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The Canucks are left on the floor in the shootout by the Flyers
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The Canucks are left on the floor in the shootout by the Flyers

The Vancouver Canucks earned a point by taking the game to a shootout, but dropped their second straight point to start the season.

The 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks have already improved in one respect over last season's Canucks.

The Canucks didn't score a single goal in shootouts last season and were 0-7 in shootout attempts. On Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canucks improved infinitely in this category, going 1-5 in the shootout.

They didn't win, but they scored a goal.

It's the Canucks' second straight loss in regulation to start the season, meaning they're on track for the strangest possible version of a .500 record: 0-0-82 and 82 points.

That's not the start fans had envisioned for this season, but some Canucks fans couldn't imagine the game at all since the Sportsnet Plus app – which they paid nearly $300 to use – decided that they were no longer in Canada and therefore could no longer watch the game.

Complaints piled up on Twitter, with some missing the entire game while others had their service interrupted during a tied game in the third period.

At least the Canucks performed better than Sportsnet Plus.

I know these complaints are valid because I had the exact same problem. The only difference is that I was in the press box at the time, so I can still say I saw that game.

  • Seriously, Sportsnet, get a grip. People pay a lot of money for Sportsnet Plus to watch Canucks games – having the service stop working for an entire game is unacceptable. What's worse is that apparently no one has worked to fix the problem or inform viewers about what went wrong. It wasn't just bad service; It was poor customer service.
  • Kevin Lankinen played his first game as a Canadian and had a very strong game with 29 saves on 31 shots, including a few real dandies. Given Arturs Silovs' performance in the opener, there is a strong chance the Canucks could face Lankinen again in the next game. He deserves it.
  • The game started terribly for the Canucks when Tyler Myers collapsed on the ice after appearing to hyperextend his right knee in a collision with Joel Farabee. Myers was in distress on the ice and had to be brought into space without putting any weight on his right leg.

  • Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet had no update on Myers after the game, saying only: “I don’t know. Hopefully we dodged a bullet, but I’m not sure.”
  • With Myers out of action less than two minutes into the game, the rest of the defensive corps had to step up and play some important minutes. Quinn Hughes led the way in ice time with a whopping 31:29, a new career high. It is the ninth time in his career that Hughes has played more than 30 minutes in a game. That's too much time on your feet, unlike Styx who has too much time.
  • “They played with five D the whole game, especially in a game like this with a lot of grinding and fighting, and they did great,” Lankinen said. “I’m really proud of the D Corps.”
  • Despite being restless, Hughes completely dominated possession of the puck. The Canucks' shot attempts were 23 for 10 when Hughes was on the ice in 5-on-5 situations and 36 for 15 when he was on the ice in all situations. Like Darth Vader, he is now more machine than human.
  • We saw an interesting new wrinkle on the Canucks' power play in this game: both JT Miller and Elias Pettersson on the same side of the ice, with Miller on the half wall and Pettersson below the goal line. It's a look they used a few times during the game and almost led to a goal when Pettersson set up a Miller shot that bounced right to Jake DeBrusk in the slot, but goaltender Sam Ersson got some of the puck to to fight him off.

  • Although there was no goal in this game, it is an intriguing new look. Having Pettersson on the strong side with Miller reduces the threat of Pettersson's one-timers, but it also gives Pettersson more touches and more involvement in the power play's build-up. Like the Dallas Knights football player Any SundayI'll be keeping an eye on whether the Canucks perform this well again in the future.
  • “I liked (the power play) early on, we had a lot of chances. I didn’t like the third one,” Tocchet said. “We got away from a few things. There were a couple of looks that we had – Yogi (Svejkovsky) had a great plan for it and we had two looks that if they had been there it would have been a blast on the net.”
  • The chemistry between Conor Garland and Nils Höglander – Garlander? – is brewing well. Garland set up Höglander's opening goal after fending off a breakout pass in the offensive zone. Garland found Höglander immediately and the Umlaute fired a fantastic shot. To be honest, it was the best shot of Höglander's career, the first with a ball past the post and in.
  • The chemistry is also starting to work between Danton Heinen and JT Miller and Brock Boeser. At least you can see the vision as Heinen won puck after puck for his linemates. The best example was a forecheck in the first period where he beat Cam York and Sean Couturier on the forecheck to shoot the puck free to Boeser and was almost rewarded for his efforts with a goal, only for his rebound attempt to narrowly miss the goal .

  • The Flyers tied the game before the end of the first period with some slick passes on the power play. Bobby Brink conquered the zone with the right win and shot the puck across the ice to Farabee, who sent it with a one-touch to Tyson Foerster, who put it in through the back door.
  • “Pettersson was caught flat-footed; He has to close the gap and be on the wedge guy,” Tocchet said. “And then we misplayed the attack. This is a 3-on-2 game, our D just has to play with the middle of the ice and aim the shot to the outside. It’s a tic-tac-toe with a few detail errors.”
  • The Flyers could have scored another tap-in goal midway through the second period. Joel Farabee had a wide open net from two feet away and missed the net by the same distance by shooting the puck parallel to the goal line. The failure triggered a deep existential crisis for Farabee, as he questioned every decision in his life that had led him to this point. Or missing a point because he didn't score a goal.

  • Derek Forbort played probably the best pass of his career and gave the Canucks the lead. A strong forecheck from Kiefer Sherwood and Pius Suter released the puck to Teddy Blueger, who at that point fed Forbort, then in turn Forbort fed Blueger like a couple on a date, making everyone else in the restaurant uncomfortable. It was an impressive vision from Forbort to see Blueger shoot through the back door and into the open net.
  • “We talked about this exact game,” Tocchet said. “Forsy, he’s a smart guy, a veteran. This is the play we were talking about: The weak side backdoor play could be open against Philly and it worked out perfectly. Pius Suter was standing directly in front of the net so the goalkeeper didn't see it. It’s nice when you have a game plan and the boys implement it.”
  • Before goal, Forbort was seen on the bench drinking from a Tim Horton cup, leading some to think his pass might have benefited from a little caffeine boost. Instead, Forbort said he actually gets help for nausea.

  • “I think it was some Pepto Bismol,” Forbort said. “I had a little stomach problem.”
  • Daniel Sprong's defensive game is still a work in progress. At least you have to hope it's still going since he was caught watching the puck on the Flyers' second goal. He drifted into the left faceoff circle even though he was supposed to be on the right side of the ice. The puck landed exactly where Sprong was supposed to be and Cam York shot the puck off the post and into the goal.
  • “Sprong overhyped the rail guy,” Tocchet said. “If he just stays back – like in his spot – that’s where the puck went. He has to be there. He just overplayed that side, so we’re going to correct that again.”
  • Here's the thing: Sprong was only on the ice this shift because Tocchet hadn't played him with his usual linemates Pettersson and DeBrusk the previous shift. It was a faceoff in the defensive zone, so Tocchet sent Garland in Sprong's place. It backfired as Sprong, who was traveling with Garland's usual linemates Aatu Räty and Nils Höglander, still got stuck in the defensive zone.
  • Blueger had a monster game as he not only scored a goal but also prevented one. When Lankinen reached over to make a brilliant save from Jett Luchanko, it was Blueger who spotted the puck in the crease behind his goaltender and pushed it away from the wraparound shot.
  • “It was a little bit of desperation mode,” Lankinen said. “I had the jump and also got some help from the guys along the goal line. This is a team effort.”
  • For Elias Pettersson, things just aren't going quite right yet. He and Miller only had one shot each in this game as neither was able to advance in the tight game. When Pettersson stole a puck in the offensive zone and, like Miller in the first period, had a chance to be a last-minute hero, he couldn't cleanly block his shot and it deflected past the goal. That's nothing to worry about yet, but we haven't seen Pettersson at his best yet.
  • Extra time solved nothing, even if the Canucks dominated possession of the puck. The shooting didn't solve much either. The only Canuck to score was DeBrusk, who kept it simple: run fast and shoot. The other Canucks – Miller, Pettersson, Garland and Boeser – slowly came up and/or tried a few dekes. Maybe the Canucks can learn something from DeBrusk's success.
  • Then again, the Flyers' game-winning goal in the shootout came after Morgan Frost slowed down, so perhaps it wasn't about speed at all. So what have we learned? I don't know. I think we've learned not to do it again.

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