I’m not sure if you heard. But the Vancouver Canucks play Quinn Hughes, and the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night. They are really looking forward to it. The problem was they had a game against Detroit on Thursday that they seemed to forget about.
The Red Wings pounced on the Canucks early, capitalizing on sloppy coverage around the Canucks net, taking a 3-1 lead after one and cruising to a 5-2 win.
Although the Red Wings had three goals in the first period, they could have had five. They hit two posts. The Red Wings were the faster team and were getting to lose pucks. Lucas Raymond scored his first goal of the season in Seattle. He was feeling it early in Vancouver with two goals in the first
The Canucks followed a sloppy first period with a shotless second period. They started the period on their front foot. Natural Stat Trick credited them with two high danger chances. Jamie Oleksiak had ne but fanned in a shot. Brock Boeser has a 2-on-1 that he shot wide. The problem is that they can’t sustain any offensive pressure. It is resulting in too much time in their own defensive zone. Overall, they totaled 13 shots. Linus Karlsson was the only player who generated a rebound 5 vs 5.
He had two. It’s the third straight game the Canucks have had under 20 shots on goal.
Canucks Were Flat
I wouldn’t describe the effort as lethargic. But they were caught flat-footed early. The uphill climb was too steep for them. It was so bad, the Canuck fans were cheering shot attempts. There was a loud cheer when Debrusk FINALLY got a shot on goal. Then a couple more shots.
If there was a bright spot, it was the power play. The puck was moving crisply. Especially on the power-play goal. But it was hard to point out an individual effort.
As for the Red Wings, they put on their work boots and earned the win. It was a simple game. Puck was going d to d. Back pressure support. Winning loose puck battles. High danger chances 5 vs 5 were 13-3 for the Red Wings. Lucas Raymond was the best player on the ice. Two goals.One Assist. Five shots. But Michael Brandsegg-Nygård was also sharp. Two assists. The Red Wings did come away with a concern as John Gibson left the game with an upper body injury.
Daniel Tarasov left Tuesday’s shootout loss to Seattle with an undisclosed injury. 24-year-old Michael Postava made his NHL debut in the third period. Quietly, the Red Wings are a game-over .500 and have points in six straight games.
As for the Canucks, the losing streak is now at nine. They hope to have a better effort and a much-needed win on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild.
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