BAD START TO A NEW YEAR
Canucks give up two goals in final three minutes to lose.
After Thursday, you’d have to be California dreaming to think the Vancouver Canucks are ready yet to do anything truly memorable in 2015.
The Los Angeles Kings blew them out 3-2 — or at least the Stanley Cup champions could have blown out the Canucks. Despite outshooting them 40-16 and badly outplaying the Canucks in each period, the Kings needed goals 53 seconds apart from Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll in the final two minutes and seven seconds to complete a comeback from a two-goal deficit.
For all the Canucks’ improvement this season after the lost year of 2013-14, for all their encouraging performances such as Tuesday’s 3-1 road win against the San Jose Sharks, the team still is not at the level needed to compete for playoff passage in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference. The Kings proved it. Again. They had won only four road games in three months, but they were far too much for the Canucks on Thursday, just as they were during a 5-1 win in Los Angeles on Nov. 8.
“It’s embarrassing,” Canucks defenceman Luca Sbisa said of the late collapse. “I mean, you don’t get many chances to go up by two goals against a team like that and when you do, you have to realize what you have. And we didn’t. We were passive and we played like we were intimidated.
“We’ve got to be better — playing-wise for sure, mentally even more. If we play like this, we’re not going to do any damage in the playoffs.”
If they play like they did Thursday, they probably won’t make the playoffs.
The Canucks may be 21-123, but they’re in a four-way tie for the final three playoff spots in the West, although Vancouver has played fewer games than San Jose, Winnipeg and Calgary. But if the playoffs started today, the Canucks would play the Kings.
“It’s these teams we’re going to be seeing (in the playoffs),” winger Jannik Hansen said. “We have to be able to play and compete with them. If we won today, you’d call it a lucky win. It’s two points and we’d move forward. But it’s not something that’s sustainable over a series, that’s for sure.”
It wasn’t sustainable for three periods on Thursday.
With Sbisa caught on a marathon penalty-killing shift and unable to close down space, the Kings’ Justin Williams rifled a shot short-side over goalie Ryan Miller’s shoulder to tie it at 17:53 of the third period.
And when Canucks defenceman Ryan Stanton, who was in the penalty box for that goal, lost his man on his next shift, Tanner Pearson found Stoll unchecked and the King blasted past Miller at the near post.
Maybe it was just as well because it exposed the Canucks’ false economy against California teams this season.
Under new head coach Willie Desjardins, the Canucks have competed better against the tanned titans of the Pacific Division than they did last year under John Tortorella, when Vancouver was 2-9-3 against California.
As the year began, Vancouver was 3-1-2 against the Kings, Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. Two of those victories were well earned, but Miller was single-handedly responsible for a 3-2 win in San Jose on Nov. 6 when the Sharks outshot them 36-19. And the Canucks goalie was also largely responsible for getting them a point last Sunday in Anaheim, where the Ducks outshot Vancouver 31-14 but needed overtime before winning 2-1.
The Canucks have been outshot in all but one of their seven California games.
Their improvement against Pacific Division teams is commendable under Desjardins, but it’s hard to see how they beat anyone from California four times in seven games in the playoffs. It’s hard to see how they would beat the Kings at all.
“We played so good against San Jose,” Canucks centre Brad Richardson said, mystified.
“Tonight, we got out to the lead, but we sat back all game and they pretty much had control of that game. In the end, (being up 2-0) you still should have that win. Pretty disappointing.”
The Kings outshot the Canucks 16-8 in the first period but trailed 1-0 on Alex Burrows’s power-play goal. They outshot Vancouver 14-2 in the second period, only to see Canucks winger Radim Vrbata’s goal offset Dwight King’s rebound marker. Then, with the game on the line, L.A. outshot Vancouver 10-6 in the third period and outscored them 2-0.
Hansen is right. We’d have called it lucky had the Canucks managed to win.
The Kings played their heavy power game, and the Canucks couldn’t stop it.
We have to be able to play and compete with them. If we won… you’d call it a lucky win. It’s two points and we’d move forward. JANNIK HANSEN VANCOUVER CANUCKS RIGHT WING