CANUCKS’ CALIFORNIA CRUISE TAKES ANOTHER FOWL TURN
Alex Biega of the Canucks collides along the boards with Ducks defender Sami Vatanen during the first period of Sunday’s contest in Anaheim. California hasn’t been kind to the Canucks, who dropped their first game of the season in regulation time by a 4-2
After noting the night before that the National Hockey League had “condensed the condensed schedule” on the Vancouver Canucks, delaying their start and then throwing six games at them in nine days, Ryan Miller must have felt Sunday like he packed a week into 60 minutes.
Starting for the first time since tweaking a groin muscle eight days earlier, the goalie was brilliant against the Anaheim Ducks. And even that couldn’t save the Canucks from themselves, or the Ducks, who dominated physically and territorially but still needed a lucky tiebreaker from Nick Ritchie halfway through the third period before winning 4-2.
The Canucks, who were allowing only 24.5 shots a game when they came to Southern California for the weekend, exposed Miller to 37 shots, one night after Jacob Markstrom faced 31 in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
Count total shot attempts in the two games in less than 24 hours and the Canucks were pulverized 151-85 in SoCal.
The Canucks had surrendered only one third-period goal in their first five games until the Ducks scored twice in the final 20 minutes on Sunday, when Corey Perry added an insurance marker.
Vancouver left a game with nothing for the first time this season. And despite their record 4-0-1 start built on comebacks and extra time, the Canucks have suddenly lost as many games in regulation as they have won: one.
So was this the start of something bad, that harbinger of impending doom that has gnawed away at Canuck fans for, oh, about the last 46 years?
Or was it merely the manifestation of too many games in too few days, and a back-to-back weekend against two of the biggest and brawniest teams in the NHL?
“That’s what I hope it is,” Canuck coach Willie Desjardins said.
“I thought we were tired as a
group. I thought our D were tired. L.A. is a big, heavy team and they might have wore a little bit out on our D, I think.”
The Canucks salvaged a point against the Kings, willing themselves back from a three-goal effort to lose on Tanner Pearson’s shootout winner.
But that was all the Canucks took from the weekend.
All you needed to know about them Sunday was evident on the first shift when Daniel Sedin looked like he was snowshoeing in yogurt trying to backcheck on a 3-on-2. Vancouver defenceman Alex Edler and Chris Tanev split as if it were Moses coming at them and not Josh Manson, and Miller made one save but was beaten on the rebound by Andrew Cogliano. It took 33 seconds for the Canucks to trail.
The rest of the first two periods wasn’t much better as Vancouver was outshot 30-11. Still, they somehow hoisted themselves level when Henrik Sedin caromed a shot into the net off a skate to make it 2-2 at 4:19 of the third period.
It was easily the highlight of Hank’s night as the Canucks’ top line, like all of Vancouver’s top skaters, was schooled.
The Sedin twins finished with identical 33.3-per cent Corsi ratings, outshot 2-1 throughout the game. Shot attempts were 30-8 for the Ducks when Canuck defenceman Tanev was on the ice, 34-11 when Edler was trying to defend.
Vancouver’s No. 1 defence pairing was minus two. Jannik Hansen also was minus-two and one of five Canuck forwards who failed to register a shot on net. Sven Baertschi didn’t even attempt one, twice missing on passes when he was nose-to-nose with Anaheim goalie John Gibson.
“I think we were a little tired,” Miller said. “The turnovers were because we were tired. We were spread out, trying to get the red line a little too easy. When guys supported each other, the puck got in and we were in the game. When we were spread out and leaving the D (without support), it was hard.”
“It’s not easy going up against L.A. and then have a 5 p.m. game the night after,” captain Henrik said.
“I think (the Ducks) wanted to put pucks deep and just have a great forecheck, and they did all night. We were second on pucks. And once the game is tilted their way, it’s tough to get out of it. I still think we battled. Again, we’re in the game.
“We tied the game in the third. We should have come out of this game with a point tonight as well, but we didn’t deserve it.”
Really, it’s the first time the Canucks deserved nothing.