DOUBLE TROUBLE
Canucks drop two in California, lose Luongo to injury again.
It’s easier to lose games than win them in the National Hockey League, but one of the simplest ways to defeat is to surrender 49 shots, spend shift after shift in your own zone and keep giving the opposition the puck.
Do all that, and even a brilliant 45- save performance by rookie goalie Eddie Lack isn’t going to be enough.
In a game Sunday that was hard to believe except for the way it ended, the Canucks blew another third- period lead and lost 4- 3 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks.
The previous night, they gave away a late lead against the Los Angeles Kings, also surrendered 49 shots and lost 3- 1.
The Canucks finished both games like they were trying to get their goalie killed.
The difference is Saturday’s goalie, Roberto Luongo, woke up lame on Sunday after getting run over by the Kings’ Dustin Brown, while Lack appeared to have physically survived the dispiriting onslaught the Canucks invited from the Ducks.
The Kings and Ducks are deep, powerful, strong and relentless teams capable of winning the Stanley Cup. At the moment — and perhaps at any moment — the Canucks are considerably less. They’ve lost four straight games — two of them after regulation time — after opening December 10- 1- 1. And their injuries, new and old, appear to be reaching a critical mass. Luongo, who played just one game after missing two weeks with a groin injury, is out again.
Winger Chris Higgins ( flu) couldn’t start Sunday’s game and winger Zack Kassian couldn’t finish it after being struck in the face by the boot of teammate Tom Sestito’s skate. With five other players, including top defenceman Alex Edler ( knee) and key forward Alex Burrows ( jaw) already out, and coach John Tortorella relying on so few players, the Canucks appeared in both SoCal games to be spent by the end.
And then Canuck captain Henrik Sedin, who scored once Sunday and matched brother Daniel’s three- point night, visited the Ducks’ doctors after the game. Presumably, it wasn’t for a flu shot.
“We have lost ourselves a little bit there,” Tortorella said. “We’re a little bit beat up. I think we’re playing against a different level of team, especially the past couple of nights. But we have some work to do, not just our defencemen, but within our team defence.
“No one is without problems in their game right now, so I don’t want to just pick a couple of guys. It’s right through our team.”
The couple of guys he didn’t want to pick on is the veteran defence pairing of Kevin Bieksa and Jason Garrison, who were on for nearly all the goals- against on the weekend. Garrison made critical mistakes on Nick Bonino’s tying goal with 1: 27 left in the third period Sunday and Jeff Carter’s Saturday gamewinner with 7: 55 to go.
But, as Tortorella said, there are lot of problems right now. Mindset may be one of the biggest.
“We tried to not sit back, but they came with a huge push and were all over us there,” defenceman Dan Hamhuis said when asked about the Canucks being outshot 45- 8 after the first period ended with Vancouver ahead 2- 0 on power- play goals by Hank Sedin and Ryan Kesler. “When you’re giving up that many shots, I don’t think it’s one or two things. It’s a lot of collective things. Aside from the details, the specifics of it, a lot of it is a mindset. Both games we had early leads and then I think we sat back. It’s more a mindset of playing not to lose instead of trying to keep playing to win.”
Instead of protecting their leads and collecting four points, taken from key Pacific Division rivals, the Canucks added only one point but fell a net three points farther behind in the standings.
“You definitely want to get more out of these games, but you’re not going to get more when you’re playing the whole period in your zone and giving pucks back to them,” checking centre Brad Richardson said. “Eddie kept us in that. We probably were lucky even to get a point out of that. These are huge points, but we’re not going to get them playing like that.
“We play a great first and we’re up 2- 0. But as soon as we get the lead, we get tight, get nervous — almost scared to win the game. That’s frustrating.”
The Canuck flew home after the game and have a day off scheduled before facing another Stanley Cup contender, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tuesday.
Friday’s opponent is the St. Louis Blues, arguably the most physical team in the Western Conference, then it’s back to Los Angeles for the Canucks to try again against the Kings and Ducks.
Vancouver is 1- 5- 3 this season against the Kings, Ducks and San Jose Sharks. Some California dream that is.
“It hurts leaving this game,” Henrik said. “It’s such a big difference winning 3- 2 or 2- 1 and losing in overtime. When it comes down to the last two minutes — we battle so hard and Eddie’s playing great — those are times you have to be able to win games, and it doesn’t matter how good the other team has been. That little left, you’ve got to be able to hold on.”
Instead, Garrison’s clearance was intercepted and Bonino tied it with a shot that skipped off Bieksa and past Lack. Corey Perry won it with a shot through the goalie’s pads with one second remaining in overtime.
“I really don’t know if there’s much to celebrate,” Lack said on his 26th birthday. “I thought we gave away a point again and it’s up to me and the team to turn this around and shut the door these last important minutes. You can always find ways to win the game.”
And lose them.