the actual game, it's clear that the 29-year-old actually played extremely well, hence why he was awarded the Third Star of the Game. The reality is that without his performance, the Canucks aren't even in position to recover from their 3-1 deficit and take the game to overtime.
We are hesitant to go as far as claiming the Canucks rely on Lankinen too much, but this doesn't change the fact he was crucial to the team securing a valuable point. In our humble opinion, the only goal where you can attach any type of blame to him, was the Hurricanes' first one.
Aside from this, the Finland intentional made several critical saves to get his teammates off the hook and keep the Canucks in the game. Arguably the biggest one came with 10 minutes remaining in the third and the home side down 3-2, when he stopped Seth Jarvis on a short-handed two-on-one.
Postgame, Lankinen was asked about the game, and offered some insight into how he deals with facing teams who are playing better on the night. Also as per the team on social media, he said:
"They've got some pretty good skill. They play hard, so that's always a challenge against those guys, but so do we. I'm just trying my best to stay present and whatever comes my way, just to weather the storm a little bit ... and I’m going to keep grinding here."
Next. An unfortunate 'casualty' of the Canucks' salary cap moves. An unfortunate 'casualty' of the Canucks' salary cap moves. dark
Quote of the game:
Jake DeBrusk talks about his mentality and approach to his goalless drought to begin the 2024-25 season. As per Kuzma, he said:
"I’ve gone through this too many times and I’m more worried about my overall game and there have been good and bad spurts. I’ve got to dial it up and put one in the net. Frustration can lead to bad things. I have to stick with it."
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