It was another frustrating night for the home team at Rogers Arena as the Vancouver Canucks fell 5-2 to the Detroit Red Wings. The loss marked the Canucks’ ninth straight.

Post game, a frustrated Brock Boeser met with the media and didn’t hold back.

“I mean, it’s the same stuff game after game. I don’t know where the disconnect is,” Boeser said. “If guys in here aren’t listening to what the coaches are preaching on our style of play, or some of our structure is not working, or what it is. But it’s embarrassing… We are a way better hockey team than we’re playing, and to consistently show up to the rink and be disconnected out there… Like we might play as a team, like a five-man unit out there, maybe a period here and there, and I don’t know. We showed that we were a better team last year than what we’re playing right now.”

“I mean, you try to talk to guys out there when they make a mistake on what the right play is, but you can only talk to guys so many times about making the right play. It’s just frustrating, and I know we have a lot better in this room, and I think everyone feels that, so it’s just hard right now.”

When given the opportunity to point to the Canucks’ better play at points on their recent road trip, he refused to take the opportunity to do so.

“Even in those games, something still feels off,” Boeser said. “We’re still not generating offence, not getting enough shots, so something’s not working, and I don’t know if guys don’t listen or, like I said, [there’s] something in the structure we need to fix or what it is. But we definitely have a lot better in this room.”

The Canucks have given up an NHL-worst 56 goals against. The next closest team to them is the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have given up 38. The Canucks rank 12th league-wide in goals scored, but when you’re getting scored on as much as this team is, it’s tough to feel good about anything, and it’s even tougher to win games.

When asked directly about the veteran winger’s comments on structure, Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra offered a slightly different perspective on the Canucks’ struggles post-game.

“If you look at the mistakes, a lot of them are effort-based,” Malhotra said. “As much as we want to talk about structure and being in the right place at the right time, when you don’t win battles and you don’t box out, and you allow the opposition to get to the paint, a lot of bad stuff’s going to happen. We can talk about knowing or not knowing the systems, but until there’s an adequate effort put forth, the systems don’t really matter.”

One thing is clear from both Malhotra’s and Boeser’s comments: both are frustrated with the players in the Canucks’ room right now.

The Canucks have a full team day off Friday and will hit the ice for a practice out at UBC on Saturday before welcoming Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild to Rogers Arena on Sunday.