For the second consecutive night, the Vancouver Canucks could not come up with a victory as they fell 2-1 to the Utah Hockey Club. Jake DeBrusk scored the only goal, while Artūrs Šilovs made 30 saves. With the loss, the Canucks drop to 26-20-11 and have scored just four goals over their past three games.
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Sunday’s game was disappointing for multiple reasons. Vancouver was outshot 32-15 and allowed double-digit shots in each period. While the Canucks did find a way to score on the power play, their ability to generate chances with the man advantage was problematic, as they managed just four shots during their four power play opportunities.
Sticking with the shots on goal issue, Vancouver’s bottom six and defence were unable to generate any offence all night. Only nine players registered a shot on goal, with DeBrusk (4), Filip Chytil (3) and Filip Hronek (2) the only ones to hit the net more than once. While the Canucks top six deserve some criticism for the lack of goals, other players on the roster need to find a way to step up and generate some offence.
“Well, the frustrating part is we had 21 blocked shots; I think it was 15 missed shots and 30-something chances,” said Rick Tocchet post-game. “We are struggling to score goals, but you gotta move your feet. You gotta change angles. You gotta hit the net. That’s a big number for a team that’s not scoring. I’d rather guys just take a little bit off it, hit the net and get people to the net. We’re double-clutching and I think that’s a lack of confidence. We got to take a couple of days here and figure this out.”
As for a positive, that would be the play of Šilovs. The Latvian goaltender was the reason Vancouver was able to stay in this game, as he made multiple highlight-reel saves. After a tough start to the season, a game like this should give Šilovs some confidence moving forward while also showing the organization that he still can be a difference-maker at the NHL level.
“I feel good,” said Šilovs post-game. “Guys did a good job in penalty kill, covering the dangerous guys, giving me the far side guys from the blue line and boxing out pretty well. I think we did a good job there.”
In the end, the Canucks can not afford to have performances like Sunday in Utah. The team looks disjointed offensively, and with the loss, gave up two valuable points to a team that is chasing them.
Stats and Facts:– Jake DeBrusk ranks in the top 10 this season for away goals with 15
– Canucks record 15 or fewer shots for the third time this season
– Vancouver fails to record a takeaway for the first time this season
– Artūrs Šilovs makes at least 30 saves in a regular season game for the third time in his NHL career
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No Scoring
2nd Period:
1:43- VAN: Jake DeBrusk (21) from Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter (PPG)
3:51- UTA: Logan Cooley (16) from John Marino and Clayton Keller
3rd Period:
14:07- UTA: Dylan Guenther (21) from Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller (PPG)
Up Next:
The Canucks head to California for a back-to-back against the L.A Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Vancouver will battle L.A. on Wednesday before travelling to Anaheim for Thursday night’s game. Puck drop on Wednesday against the Kings is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT from Crypto.com Arena.
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