LESSER WITHOUT BOESER, BLOWN OUT BY HURRICANES
Canucks continue woeful road trip with loss to equally bad team, says Jason Botchford.
CAROLINA 4, VANCOUVER 1
Life without Brock RALEIGH, N.C. Boeser unfolded for the Canucks exactly how you would expect.
It was a dark, bleak and hopeless place for the Canucks after Boeser missed Friday’s NHL game here with a wrist injury.
The Canucks were easily pushed aside by a bad Hurricanes team. They played poorly defensively and rarely threatened to score.
The final was 4-1 Carolina, the fourth straight loss for Vancouver and third on a four-game road trip that ends Sunday in Dallas. This is what we learned Friday:
BOESER’S INJURY IS NOT RELATED TO HIS SURGERY
When Boeser arrived with the Canucks last season he still had his wrist wrapped from a December surgery.
The surgery was to fix an issue that had been bothering him for months. But by last summer he was fully recovered. You can imagine there was substantial concern with the Canucks that this injury was related.
The Canucks insist it was not. “It’s not from where the surgery was,” GM Jim Benning said. “(Dan) Girardi did fall on his wrist (Thursday in Tampa, Fla.).”
Along the side boards, Girardi took a run at Boeser and his hit took him to the ice. The Lightning defenceman then fell on top of the Canucks’ super rookie, damaging his hand.
BOESER THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO PLAY
After the Tampa loss, Boeser received some medical treatment but was still expected to play Friday.
Even when he woke up, he believed there was a chance he could suit up.
“He felt it (at) night, but he went out in the morning and couldn’t shoot the puck, it was too painful,” Benning said.
The Canucks tried to recall Nikolay Goldobin, which suggested the injury might not be short term. But with the northeastern area in the United States experiencing heavy snowfall, Goldobin wasn’t able to make plans that could get him to PNC Arena on time.
The injuries are piling up in a significant way, again.
THERE’S AN ISSUE WITH THE CANUCKS’ STARTS
It was the 18th time this season the Canucks gave up a goal in the first five minutes of a game. It’s impossible to pin it on one thing.
Sometimes it has been poor goaltending. Other times, soft defensive play. Against Carolina, the Canucks forwards got caught and burned in the first 14 seconds.
Sven Baertschi was caught on the wrong side of the ice and Bo Horvat was trailing. Carolina turned a 3-on-2 into a 4-on-3, clearing the way for a wide open snipe from the top of the slot by Brett Pesce.
It’s impossible to pin that goal on netminder Jacob Markstrom. But later in the first period, he poorly tracked a puck behind the net and it led to a tap-in from the side that never should have happened.
And right before the period ended, he was in position to stone Sebastian Aho on a breakaway, but lifted his left pad at the worst possible time, and the puck slipped into a massive hole.
That goal made it 3-0 and it felt like it was game over.
IT WASN’T JUST BOESER WHO WAS OUT
The Canucks lost Chris Tanev, after another injury from blocking a shot. He’s beginning to make Sami Salo look like an iron man.
Tanev is expected to have an MRI Saturday to determine how much time he’ll miss. Brendan Gaunce, Sam Gagner and Markus Granlund have all left the team with injuries.
Benning said all of these injuries won’t affect what the Canucks are planning for the trade deadline.
NEWCOMER ARCHIBALD THROWN INTO THE FIRE
It was February and Darren Archibald still didn’t have an NHL contract. He had nearly given up hope when he got the call from the Canucks.
He suggested Friday the decision to cut him after training camp may have been made higher up than the coach. Archibald was Green’s MVP last season in Utica, and the coach played him like he really likes him in his NHL season debut on Friday.
Archibald was a big part of the Canucks’ penalty-killing unit, something that’s been an issue for this team all year.
He also brought the hits. In the first period, along the boards, he trucked Jordan Staal, knocking the Hurricanes’ centre to the ice. It’s been a while since we’ve seen anyone on the Canucks hit like that.
Heading into the game, Green was complaining about the recent performance of his PK unit and Horvat didn’t play on it Friday.
STRANGE DEPLOYMENT OF HUTTON CONTINUES
The Canucks’ defence was not good. Not even close.
Alex Edler and Troy Stecher were a mess. Tanev wasn’t playing. Ben Hutton was playing until he wasn’t.
The primary resident of Green’s doghouse, Hutton played only five minutes through the first two periods and started the third with a long stretch on the bench.
You really have to wonder how long this can last.