Whatever disharmony they may be dealing with, they managed to play a pretty entertaining hockey game Saturday evening. Read on.
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The noise around the Vancouver Canucks has been very, very loud this week.
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Not for playing reasons, really.
But whatever disharmony they may be dealing with, they managed to play a pretty entertaining hockey game Saturday evening at Rogers Arena, taking on their old coach Travis Green and his energetic young Ottawa Senators.
As usual, the Canucks gave up the first goal. Chasing the game isn’t easy.
But chase they did. Three times they came back.
It’s not an easy way to play, but it makes for entertaining hockey and fans paying as much as they do to get into Rogers Arena deserve entertaining hockey.
There are still lots of issues in the Canucks’ game, let alone issues off the ice, but kudos to the Canucks for not quitting on this night.
But they also should never have lost this game.
They held the upper hand so many times, outhustled the visitors in so many ways, and yet they kept making mistakes that gave the Senators everything.
There were good things on the night, but crucial errors hurt them head coach rick tocchet said.
“We can’t gamble. We’re not that type of team. We’re hoping the guy’s gonna win the battle. If you lose the battle, they get an odd-man rush. You can’t play that way. And we’re gonna have to do some digging on that,” he said.
The Canucks scored four goals and also just weren’t good enough.
Despite the best efforts of their captain.
“We’re witnessing greatness,” Brock Boeser said of Hughes’s efforts.
What a two minutes for Quinn Hughes.
The internal chaos has a been a big leadership challenge for Hughes — and a day after the general manager pointed out that the team’s best players as a whole just haven’t been good enough.
Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat.
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So of course at the end of an otherwise dour first period for Vancouver, their captain first sets up a goal, then scores one of his own.
Jake DeBrusk knots this game at three. 3⃣ pic.twitter.com/iKshcxnQpC
And of course it was Hughes who created the third goal too.
It was a very uneven night for Brock Boeser, but for a player who has not been as productive of late as he needs to be — and surely was in the list of players frustrating his coach as well as his GM — you just can’t ignore production.
He scored twice on the ice, both times in spots where goal scorers need to finish.
J.T. Miller was on the ice for four goals against.
He had no shot attempts.
One hit.
Elias Pettersson is now pointless in six games.
Apparently no one told him that his captain and his coach had addressed the well-known rift between him and Miller earlier in the day, because when he tried to claim there was no situation post-game.
And when I asked him “so it’s hasn’t been distracting you?”
He said “next question” and when there was none, he stormed out. Then shouted back “Read the room!”
Which, to be honest, we all though we were doing.
“Obviously not to beat around the bush, everyone knows about the reports out there,” Hughes said. Then spoke clearly about the situation.
“I believe it’s workable. And I know it’s workable. I mean, I saw it last year. It was very evident. And I think that both of them have been going through their own struggles this year. And I believe in both of them, I think they’re great players, great people.”
So it was baffling to hear Pettersson claim that shit was being made up and also to be upset about a question on the chatter being a distraction, given that everyone behind the scenes is talking about it and his teammates have been.
“I think the communication has been better,” Boeser said of the situation between the two.
“We’ve got to stick together and worry about winning hockey games. That’s all our worry should be right now. We’ve got to come to the rink. We’ve got to work harder.”
OK, yes, that should have been a tripping penalty but look how deep the turnover is after Hughes was knocked to the ice.
There’s just no excuse for the Canucks being so soft against the Senators’ breakout.
Ottawa goal!
Scored by Shane Pinto with 15:36 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson.
Vancouver: 2
Ottawa: 3#OTTvsVAN #Canucks #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/trwE8OPcsm
And yes, Tyler Myers also defends this in the crucial moment quite badly. Bit of a theme on the night for the Canucks.
Kevin Lankinen just punched his stick to make a save, what is this technique called @KevinisInGoal pic.twitter.com/WrsPK5ioG6
You’re not allowed to throw your stick to make a save, so was that a throw?
This is a team that clearly knows that their opponents have a flaw when they lose a power play draw.
What a beautiful goal, one of the prettiest of the season.
Sanderson with a Karlsson-esque pass to Giroux who sauced it on a platter to Norris.pic.twitter.com/khw5vVAFnM
Travis Hamonic hammers it to the far corner and Josh Norris and Claude Giroux take off up ice.
Did they know the Canucks dog it after a lost faceoff?
Up ice, J.T. Miller is caught wandering and Boeser is too slow picking up what’s happening, instead left flailing at air.
Tocchet said that basically his players should have been on the lookout for what happened.
“That’s Millsy’s guy, if he just stays back. I don’t know if he got surprised. I mean, I told Boeser before he goes out, I said, make sure you tell the guys to reload, because they’re going to take off,” Tocchet said.
Interesting song choice by the arena DJ, just before a faceoff taken by J.T. Miller.
Britney Spears’ somewhat legendary Toxic.
NEXT GAME
Monday
San Jose Sharks vs. Vancouver Canucks
6 p.m., Xxxx, TV: ESPN Pacific, Radio: Sportsnet 650
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