For the 12th time in 21 games, the Vancouver Canucks gave up the first goal of the game. They did that just 29 times last season.
You’re only as good as your last game.
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Tuesday against the Bruins, the Canucks were dynamic defensively, yielding few tough chances. What chances they did give up were handled tidily by goalie Kevin Lankinen.
The loss isn’t on the goalie, but some nights your goalie can steal you one.
Silovs did that a few times last year in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That goalie appears to be gone.
He’s struggling especially with goalmouth situations, Tocchet said.
“He needs to get bigger in the net,” the coach said.
“When you don’t have confidence, I guess you sink in the net.”
But in the bigger picture, it’s just hard to come back when this team is down in goals.
This is the 12th time in 21 games that the Canucks have given up the first goal of the game.
Chasing the game is hard. It’s hard on your body and your brain. It’s just hard.
Vancouver gave up the first goal just 29 times in 2023-24. That was a big part of their success.
That they’ve given up the first goal so often this season explains a lot about why they’ve struggled to establish a strong position in the Pacific Division.
Guts of the ice
In general the Canucks have been pretty good at it this season.
But this game was not a good example of the principle.
It’s never wise to give Sid the Kid space.
The shot chart also reminds us of how important it is to defend the slot and no matter who you are playing, if you give teams chances there, they will hurt you.
A simple save missed
Bryan Rust’s second goal of the game, which stood up as the game winner, was a good shot — but surely an NHL goalie needs to stop it.
Generating chances
The Penguins are the NHL’s worst defensive team this season. It was a bit of a surprise that, even tired, the Canucks struggled to generate chances in tight.
The Canucks have been in the middle of the pack in generating high-danger chances this season, according to Natural Stat Trick.
They weren’t on this night.
Dakota Joshua is finding his way back
Was there a better example of how the big winger really is starting to look a lot more like himself than how he poke-checked the puck out of the zone midway through the first period?
Timing is always the last thing to come to you. You can be fit enough to play the game, but finding your angles take a moment.
But the way Joshua is using his size, reach and strength has become noticeable.
We’re not there to ask him, but if we were, we’d inquire.
Early PP
Listen, when you’re tired you make mistakes.
But making mistakes in the early stages of the game? Yikes.
Pittsburgh didn’t score on the power play, but they built pressure and Blake Lizotte’s opening goal came off the piling of pressure.
There’s a reason why beer league has a 30+ division
No matter who you are, at some point age comes for you.
Sidney Crosby still plays the game hard. He can still beat you badly. He still puts points on the scoreboard. His pass to Rust for the Penguins’ fourth goal was top-class.
Even if the pass didn’t work before, there’s little doubt he’d have recovered the puck on the backcheck.
It happens to everyone: you get a little slower as you age. You lose what used to work.
There’s a reason that beer leagues offer 30+ and 40+ divisions. At that level the difference between being in your mid-30s and your mid-20s is stark.
At the pro level, it’s much more subtle, but it’s still there. Quinn Hughes is at the height of his game. He’s at the height of his physical abilities.
Sidney Crosby keeps himself in amazing shape — but that’s so he can keep up in his late 30s.
