TIME WELL WASTED
Fans would have been better off watching comedy than this farce of a game
The Canucks concluded an impressive road trip Tuesday but it ended with a dismal performance in the second game of a back-to-back in a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Our easterners on television called it ‘sloppy,’ but they have a vested interest in making sure TV remotes don’t click off or select another channel. A more appropriate description of this as entertainment would be absolutely appalling, 2½ hours of lives Canuck fans will never get back. The sprightly attack that has been part of the Canuck act during this trip disappeared, the entire Vancouver team appearing to be paralyzed with fatigue most of the night, with the puck having been replaced by a lacrosse ball.
The only suggestion of life shown by the Canucks came after they were down 3-0 and Frank Corrado scored their lone goal of the evening in combination with Alex Burrows. Before that they had only two scoring chances, Radim Vrbata drilling pucks right into Ben Bishop’s pads on both occasions.
Particularly disappointing was Vancouver’s power play, which did nothing with a couple of lengthy 5-on-3 opportunities and one 50-second-plus segment of 6-on-4 with Ryan Miller on the bench for an extra attacker in the third period. But they came up empty in seven total power-play opportunities, the inability to win a faceoff or a puck battle neutering them again. The Canucks have just two man-advantage goals in their last eight games.
Things went from bad to worse early in the third period when Kevin Bieksa took a rocket shot off what appeared to be his wrist while standing in front of the net. He left the game immediately and didn’t return.
The Canucks managed six of a possible 10 points on the trip, and after the all-star break, which is bound to help this older team, they will enjoy six consecutive games at Rogers Arena.