The Canucks fell behind early and just never found a way to chance to catch up. Where is this team going?
The Carolina Hurricanes are the fastest team in the NHL, literally.
There’s data from the NHL to prove it.
Anyway, one of these teams is a Stanley Cup contender and one is clearly not.
The Hurricanes got up on the Canucks early and then just gave nothing away, guiding themselves home to a 2-0 win.
Carolina was tired. They’d played a game the night before against the Toronto Maple Leafs — Vancouver’s opponent on Saturday, curiously — an energetic, spirited affair, so you knew they’d look to play a close-checking, tight game.
Against a defensive opponent like that, you want to try to skate them off the ice.
Too bad the Canucks just aren’t built for that.
More than anything it comes back to their defence corps. A defence corps that has a bright shining star — and a bunch of plodding asteroids. The Canucks just can’t move the puck up the ice quickly enough.
They didn’t even need to do like for like, they just needed to find an equivalent skill set.
The Canucks head to Toronto on Saturday — assuming they can get out of Raleigh, which has seen dozens of flights cancelled or delayed because of weather — where they’ll have to do a better job of taking their chances.
Road warriors no more
Early in the season, the Canucks were incredibly good on the road.
But the slow death of their game is happening on the road now, too.
They have one road win in the past month.
Firing duds
The Canucks have zero goals at five on five in four of their last six games. Hat tip to Rink Wide’s Jeff Paterson for pointing this out.
When you don’t get the puck on net, how can you expect to score.
The Canucks have shown themselves to be elite finishers plenty often, so there’s something here. Is it skill? Is it luck? Is it effort?
Take your chances
High-danger chances isn’t a perfect metric but it’s a decent corollary for quality chances one way or another. It means you’re getting the puck to the crease. That’s where goals are scored.
Carolina out-chances Vancouver 8-5.
What’s worse, the Canucks had just one of those in the final 40 minutes.
The Hurricanes parked the bus in the slot masterfully.
How well? Danton Heinen finished the game +16 in five on five shot attempts, but just two of those shots by the Canucks actually made it to the net.
Bro do your dekes
No shots on net, but he was all over the puck in the offensive zone, so if you’re looking for positive things there’s that.
How can this go on?
It’s just hard to see how management can see an abysmal performance like Friday’s and carry on.
Change, surely, has to come.
Imagine they had a morning skate in Toronto on Saturday; it would be absolute mayhem.
It’s going to be absolute mayhem when then get back next as it is.