‘Find some character’: Simple mistakes continue to crush Canucks in loss

LAS VEGAS — It was a street journey solely the moms may love.

Determined for some positivity and with their mothers invited alongside for the primary time for the reason that 2020 pandemic, the Vancouver Canucks dissatisfied once more by dropping 5-2 Wednesday in opposition to the Vegas Golden Knights after getting hammered 6-2 on Monday by the Utah Mammoth.

There was unconditional love and help close by for Canuck gamers, however no factors in the standings and little to brighten the gloom of one of many worst Nationwide Hockey League winters in franchise historical past.

5 Vancouver gamers head immediately to the Olympics to play for his or her nations, however the remainder will spend the NHL schedule break pondering the failure of the final six weeks — 4 wins in 22 video games since Dec. 20.

They need to be serious about how to be higher for the last-place group’s ultimate 25 video games, beginning Feb. 25 in opposition to the Winnipeg Jets.

“We’re not enjoying for nothing,” centre Teddy Blueger mentioned. “You’ve received to have some respect and appreciation to be in this league, some respect on your teammates to play laborious each night time whatever the standings. The entire concept of, like, tanking and constructing for the long run. . . whenever you play meaningless video games like this, nobody’s studying something.

“You’ve received to dig in, strive to compete and win each recreation. And we will not get deflated and simply cease enjoying when issues aren’t going our method. I believe we’ve received to discover some character in our group. I do know we have now some good guys that need to win and understand how to win and to compete and play laborious, however I believe we’ve received to discover it as a group. Simply discover, , most likely some extra respect for one another, some appreciation to be in this league (and) not take that as a right, not simply undergo the motions as a result of we’re final in the league. You already know, come in and compete.”

Talking these robust and painfully-honest phrases, Blueger has the good thing about expertise and the liberty of understanding he’s seemingly to be traded earlier than the NHL deadline on March 6.

He and linemates Liam Ohgren and Conor Garland have been glorious on Wednesday, however the Canuck group once more shredded itself with a three-minute collapse in the second interval and one-minute lull in the third when the Golden Knights scored all of their objectives.

“The story of our season,” Blueger mentioned. “I imply, I’m sort of sick of speaking about it. You already know, we most likely do not have sufficient character as a bunch to dig in in these moments, and we simply sort of get deflated too simply. Nobody can change that apart from us. So we’ve received to take some extra accountability, extra accountability. . . for one another, , simply play laborious for one another. We’re probably not doing that persistently sufficient. And once we go in opposition to a group that is aware of how to win, it is much more tough.”

After a stable first interval, the Canucks had one other a kind of confounding, exasperating lulls which have undermined all of them season, permitting three objectives in 2 ½ minutes early in the second interval. The one optimistic wrinkle is that defenceman Elias Pettersson scored one for Vancouver amid the discombobulation, so the Golden Knights’ benefit was restricted throughout the carnage to 3-1.

Canuck centre David Kampf did the hokey-pokey and turned himself round in the defensive zone, leaving room in the slot for Knights centre Jack Eichel to accumulate the puck and decide his spot far-post on goalie Kevin Lankinen to make it 1-0 at 5:09 of the center body.

Defending on the following aim was worse, as Canuck rookies Tom Willander and Jonathan Lekkerimaki allowed Cole Reinhardt to skate away from them and in alone on Lankinen earlier than the Knight scored simply on a deke at 6:24.

However Pettersson snatched one again at 7:11, overlapping down the left and taking pictures between Vegas goalie Akira Schmid’s pads after good passes by Ohgren and Blueger.

As a substitute of utilizing it to re-ignite and re-engage, Vancouver surrendered one other simple aim on the following shift when Eichel picked the puck from defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph behind the online, catching the Canucks defensively unprepared. Alone in the slot, Ivan Barbashev made it 3-1 Vegas at 7:39.

These sorts of compounding mistakes and objectives have crushed the Canucks repeatedly over the season, and particularly the final six weeks, making it unimaginable to win some nights regardless of how nicely they play outdoors of the downspells.

“I imply, we play so good after which (make) some easy mistakes,” winger Linus Karlsson mentioned. “Like, we received two shifts in a row our line received scored on. That may’t occur. That is stuff we’d like to clear up. That is why we lose. We’re enjoying actually good hockey, after which simple mistakes occur. After which, yeah, the sport is over.”

It wasn’t fairly over Wednesday.

Blueger, Ohgren and Garland have been the perfect line on both group. By two durations, pictures have been 10-0 for Vancouver after they have been on the ice, 16-9 for Vegas after they weren’t.

An excellent shift by the trio introduced the Canucks again inside a aim with simply 8.5 seconds left in the center interval: Ohgren and Blueger on the forecheck, Garland with a go and Joseph with a screened wrister previous Schmid from the purpose.

However once more, as a substitute of launching the Canucks into the third interval, the aim appeared to sedate them.

After Tyler Myers misplaced the puck in the nook and Mitch Marner skated the puck to the Vancouver slot with no person checking anybody, untouched Knight Pavel Dorofeyev finally swept it into an open internet at 2:33.

And 58 seconds later it was 5-2, after Pettersson was crushed large by Keegan Kolesar, and Garland failed to block a centring go to Alexander Holtz. The Knights outshot the Canucks 15-4 in the ultimate interval.

“We now have performed each second day for some time now, generally back-to-back,” Karlsson mentioned. “So I imply, I believe you might have to reset for certain (throughout the break), take some days off and reset your thoughts. However we’d like to come again with new power and simply get going once more. I imply, we’re the place we’re, and we have now to discover a method to get out of it. Hopefully this break goes to be good for us.”

“I imply, I do know what I am going to do,” Willander mentioned. “In all probability take a number of days off, however I am getting again to work. I believe we have now quite a lot of younger guys on the group, and I believe there’s quite a lot of potential. I believe our guys ought to all be doing the identical factor.”

• Coach Adam Foote mentioned after the sport he expects most injured Canucks can be obtainable to practise when the non-Olympians reconvene in Vancouver on Feb. 17. Filip Chytil (migraine problems) didn’t play Wednesday, however felt higher than he did after leaving Monday’s recreation. Foote mentioned Brock Boeser (concussion) has began skating. Marco Rossi (decrease physique), Zeev Buium (facial fracture) and Nils Hoglander (undisclosed) are the opposite Canucks who may return after the Olympic break. Blueger (Latvia), Lankinen (Finland), centre Elias Pettersson (Sweden), Kampf and Filip Hronek (Czechia) are the Canucks headed to Italy.