In life, there are inevitably more questions than answers. The same can be said about the Vancouver Canucks.
We know they are struggling, but we don’t know why. We have a lot of questions about it. We don’t have many answers.
All we know is the Canucks 5-1 loss to the LA Kings doesn’t even seem like the biggest question anymore. Sure, they lost, but it’s how they lost that has become the central plot of this entire season. This wasn’t a team that went out on its shield, fighting until the last whistle, doing anything in its power to try and grind out a comeback.
No, this was a team that lost the game before the first period was even half over. By the time the 10-minute mark had passed, it was already 3-0 for the Los Angeles monarchy. If this had been a social event, I would have been furiously plotting how I could sneak out without anybody noticing. Apparently, the Canucks felt the same.
And yes, there are plenty of passengers on this team at the moment. Elias Pettersson? Absolutely invisible tonight. I’m not even sure if he played. The box scores say he did, so I will take their word for it.
So, while there are roster limitations due to the team Allvin and/or Rutherford (Allford?) have put together, it does feel like, overall, many players could be performing at a higher level.  It’s just hard not to focus on JT Miller after his scrum with the media earlier in the day before the game:
Now, there is a lot to unpack here, but the body language from one of the leaders on the team? Not great.
And I get it. Answering questions in a scrum? Probably not the best part of the job. If you catch me on a bad day at work, when someone has booked me into a three-hour meeting, I promise you I will answer questions just like JT Miller did here. Want an update on that spreadsheet Bob? You just answered your own question.
So I get that aspect of it. But having a letter on your jersey and being a player in the NHL, scrums are part of the job. You have to do your best to get through them and never let them see you bleed. It’s something the Sedins did such a wonderful job of doing over their years here. I stood in front of Henrik Sedin while he patiently explained to me that a 6-1 loss could have gone their way with a bounce or two. He looked me right in the eyes, smiling warmly, daring me to question it. Nobody ever did.
Somewhere along the line, though, that culture has eroded from this team. You can cherry pick the names of various leaders that have left over the years, but maybe there is something to the Bo Horvats and Luke Schenns maintaining a balance in that locker room that is sorely needed with this current group.
Because as it stands now, there is seemingly no strong voice coming from that locker room guiding the team through these troubled waters.
“But Wyatt, in the room it’s different, who cares what they say to the media!”
And to that, I say yes and no.
Yes, we don’t know what’s going on in the locker room. For all we know, they are hugging and high-fiving after each loss, hyped up on subverting expectations. But when the results on the ice look as poor as they do, when the team shows as little fight as they have, it will inevitably lead to questions. Questions that, at the very least, should be answered in a way that doesn’t lead to even more questions.
If I get asked, “Did you throw out the garbage?” and I say, “That depends on your definition of garbage,” that’s going to lead us down a long winding path where nobody is happy with the result.
So no, I don’t think you should have a leader on the team shrugging their way through an interview in the midst of the team struggling to maintain its form, much less its hold on a playoff position. Because right now, we have Surly JT, Quiet Elias, Sad Boy Quinn, and I Don’t Even Know If They Want Me Boeser, and an increasing “What do you want me to do about it?” Absentee Father Vibe Rick Tocchet leading the PR charge for this team. It’s not exactly a system that is delivering serene energy during this rough patch for the team.
And here’s the thing: we have watched JT Miller for many years in Vancouver. We have seen the ups and downs of JT.
When he’s up and the team is winning, there is no better player on this team. That JT Miller is engaged, he’s pumping the boys up, he’s playing hard, he’s got that cocky swagger you want a winning team to have.
When he’s down, he’s not skating hard, he doesn’t back check, he misses assignments, he looks angrily in Farhan’s direction, he’s yelling at Collin Delia. The optics of JT Miller that make him the prototypical “That’s a guy I ride or die with!!” during a win also become the “Look in the mirror, bro” guy when the team is losing. You can yell at your teammates, but when you dish out snark about having to play better yourself, then that tends to be a bad look.
See, that’s the thing: this level of play from JT Miller isn’t new to any of us here in Vancouver. We’ve seen him have these fluctuations before. It’s just, he’s one of the main leaders of this team now, and he has the burden of last season’s expectations shining a much bigger spotlight on him. I think he is a very good winner but someone who struggles mightily with losing.
So, where do we find ourselves now?
We find ourselves watching another game where JT Miller is seemingly quiet quitting on the Canucks. Offering up the baseline effort, and at times, not even that. He’s not even chipping in offensively at this point, but still blowing assignments or barely putting in an effort in his own zone.
Could there be an injury? Sure. Absolutely. Speculation is certainly not in short order when it comes to ailments he might be dealing with. But the joy of hockey is never being told specifics about it until years down the road, so all we can go on is the other things. Like performance on the ice. And body language in scrums. And then wondering if it is an injury, where’s the point that he shouldn’t be trying to play through it if he can’t even backcheck?
Because as it stands right now, as the team continues to spiral, JT Miller is sitting in the front row of the entire mess.
All the team can do is hope he plays better, I guess.
Best pre-game messaging
See, this is great. Fil only talks once a year, either to try and yell at J-Pats, or boldly lie to our faces about the state of the team, and I am here for it. So when he said this in the morning before the game, I happily applauded it.
Sometimes, you gotta play the game and spew those bold, positive lies. Tell us the team is fine, and the games have actually been better than we think. Subtly hint that we’re a bunch of panic-stricken babies and that you’ve got this under control. Maybe throw a pencil at J-Pats to really lean into the “us vs. you” mentality. Do whatever it takes.
Don’t sit there and shrug and go, “Sure, yeah, I guess goals would help win us some games.”
Best digging deep
Mike does a good job statistically confirming what our eyes have told us all season: The Canucks were lucky on the rush last year, had timelier goaltending, and played much better defensively.
How we arrived to the current state of the team? Well, that’s what everyone is asking themselves.
The roster? The coaching? The players themselves? No longer riding that sweet pony of luck? Bees? Is it bees??
All we know is Vancouver is the worst team at creating rush chances and always has been. But now they aren’t even scoring at the same clip as they did last year.
When you combine that with the Canucks goalies not bailing the team out as much this season and the team not protecting the GOTI as well, baby, you’ve got a stew going.
If the Canucks look like they are playing boring, low-event, tedious hockey that still results in losses, then congratulations, you were very correct in your assessment.
Best they never are
The Canucks at least did the polite thing on Thursday night by letting their fans know the game was already over before Sportsnet had even finished showing the lines for the game:
That’s what the kids call “scoring off the rush,” which I thought meant having sex after shotgunning five energy drinks, but apparently, in hockey, you’re allowed to score under five seconds upon entering the offensive zone? Which still sounds like a metaphor to me, to be honest.
Darren Alex Turcotte got the party started for the Kings after Adrian Kempe caught a pinching Fil Hronek and turned it into an odd-man rush the other way. And if Fil Hronek looked me right in the eyes and said, “Wyatt, I meant to do that, as it will end up being a good thing down the road.” I would believe him because, at the end of the day, all we want to do is compartmentalize and believe. That’s all I’m saying, JT; it doesn’t take much.
But yes, that’s essentially a tap-in goal for Turcotte, as I’m starting to have a sneaking suspicion that teams may have caught on to the Canucks offensive approach of “just send it to the point.” It’s very much a low-risk, high-reward situation to pressure the Canucks into turnovers when it’s a defenceman not named Quinn Hughes with the puck on the blue line. It’s an even easier scenario to collapse down low to defend a lead and give the Canucks defence, Ben Simmons, time and space for their long-point shots when it’s not Quinn Hughes.
I have a theory that Quinn Hughes is a vital cog of the Canucks machine, but I need more time to suss it out.
Best make it stop
JT Miller being on PP1 or PP2, it kind of doesn’t matter when the power play is a giant, burning, pile of old Joe Fresh underwear either way.
How bad was the power play on the night? It managed one shot on five attempts. And I’m not even sure about that one shot, I still feel like that’s being very charitable, or a case of someone sitting down on a button by accident.
And right now, that lack of puck movement and players not moving their feet is leading to moments like this, where JT Miller gets his pocket picked like he got off a crowded Skytrain at Joyce Station:
You know what’s sad? That was the most dangerous-looking spot of the Canucks first power play. That was the one moment where you thought to yourself, “Gee, sure looks like they might get a shot on net here!”
That’s how low we’ve sunk. Getting a shot on net feels like a victory. It’s like finding a studio apartment in Vancouver for “only” $2,500 a month; this is how far our standards have fallen.
Best it doesn’t get any better
Experience Canucks hockey:
No fluidity to the puck movement. No confidence. It just feels like the Canucks are barely hanging onto the puck because, well, they are.
Like, what do you tell someone watching their first hockey game if this was it? How do you look them in the face and convince them to try it again?
“Hahah but seriously, normally it’s not like this. Well, it’s like this for Vancouver. But other teams? Oh boy, you should see it. Sometimes they string together, three, maybe four passes in a row. Thing of beauty.”
Best hit them with your best shot
Fire awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay:
Yes, that Fil Hronek piss missile was the Canucks first official shot of the game. There is just something very deflating about watching a hockey team not only struggle to gain the zone with any level of consistency but also, once they get there, struggle to grind out board battles only to send the puck to the point for a weak wrist shot.
But again, if Fil Hronek told me, “I had a corner picked out, that was just a tremendous save by Darcy Kuemper.” I would give him the benefit of the doubt. Let us believe the lies, JT; that’s what I am saying. Say it with conviction. “I didn’t back check on that goal because I am a secret agent working with Jack Bauer and for national security reasons, I had to let him go.” Okay, sure, a bit weird, but I’d still go with it as long as you believe the lie.
Don’t let me see the sadness and defeat in your eyes.
Best revenge sub plot I guess
Tanner Jeannot injured Brock Boeser with a headshot early on in the season, which meant he had to pay the price by dancing with Vinnie Desharnais:
Much like most of the team as of late, this felt purely like a man going through the motions. The lack of emotion on this team is starkly evident when you watch scenes like this play out. This is me when I am asked to show up to a family dinner.
At least dust off your hands while you get up like a young Razor Ramon, Vinnie. Give me a bit of theatrics. Throw a toothpick at him or something. Talk about your gold chains. Are you oozing machismo? Let us know.
Best quiet quitting
The Kings second goal occurred when JT Miller got walked by Kevin Fiala at the blue line, and in the ensuing scramble to try and cover, the entire defensive system failed, allowing Turcotte his second goal of the night:
That effort level from JT Miller on that goal is what gets normal men sent to Tocch Pen for life.
There are two things at play on this goal from JT; one is the soft fly-by attempt he makes at putting pressure on Fiala at the point. He comes in slow and just gets beat.
The second and worst part is the after-effect of it all. JT takes two strides and then just sort of watches everything unfold around him. He basically drops a match into the trash bucket at work and then watches to see what happens next. This is where part of me does wonder, “this guy has to be hurt, right?” because it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense otherwise. He’s either quiet quitting, or he’s hurt, there is nothing else that makes sense here. I shouldn’t see an NHL player and think, “hey that’s exactly what I would do.” that should never be the case.
As a result of this chaos, Quinn Hughes leaves his coverage to try and stop Fiala, and then Phil Di Giuseppe fails to drop back because he’s focused on the middle of the ice, leaving Fil Hronek, sweet, sweet Fil, to try and cover net front and the slot.
The chaos that started it all, though, was very much on JT Miller, which has been a trend as of late.
Best spiral away, spiral away
Fun story: I had the Titanium song running through my head this entire time, which is why I will repeat words in this article while silently whispering, “Fire away, fire awaaaaaaaaay” under my breath.
Did I know the song was called Titanium? No, to me, it is the “Fire away” song, which I found out is actually a country song, which has shattered my view of the world.
All of which is to say the Kings made it 3-0 after another failed board battle near the Kings blue line resulted in a quick and efficient goal off the rush for the Kings:
At this point, I just assume Tyler Myers is bullet-proof, has nothing to lose, so fire away, fire away Adrian Kempe, take your aim, fire away, fire away.
Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Lekkerimäki fail to produce a presence on the back check this time around, while Tyler Myers exudes the energy of someone trying to decide when to make a right turn. He just goes back and forth, back and forth, before following his check behind the net, which leaves Kempe wide open due to the implications.
The good news for JT Miller is other forwards also dogged it on the back check in this game. The bad news is he has done it the most consistently as of late.
Best good quality hockey
Who needs goals when you can have Jake DeBrusk hitting the post?
Or Pius Suter being, well, not robbed, but certainly stopped on a shot in kind of close:
Fun fact, despite being down 3-0 early, the Canucks still only managed 21 shots on the night. They didn’t even generate the pity shots that happen when a team sits back after going up early.
Nope, just sticking to that 20 shots per game average.
Experience Canucks hockey.
Best glimmer of hope
Thatcher Demko didn’t have a lot of chances on the goals scored on him tonight, so it was nice to see him pull out an old-fashioned Bubble Demko save early in the second period after Kuemper found Byfield all alone in front on a power play:
Teams out here creating rush chances off of power plays, while the Canucks take up most of their time trying to see who can dump the puck into the corner at juuuuuust the right amount of velocity to try and engage in a good board battle.
The Kings then got another odd-man rush when Derek Forbort made an ill-timed pinch later in the second:
This is Travis Green hockey; I know what this is. I have seen this before, we’ve all seen this.
Best it’s Hoggy Time
The one player with any sort of momentum as of late (aside from Quinn Hughes, he always has an aura) has been Nils Höglander.
Last game, he got the huge goal, and this game, he got the huge hit:
Bit of a Naslund/Moore situation there with Trevor Lewis reaching for a puck and having Nils run right through him.
To Nils’ credit, that hit seemed to spark the team, as they really worked hard on the next few dump and chases, setting up a couple of nice looking wrist shots from the point.
Best spot
Regardless of where JT Miller is at in his game, I will say that PP1 is probably the best spot for him, assuming you don’t make him play the half-wall.
Half-wall JT Miller playing like this? 100% guarantee he’s going to make a no look back hand pass into a turnover.
Put JT Miller in front of the net or flirting with the bumper spot? At least he might get a stick on it:
Whatever the state of Miller’s game is, at the end of the day, the dude knows how to produce points, so I have no issue pushing him into a PP1 spot despite a poor 5v5 game.
Best waiting for it to end
Moral victory of the night? Alex Turcotte almost scored a hat trick. Yes, that is where we are at in life:
I don’t know how this team can employ the world’s largest defenseman yet still consistently fail to box out the crease. It has felt like an endless stream of clips of Canucks D-men turning around in shock and horror to find out that the call was coming from inside the house the entire time, completely unaware that someone would have the audacity to sneak in behind them in front of the goalie.
Best old traditions
You know what’s depressing? Seeing Warren Foegele walking out of the corner and driving the puck on net with ease:
That is something the Canucks dearly miss from Dakota Joshua and JT Miller, if we’re being honest. The power forward moves to the net have just been non-existent this year. Although, I guess that makes sense because if you make a power move toward the net, how are you going to get your pass-off back to the point?
Best lone goal
Quinn Hughes hasn’t been quite as dynamic as of late, whether that’s a combination of playing a lot of hockey (he played almost 30 minutes on Thursday) or other teams really keying in on him to shut him down.
Whatever the case may be, he still has that Steph Curry game in him, as he showed on the Canucks lone goal of the night:
Just the usual elite edgework from Quinn allowing him to cut back and get a shot off that Kuemper probably wants back.
Still, when the highlights of the night include “soft wrister from point,” and I have to go, “but which one?” even Hughes having the mobility to make this move to get a shot off near the slot is worthy of praise.
Best what goes up must come down
With the Canucks playing at 4-on-4 due to taking a penalty early on into a power play, it created a situation in which the Canucks would be playing into a shorthanded situation once the Kings penalty expired.
Which means you need to be aware of this. Situational awareness as it’s called on the mean streets of Dunbar.
JT Miller, however, chose to ignore this. So when he has the puck and dumps it into the corner, and then chases after the puck, this is a problem:
The end result is he quickly gives up an odd-man rush the other way and, left with few options, goes full Chaos Giraffe and just lunges and prays.
And to JT’s credit, at least he hustled back on this play. He skates as hard as he can to get back defensively. It’s just the initial mistake is a really bad one, and diving at the end there, while heroic, doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have a car.
You can see it on the other angle: JT dumps the puck into the corner, and two LA Kings are literally just waiting along the boards, waiting for the counter-attack:
Again, that’s a play that most anyone else makes, they end up either in Tocch Pen, or at the very least, make an appearance on Beyond Scared Straight.
Best from the horses mouth
Best post it up
There’s probably a lot worse things than hitting the post in life, but I will say it was pretty awkward having the goal lights go off after you hit iron:
It was an almost goal, you see. Almost as good as the real thing. Almost.
Best let’s get physical
Look, the highlights for the Canucks are so minimal, so I am just going to give you this hit from Philly D:
See? Phil go boom boom.
Phil go boom boom.
Best here we go again
Not since Vinnie Gambini have I seen something stuck in the mud as badly as the Canucks power play as of late.
How bad was it? This was the closest thing to a shot I saw on the Canucks final power play of the night.
Would it shock you to know it was a garbage shot from the point?
No? That doesn’t surprise you? Because that’s all the Canucks ever do? Because until the end of time, all we are ever going to see is the Canucks fighting for their lives in the offensive zone just to try and squeak out a bad shot from the point?
See JT? This is why you need to lie to us. Don’t leave us alone with our thoughts like this.
Best King maker
Warren Foegele got the final goal of the night, but when a team is dead inside, I don’t know how much it should count:
Sure, he scored, nice, good for him.
The Canucks ignored the front of the net again, as is tradition, and the Kings feasted on a late goal. Huzzah.
Best grim outlook
Yeah, sure, they have to play Edmonton, but at least Turcotte didn’t get a hat trick on yet another dangerous rush attempt from the Kings:
Saturday is going to be bad, isn’t it?
Best final numbers
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