FOILED BY SABRES
Buffalo completes Western sweep by cruising past the Canucks
Just when the Vancouver Canucks thought they were turning the corner, in come the Buffalo Sabres.
One of the worst teams in the NHL throttled Vancouver so badly Thursday fans were streaming for the Rogers Arena exits with more than three minutes left in the contest.
The Canucks had been riding high after Tuesday’s 6-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings.
Against Buffalo, they crashed back onto planet Earth.
When it was over, the Sabres had won 4-0, making it three straight wins in Western Canada, having knocked off Calgary 2-1 and Edmonton 5-0 earlier in the week.
This is what we learned Thursday:
When Canucks don’t show up, games are hard to watch
This week, the Canucks were holding up Michael Del Zotto as one of their key physical players. It says more about this group than it does Del Zotto.
The Canucks lack lots of things. They often lack goals, a productive defence and energy players who can make an impact on a game with a big hit.
All three of those things were missing Thursday.
The energy part is probably the easiest to fix. They could use someone in their bottom six who, you know, actually is a physical presence.
Green reunites his best line, but not soon enough
It was a nice idea on paper. Trying to balance his lines, Canucks head coach Travis Green had all-star Brock Boeser playing with the twins.
Meanwhile, Bo Horvat was centring Thomas Vanek and Loui Eriksson. And Sven Baertschi was in a shutdown role, on a matchup line with Brandon Sutter.
Thing is, before Horvat was hurt he was centring a line with Boeser and Baertschi and it was the team’s best.
Green didn’t have much patience with his lines, but by the time he put Boeser back with Horvat, his squad was playing catch up.
The Canucks didn’t get a power play until there were less than eight minutes left.
Heading into this one, Green said he really liked how engaged the Canucks were in Tuesday’s win.
Sure sign a team isn’t engaged? It isn’t drawing penalties
The Canucks’ power play has been good for months and it was good again in the lone chance they got. They just couldn’t score.
The only thing that will slow Boeser down is who he plays with.
There was one player who was consistently creating plays, making room and looking threatening. It was Boeser.
At one point, he turned a 1-on-4 into one of the best scoring chances the Canucks had, creating room with nothing but dangle.
He needed some help. And against the Sabres, he wasn’t getting any.
Virtanen was having a game, until he wasn’t
First, Jake Virtanen hit. It was a nice one on the forecheck. It led to some sustained Canucks pressure. He won some puck battles. He won some races. He was promoted to the Sedin line and was generating possession.
He even looked poised to score just moments before the Sabres’ net was unhinged. In short, Virtanen was good.
But then he had a lapse in focus. Flying over the Sabres’ blue-line on a rush, he slid a puck to his side, believing one of the Sedins was with him. He was wrong.
Buffalo pounced on the turnover and in the ensuing rush scored to go up 2-0. Virtanen, who was playing well, took a seat.
The Sedins didn’t have much in the first 40 minutes
Heading into the third period, the Sedins didn’t have a shot between them. Thomas Vanek didn’t have a shot attempt. And Eriksson, who got so many people believing again after a two-goal performance Tuesday, had one lonely shot.
The Canucks were down 2-0 and were being let down by their big-money vets.
Canucks lost all the momentum they had after beating L.A.
Six goals in two periods is something that hadn’t happened in seven years.
That’s how rare Tuesday’s 6-2 win against the Kings was.
But all thrills the Canucks created early in that one were gone when Thursday’s game against the Sabres began.
For most of the first period, the Canucks didn’t hit, defend or threaten to score. At one point, the Sabres were outshooting Vancouver 10-3.
Buffalo scored before the game was five minutes old, a goal that was created because of a defensive meltdown with Ben Hutton and Chris Tanev.
Believe it or not, the Tanev-Hutton pairing has been the best duo the Canucks have tried this season.
Pouliot and Gaunce haven’t been good enough
Not according to Green anyway. The Canucks’ coach was as blunt and direct Thursday as he’s been all season, roughly summing up what healthy scratches Derrick Pouliot and Brendan Gaunce had to do to get back in the lineup.
Green said they had to play better, a “lot better.”
Unfortunately for Green, you could say the same for many of his vets who never seem to get benched.