Instant Reaction: Canucks lose three consecutive games for the first time this season

The Canucks seemed to be ready to respond after their 10-7 loss to the Wild. They came out in this game forechecking hard and looked to prove that they can hang with the best teams in the NHL.

The first period was relatively low event, but we did get one goal, as JT Miller stayed hot to open the scoring for the Canucks. What a nice feed from Brock Boeser this was:

Arshdeep Bains had a solid chance in the dying moments of the first period, and if he had scored, it may have caused seismic activity all over the lower mainland.

It was a solid game for the rookie making his NHL debut. More on him later.

In the second period, the Canucks picked up their first power play of the game, and despite not scoring, they were right there in this game. The Avalanche tied things up in the second:

After 40 minutes of play, we were all tied up at one apiece.

Just over a minute into the first, the Avalanche scored the go-ahead goal to give them their first lead of the game:

Shortly after, Elias Pettersson appeared to tie up the game after tipping home a Nikita Zadorov wrist shot, but the puck was deflected with a high stick and the goal was waved off.

Later in the third, we had two of the most absurd “how did they not score?” sequences from Pettersson’s line on the same shift. First, Höglander made a sublime pass to Pettersson, who made a quick touch pass to Elias Lindholm that Lindholm just couldn’t finish. After that, there was a mad scramble that had Alex Georgiev reaching behind him while the puck was not behind him. Filip Hronek ended the sequence with a slapper at an open net that Artturi Lehkonen heroically blocked:

The Canucks picked up their second power play opportunity with just under seven minutes left in the game. At this point, they were pressing the Avs hard as they looked for the equalizing goal. The Canucks’ power play failed to convert, and I do not like the look of the first unit with Miller away from the half wall. He’s so dominant in that spot, that it feels counterintuitive to put him anywhere else.

After that, Colorado got a power play of their own on a play that Rick Tocchet seemed pretty certain was a dive. You be the judge, was this a dive?

That late power play effectively killed any comeback chance the Canucks had.

So yes, for the first time this season, the Canucks have lost three straight games. That being said, they didn’t play poorly by any means. They’ve got one more road game against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, and then return home for another tough test against the Boston Bruins.

Some other takeaways from tonight’s game:

-Bains had some good sequences tonight, and anyone who listened to today’s episode of Canucks Conversation will know that I was very vocal about my belief that the best place for Bains in the Canucks’ lineup was in Dakota Joshua’s usual spot on the third line. Even with that, I didn’t actually expect for it to happen. I’m very glad it did, and I’d say Bains has at least earned himself another game in that spot if Joshua isn’t ready to go for Thursday.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!