While Edmonton waits to see which streaming service picks up the option on the story of Connor McDavid serving time for a crime he absolutely committed, Vancouver was quickly getting back to what it does best this season: Playing inconsistent, middling hockey.
Despite matching up against a tired Buffalo Sabres team that was coming off of a loss the night before, the Vancouver Canucks managed to blow a one-goal lead in the third period, falling 3-2 to their expansion cousins. They didn’t even have the decency to lose in overtime, so we could scream about somebody failing to backcheck on the winning goal.
Also, who amongst us didn’t see the emotional trauma dump the Canucks dropped in Edmonton and not worry to themselves that this roster would struggle to get up for a game against Buffalo.
In the end, it was a loss much like many others this year, with the Canucks seemingly unable to provide more than 20 minutes of efficient results in the offensive zone. Another game of dump and chase. Another night of low-high passes. Another night of wondering what any of this all means.
And if you think you’re alone in that, don’t worry because it feels like head coach Rick Tocchet might be right there beside you.
We’ve seen glimpses of it this year during post-game scrums, of course, where he mentions players not executing the game plan. About how the coaches had specific strategies they wanted to implement and the players, for whatever reason, were not getting it done. But on Tuesday night, it felt like Rick was questioning everything he was seeing, just like you or I.
How was that game, Rick?
“That’s just been a microcosm of our season.”
What did you think about your effort on the night, Rick?
“You can’t always try and score when it’s not there, that’s something that we’ve talked about where we have to flip it, we have to flip that attitude or we’re going to be in trouble this season.”
What about bringing the puck in with possession, Rick, instead of dumping and chasing all night?
“To be a rush team, you need all five people skating; you can’t just have two guys skating and the rest posting up. Being satisfied maybe being up 2-1, you stop skating. We’ve been preaching that until the cows come home. You gotta move your feet in this league. You have to attack the interior, you gotta come off the wall, you gotta have double drives. The defence has to get up in the play, you can’t lag behind. You need four attack as a good rush team.”
What about the team seemingly shutting down for large parts of the game, Rick?
“There’s a few guys some nights where they just kind of stand around and it’s almost like it’s too big for them. I don’t know why, just go play. That’s the frustrating part.”
Why did you guys sit back after going up a goal in the second, Rick?
“2-1 lead, we had a bunch of chances in the second, and then we didn’t have any. We dried up. So we’re going to have to look at the reasons why…I don’t know if it’s urgency or hockey IQ. We defer. We have a bunch of good things happening, and all of a sudden, a guy gets it, and then he just kind of defers to not moving his feet, and he just throws it to the point…That’s the one thing the coaching staff gets a little frustrated [with] when you got a team down, you really want to keep doing the same thing. We gotta attack the interior, but I just felt we were perimeter. Perfect example, we scored a goal because our D moved their feet, changed direction, got the puck through.”
A lot has been made about the Rick Tocchet system, one that is seemingly designed on the GOTI principles of defence first and offence second. But with the way Rick talked about the results of this game, you wonder how much of it is execution and how much of it is this core just not getting it done for a fourth coach now.
The cynical side of me obviously raises an eyebrow at some of the responses from Tocchet. It’s one thing to say you need four guys in a rush to be efficient, but another thing when it’s Derek Forbort and Vinnie Desharnais leading from the back end. You can also point to five seasons worth of evidence on his resume that Rick Tocchet hockey just cannot provide a high level of offence and that you get what you buy with him: Defensive structure or death.
I think you could also reasonably wonder if the GOTI structure Rick Tocchet demands from this team has taken away their confidence to play with aplomb like the coach seems to want here. We’ve seen players enter Tocch Pen and never be seen again because they didn’t follow the system. There is an argument to be made that maybe it’s not hockey IQ at play but confidence. I think it’s fair to say you need to win the Rick Tocchet way in Vancouver if you want to stay in his good books.
So maybe it is something as simple as a team that doesn’t skate hard enough for their coach; maybe that’s the vital cog in the GOTI machine. It’s been a constant theme of his to talk about the team not moving their feet enough. But this is also a core that has failed to meet expectations for many years now, and that has been the case under several coaches. Maybe the roster just doesn’t have the juice to borrow a Rick-ism.
All we know is that the Canucks have played more than half of their games this season, and the results haven’t been pretty. You have an underperforming roster, you have a potential franchise-altering trade waiting in the wings, watching from the shadows, and you have a seemingly frustrated coach on an expiring contract. And as much as people have been waiting for that lightbulb moment to happen, for the infamous switch, Botch always joked about flipping on to turn a Canucks season around; it truly feels like this team is stuck in a death spiral.
So, as it stands now, a potential JT Miller trade seems to be the next thing on the horizon for this team. I think the last time we had a scenario of a superstar possibly being traded like this was back in the day of Pavel Bure. A franchise-altering trade of a superstar with rumours of rifts swirling in the background. A trade made not because a team felt like doing it but because they had to.
If the Canucks do pull the trigger on a potential Miller deal, it signals a re-tool of sorts. You rarely win the trade when you deal the top player, as you usually end up hoping you strike gold on one of the young assets you get in return. You then just sort of pray any veteran NHL players you get in return can help keep the ship afloat. Shout out to Anthony Beauvillier.
So, at best, you’re in a situation where the team is looking to bounce back in a year or two in order to cash in on the Quinn Hughes window. Maybe the cap going up allows you to re-tool in free agency in the summer, and maybe you find a second-line centre and a top-four D-man to stabilize things. Maybe you win big on a trade you make. Maybe you see the Buffalo Bills dealing away Stefon Diggs, and you pray that addition by subtraction comes through when you deal away your star player.
All I know is after yet another loss like the one on Tuesday night, it’s becoming harder and harder to defend keeping this core together with each passing day.
Best minus the poop
Thatcher Demko admitted after the game that he hasn’t been good enough this year. He talked about how it’s been a frustrating season for him, and you could see how the start-and-stop nature of getting starts in net might make it hard to get into a rhythm.
And while he wasn’t terrible Tuesday night by any means, it was still another game in which he just couldn’t come up with the timely save.
Still, he made some big stops, like the save he made on a shot in the slot from Jiri Kulich:
Still, it’s not often we see Demko dropping and turning in his crease to find a rebound. When Demko is locked into his game, he is the most boring goaltender in the world. He is a robotic machine invented purely for the purpose of stopping pucks in the most efficient manner possible. His entire Bubble Demko persona was about the other team getting some insane shot off, only to find that Thatcher was already in position waiting for it five days ago.
Currently, we haven’t seen many stretches of that kind of consistent performance from him. He looks stiff at times in between the pipes, which makes sense considering the amount of time off he had and the fact he is still learning how to play coming off his injury.
But the results speak for themselves, and right now, Demko has not come close to reaching the level he was before his injury.
Best listen to Rick, move your feet
The first period from the Canucks was another one you could file under the “technically that was a game of hockey I just watched” tab.
The best chance for the Canucks through seven minutes was probably this pass from Nils Hoglander to Derek Forbort, and yes, you read that correctly:
Nearly Nils has played well as of late, and I think this is the kind of play Rick wants from his players, where they attack with speed and find their way into the GOTI.
Obviously, part of me worries that if Nils turns that puck over, he gets sent straight to jail, but maybe that’s why he dishes it off to Derek Forbort instead of trying to get a shot off himself.
Either way, you just witnessed the most exciting offensive rush from the Canucks in the opening frame.
Best why not both?
Again, the first period was very tedious, but at least we’ll always have Pius Suter stealing a stick and attempting to play while dual-wielding?
Who amongst us hasn’t enjoyed going akimbo in Warzone?
Best rinse and repeat
I mean, hearing Rick Tocchet speak about it post-game, he’s right there with you. He wants this team to find ways to attack the GOTI and he doesn’t want that dump-and-chase lifestyle 24/7. Again, I don’t know how much I believe him, but that’s what he tells us.
All I know is that when the Canucks aren’t dumping and chasing, it’s usually Quinn Hughes doing Quinn Hughes things that drags a good looking offensive play out of this team:
Quinn Hughes moonwalking along the blue line and going full Tupac to get all eyes on him so he can find JT Miller for a shot from the slot is one of those players where it is literally Quinn doing all the work on it. You draw that play up by basically going “Give Hughes the puck and then…” finishing the line in your best Heath Ledger as Joker voice.
Best good traditions never die
To the Canucks credit, they did play another solid period of GOTI hockey. The scoring chances? Few and far between for both teams. Not that it should take a master class to neutralize the Buffalo Sabres, but hey, you take what you can get it.
That is until a play off the faceoff led to Tage Thompson scoring the Sabres first goal of the game:
After the game, Rick Tocchet lamented the Canucks failure to cover properly on the two faceoff goals. If the players stuck to the system, those wouldn’t be goals. It was another failed key moment in the coach’s eyes. You could almost see Bonnie Tyler blaring through his head as he wondered where all the good men have gone.
So instead of getting the puck out of the zone, the Canucks allowed Tage Thompson to walk into the GOTI, unleashing a shot that Elias Pettersson, by his own admission, blocked the view of his goaltender.
It was a bit of a nothing play turned into a goal by a very good player in Tage. And on a normal night, with a normal team, you probably find a way to put that Sabres goal behind you on your way to a five-goal night.
But not here in Vancouver. Never here.
Instead, you’re left wondering why Vancouver makes those types of goals look downright impossible for them to generate for themselves.
“So wait, you’re telling me you can skate into the middle of the ice and just score??”
Best whatever happened to outlaw justice
Garland was held  by Jiri Kulich at one point and didn’t cross-check him in the face in retaliation:
I am merely including this so Edmonton and its media know that violence isn’t always the answer.
Best wake me up before you go go
The second period was by far the Canucks best one of the night, which tends to be the case when a tired road team has to handle the long change.
Right away, the two teams traded chances, but the fact Vancouver got a dangerous shot on net is more newsworthy because of its scarcity:
Conor Garland works hard on the forecheck, resulting in a Rasmus Dahlin turnover that JT Miller puts on net in his 400th game with the Vancouver Canucks.
Best seeing eye puck
Luck hasn’t been kind to the Vancouver Canucks this season, but it’s also hard to generate good bounces when the majority of your offence is based on thoughts and prayers, wrist shot floaters from the point.
The key is to get a thoughts and prayers wrist shot floater from just INSIDE the point:
It’s a nice vintage no-look pass from JT Miller that gets the play started when he finds Carson Soucy patrolling the blue line. Carson then wires in a wrist shot that ended up bouncing right onto the stick of one Phil Di Giuseppe, who managed to slam the puck home.
I would give you more details about the goal from Phil himself, but post-game, he answered three questions very quickly, all of which amounted to a terse assessment that losing games is not his favourite thing in the world. He also agreed that, yes, that was a bounce that went his way. He then stared around the room as if daring anyone else to ask him a stupid question, and that about wrapped up his availability.
Best tale of the tape
The best highlight of the night was the Canucks second goal. I included my tweet so you can watch the shift in its entirety. Asked about how the Canucks can get more shifts like this happening on the regular, Elias Pettersson quipped about breaking the other team’s sticks, which, yes, that played a useful part in all of this
Still, despite the advantage the Canucks held in that situation, it’s one thing to have it and quite another thing to exploit it, something Vancouver has struggled with mightily this year. So yeah, it was cathartic in a sense to see Vancouver pass the puck around with such vim and vigor, moving their feet, opening shooting lanes, ending with Quinn Hughes finding Elias Pettersson with the perfect pass:
You know what was even more bonkers? Derek Forbort fed a perfect pass to Brock Boeser mere moments earlier, catching everyone in the arena by surprise, so much so that Brock missed the puck.
It’s almost kind of weird seeing the Canucks move the puck through the GOTI like this, as we simply don’t see them do much of it anymore. Again, Rick Tocchet speaks a lot about North/South hockey, so I don’t know how much his system encourages this kind of approach, but he did say he wanted his guys to come off the boards with speed and have his D-men moving. Maybe this is the team he envisions but can’t quite seem to get out of his roster.
Best the good old days
Best of course
I have to tell you, the Vancouver Canucks have a proud history of horrible things happening to it, so when JT Miller went full Max Verstappen into Quinn Hughes in the middle of the game, part of you just sort of expected both guys to have broken bones out of it:
The good news is nobody was hurt, and Demko made the save.
The bad news is you know the Canucks lost 3-2 so this is all a bit futile.
Unless you skipped the intro and didn’t know, in which case, spoiler alert.
Best dangerous Cozens
To my point earlier about Desharnais joining a rush, I have to say that this team sure doesn’t feel like it’s built to have its defenceman, other than Quinn Hughes or Tyler Myers when he’s on a bender, join the rush.
More often than not, you have someone, in this case, Desharnais, making a pinch in the zone only to end up watching an odd-man rush the other way:
So, on one hand, you can see how this roster might be failing Rick Tocchet in what he wants to get done.
But on the other hand, he sent Erik Brannstrom to the minors, and Allvin proudly spoke about how his defenders know how to defend, and you know what, I have no idea what they want out of this team.
Best incorrect assessment
Wrong. Anytime you have a chance to go full Tommy Gun, you take it:
You can score a goal nobody will remember years from now with a wrist shot, or you can live in infamy with a dapper clapper slapper that lives on YouTube forever, cementing your legacy as a bada$$.
Always go for the full clap bomb. Always.
Case in point:
Best offensive penalty killing
“This is the worst power play I have ever seen” was uttered several times in press row, and it’s true, the Sabres looked awful.
But kudos to the Canucks for jumping on that and playing aggressive hockey, forcing the Sabres into some dangerous turnovers:
I absolutely love that cut to the middle of the ice from Suter, not only because it caused Dahlin’s jockstrap to tumble to the ice but also because Vancouver simply doesn’t do enough of it.
Perimeter hockey has become the bread and butter of this team, and I cannot explain to you how bleak that existence is. Cut to the GOTI. Get your shots off. This is the way.
Be like Pew Pew.
Best speaking of
There is both beauty and futility in a team’s best chances coming when shorthanded, but hey, take what you can get:
Kiefer Sherwood, once again being a dog, what else is new?
Best are you sure about that?
I feel like the ratio of “depressing, low-quality wrist shot from the point that you’re praying gets tipped” vs. “trying to be too pretty” is weighted very heavily on the low-quality side of things. This just isn’t really a team that tries to do too much on offence, mostly because it’s rarely doing much of anything.
I’d take this Elias Pettersson, making the elite defensive play with the steal, ending in a backdoor tap-in attempt over a point shot any day of the week:
I don’t know, maybe my bar is too low, but when I see a Canuck player make a successful pass through the middle of the slot, it feels like the clouds have parted, and the Hockey Gods themselves are shining straight down on me.
Best let the downfall begin
The Buffalo Sabres tied the game up when Hronek chased the puck behind the net; Danton Heinen literally skated in a large circle, leaving the slot empty, leaving Hronek the task of having to try and skate back into the play to prevent the goal:
Obviously the best play is Hronek doesn’t chase the puck like that, but it also helps when your F3 is down low to help with net coverage. It once again brings up the question of just what is it Danton Heinen does around here?
And the thing is, I used to say the same thing about Jason Dickinson, another player who came in with that “solid role player” nametag, only to do absolutely nothing, only to turn into an All-Star once he left town. So I guess congratulations are in order to future Columbus Blue Jacket all-star Danton Heinen?
Best Canucks hockey in action
Despite all your rage, the Canucks are still just a rat in a cage, as seen by this clip of how they try and generate 90% of their offence:
Work the boards, dig for the puck, stick to the outside, move the puck to the point layer guys in the GOTI, pray for a tip.
That is how the Canucks try and generate goals, and it is absolutely exhausting to watch.
Best Moj called it
“I have a bad feeling about this one” were the words just out of Moj’s mouth seconds before Buffalo got their third of the night:
A couple of things.
One, as Rick Tocchet mentioned post-game, he didn’t love the routes the Canucks took to get to the puck off the faceoff goals.
Two, as JJ Peterka is a good good player. It’s not often someone wins the majority of the battles with Quinn Hughes, but earlier in the game? Peterka was doing it.
And on this goal, you can see some sneaky subtle interference he throws on Kiefer Sherwood, where he gets a leg in his way and then backs off to get open for the pass in the slot. It’s an incredibly slick piece of work from him. That little bit of interference caused the Canucks to scramble and panic, and once they started chasing the play, Buffalo made them pay.
That rhymed, but I didn’t mean to do that.
The endpoint was the Sabres stepped up in a key moment, and Vancouver didn’t, which has been a common theme this season.
Best Fil the not Thrill
Fil Hronek had the chance to play hero, but you’re not allowed to have good things in this life, so he missed a glorious scoring chance on a great pass from, who else, Quinn Hughes:
Why Fil? Why? Why do you hate Vancouver like this?
Another failure in a key moment.
Best final gasps
Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland had chances to tie the game up with the goalie pulled, but each time, they were denied by Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The first chance came with around a minute left when Elias Pettersson made the deftest of deft tips on a Quinn Hughes shot/pass:
Elias followed that up with a one-timer shot from the recently decommissioned Petter-zone, but once again, UPL was there:
And with the clock about to run out, Conor Garland, Corolla Garland himself, had the chance to smash in the rebound, only to be denied as well:
So, hey, you can look at it two ways.
One, what a heroic last stand from the Canucks. They went out on their shields, and at least they generated three very good chances on the net to tie the game up.
Two, it never should have come to that point with a tired Buffalo Sabres team. That killer instinct this team had last year? Nowhere to be found. Gone. Missing in action. And to think Cobie Smulders filmed an intro for this team only to be paid back with this.
Up next, JT Miller trade watch and the rematch with Edmonton. In which I can only hope Conor Garland is boo’d every single time he touches the puck. Please. I need this.
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