Road trip ends with 6-2 loss to Wild
Backup goaltender struggles along with teammates during Wild onslaught
WILD 6, CANUCKS 2 ST. PAUL, MINN. Brock Boeser wasn’t here, but he wasn’t forgotten.
The injured Minnesota native made his NHL regular-season debut at the Xcel Energy Center on March 25, 2017, and the emotion attached to his whirlwind arrival — and scoring in a 4-2 victory — shoved Richard Bachman to the shadows.
Bachman made 25 saves in one of his five appearances for the Vancouver Canucks that season, but has always understood his fill-in role. His 48th NHL appearance Thursday was more about giving Jacob Markstrom a break after nine straight starts, but it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
It wasn’t one for the video vault. More like the trash can.
Bachman looked as tentative and uncomfortable as his tired teammates, who were a step behind the play, second to pucks and secondguessing everything from transitioning pucks to getting them on net.
Here’s what we learned as the Canucks were outhustled, outclassed and outgunned by the Wild in a 6-2 blowout, their third consecutive regulation setback to finish their six-game trip with a 1-3-2 record:
BACHMAN BEATEN EARLY, BEATEN OFTEN
He hadn’t played since an Oct. 26 start with the Utica Comets — a 4-0 loss in Rochester, N.Y. — and the rust was obvious Thursday. Or maybe there’s something to those AHL numbers with a 4.23 goalsagainst average and .865 save percentage.
Bachman was beaten on the second shot he faced — a breakaway by Charlie Coyle — and just over two minutes later he served up a room-service, power-play goal on a platter to Mikko Koivu with a failed clearing attempt from behind the net. Two goals on five shots and he was as rattled as his listless teammates.
It wasn’t going to be easy on the final stop of a gruelling trip with the Canucks running on fumes. But everybody made it tougher than it had to be, including Bachman.
On that first goal, Michael Del Zotto and Troy Stecher were caught flat-footed in the neutral zone as a long-bomb pass by Jonas Brodin found a streaking Coyle. Bachman initially thought to make a play for the bouncing puck in the high slot, but when he starting retreating it made it easier for the unbalanced stopper to be deked.
Yet it got to the point where you felt for Bachman because he couldn’t find his game or get any help.
After a Derrick Pouliot outletpass gaffe in his own zone forced Bachman to stop Coyle on a forehand deke, a perfect Nino Niederreiter power-play deflection in the slot made it 3-0. An Eric Staal wraparound of his own blocked shot on a sprawling Bachman made it 4-1 and a Del Zotto screen coupled with Bachman’s shorter stature didn’t allow him to track a Matt Dumba point shot that found the short side.
Just to add insult to injury, the Canucks were beaten in their own zone as Staal found Jason Zucker alone from the side wall to make it 6-1.
POWER PLAY COULD HAVE BEEN TICKET
There was ample opportunity to climb back into Thursday’s fight.
Once they dug a two-goal hole, the Canucks looked disorganized on their first power play. The first unit iced the puck and went offside and didn’t muster a shot. But Jake Virtanen did, one of his three shots in the first period.
If that wasn’t bad enough, on another first-period power play Pouliot couldn’t keep the puck in at the blue-line and ate up too much time in retreat. And when the advantage expired, Jared Spurgeon easily wheeled down the right side and Bachman fumbled his shot in a goalmouth scramble.
Bo Horvat connected on the power play for his 10th goal of the season, but it was a solo foray down the left side and his shot got between an arm and the body of Devan Dubnyk. But six shots on a 1-for-6 power-play performance isn’t going to cut it most nights.
WHAT MUST GAUNCE BE THINKING?
Brendan Gaunce knows he’s a bottom-six forward, but he can’t even crack the fourth line.
After an encouraging three points in two games — a goal and an assist Oct. 31 against Chicago and an assist against Colorado two nights later — he has sat out six straight games.
And even though the Canucks had lost three straight (0-2-1) heading into Thursday, he couldn’t get another look. Why not a fourthline shot on the left side in place of Darren Archibald?
Gaunce skates well enough and the Canucks didn’t need to dress a tougher lineup. They were going to be chasing the Wild all night because puck possession was going to be a problem.
“We play guys in certain spots and we’ve got (Tim) Schaller and (Tyler) Motte who are good on the PK,” Green said following the morning skate. “I look at Gaunce as more of a left-winger and we don’t have a lot of guys who play right wing. Motte is playing right wing and (Brendan) Leipsic is playing right for the first time.
“Gaunce can play, but I haven’t found a spot that makes sense and I’m not going to play a guy just to play.”
Archibald picked up a second assist on Markus Granlund’s goal. Is that enough to keep him in the lineup Saturday against Montreal at Rogers Arena or will Green make a lineup change after a sobering loss?