The Vancouver Canucks had a good run, but regression to the mean eventually comes for everyone.
Before Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Canucks had scored no fewer than three goals in each of their last six games, including three outbursts of five goals or more.
The aforementioned scoring spree, ironically, started with a 6-2 thrashing of the Jets back on March 18, but the Canucks were due for a crash. And no matter when it came, it was going to come at the wrong time.
Without Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Nils Hoglander, the Canucks lacked the firepower to keep up such a torrid run. This all said, the Canucks could have and should have done better against the Jets on Sunday.
When head coach Rick Tocchet needed a difference-maker, he did not turn to the right players.
Canucks blew crucial game vs. Jets
Going down the list of players, it is no surprise to see Canucks captain Quinn Hughes leading the way with a whopping 27:08, including exactly six minutes on the power play.
Unsurprisingly, Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers, and Marcus Pettersson were the next three defencemen, but Pettersson was the only one of these four blueliners to fail to record a shot on goal. If you want to beat the best goalie in the world in Connor Hellebuyck, you need to score with traffic in front of the net. Pettersson did not help the cause there.
Most egregious of all, however, was the fact that Kiefer Sherwood led all Canucks wingers in ice time (18:25) and was second to only Pius Suter (21:04) amongst forwards.
After Suter opened the scoring late in the first period, Kyle Connor tied the game at 1-1 halfway through the second period. The overall ice time is a reflection of Tocchet trying to play it safe against a vastly superior Jets team, then trying to play catch-up after falling behind six minutes into the third period.
Canucks sharpshooters Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk each played fewer than 15 minutes at even strength, and Conor Garland (15:51) played less than Dakota Joshua (16:04).
Youngster Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who might have the best shot on the entire team, played just 11:32, including 4:17 on the power play. The 20-year-old has just two shots on goal in his last three games, and Tocchet and the Canucks are not doing enough to get him involved.
Creating offence has been a problem all year for the Canucks; Boeser, Sherwood, and Linus Karlsson were the only three forwards to have three or more shots on goal against the Jets.
Other players with heavy shots, including Lekkerimäki, barely saw the ice. When they did, they barely touched the puck.
As a result, the Canucks scored only one goal in a potentially season-ending loss, paying the price the hard way.