Canucks' bounce-back effort 'not good enough' in rare second straight loss

DETROIT – Until Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the Vancouver Canucks hadn’t dropped consecutive games since Nov. 18. Until Thursday’s 4-0 defeat in Boston, they hadn’t lost in regulation time since Jan. 4.

This is Feb. 10.

These were poor results for the Canucks, but the rarity of them reflect just how good the National Hockey League team has been. Standards are profoundly higher than a year ago, which is why being 1-1-1 on a road trip against teams with a cumulative winning percentage of 64.5 is no longer good enough for the Canucks under coach Rick Tocchet.

And it should never be good enough for anyone to leave with a single road point, like the Canucks did Saturday, after leading 3-1 heading into the third period.

The Canucks had been a mind-blowing 29-0-1 (59 out of 60 points) this season when leading after 40 minutes, but surrendered goals five minutes apart early in the third period and were beaten by the Red Wings when defenceman Jake Walman scored on a penalty shot 23 seconds into overtime.

Vancouver captain Quinn Hughes somehow allowed Walman to hang out open behind him for a breakaway, then compounded his mistake by slashing the Red Wing before the initial shot was saved by Canuck goalie Casey DeSmith.

The Canucks, who have not lost three consecutive games all season, visit the Washington Capitals for another matinee game on Sunday before closing their five-game trip Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I thought we were in control of the game,” Tocchet told reporters in Detroit. “A couple of turnovers, yeah, in our net. We've got to learn with the pressure starting to hit us even more, you've got to lock these games down. And I thought there was a couple of turnovers when we shouldn't have to have turnovers; we've just got to get the puck in deep. And box out. You've got to box out, too.”

The Red Wings tied the game 3-3 at 7:51 in the third period when Michael Rasmussen was allowed by Canuck Nils Hoglander to skate unimpeded to the front of the net and deflect in Walman’s point shot.

Hoglander was in the penalty box for an offensive-zone trip when Detroit began their comeback on the power play, as Daniel Sprong converted Patrick Kane’s pass to the slot at 2:34 with both Canuck defencemen Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers below the goal line. New Canuck Elias Lindholm was the nearest player to Sprong, but hesitated a split second before moving to cover him.

“He was somebody’s guy,” Lindholm said when asked whether he should have had Sprong. “I’m new to the penalty kill, so I’m not sure but I could have made a better play there.”

It was Lindholm’s third game with the Canucks after last week’s trade from the Calgary Flames.

He skated with new partners on Saturday, moving back to centre between wingers J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. They combined for 14 shots on net in all situations but did not generate a goal.

“Honestly, I've got to be better,” Lindholm said. “I've got to be more involved and just play better. I didn't think I played that well (and I'm) obviously playing with two really good players, so I've got to be better.”

“It was better certainly,” Miller said of the Canucks’ effort after the loss in Boston. “But I still think we have more to give. I thought we were a little careless with the puck today. We gave the puck back to them way too much. Our bread and butter is playing below the hashmarks and I feel like we've kept getting away from playing down there. That's where we grind teams down and make them make mistakes, so I think we need to get back to that.”

The line’s formation was just one of several changes Tocchet made between Boston and Detroit. 

Hoglander was promoted to the second line alongside his friend, Pettersson, while Ilya Mikheyev was dropped to the fourth line, and winger Phil DiGiuseppe returned from injury and replaced Sam Lafferty, who was healthy-scratched for the first time this season. 

“If you're making changes, it means something needs fixed,” Miller said. “At the same time, we have a lot of options and I think when things aren't going the way we want them to go, we have the luxury of putting people in different places. We all have to be prepared to play with other people; it's just the nature of the game. I expect us to be even better tomorrow.”

Tocchet said the team responded as he had hoped after the self-destruction in Boston – except for the mistakes they made on Detroit’s third-period goals.

“I thought we got a response,” Tocchet said. “We're up 3-1. They had a bunch of power plays. We made two turnovers. I thought we played a pretty good game other than a couple of guys with turnovers and we didn't box out on one of the goals. I thought it was a good response. I just think we made about four plays that you shouldn't make when you're up 3-1.”

The Pettersson-Hoglander-Pius Suter line drove the Canucks offensively.

After Lucas Raymond walked through defenceman Tyler Myers and around goalie DeSmith to make it 1-0 for Detroit just 45 seconds after the opening faceoff, the Canucks scored three times in the middle period despite a disadvantage of nearly seven minutes that began at 4:11. Vancouver defenceman Nikita Zadorov was assessed a match penalty and game misconduct for an open-ice hit-to-head on Raymond.

As Raymond tried to dodge the check, Zadorov’s head appeared to hit the Red Wing’s. But players are responsible for the point of contact, and Zadorov faces a phone hearing with the National Hockey League and could be suspended for Sunday’s game.

Vancouver did an outstanding job killing the major penalty, plus a high-sticking minor to Filip Hronek that overlapped Zadorov’s penalty by nine seconds. The Canucks took a 2-1 lead at 11:10 when Hronek skated out of the penalty box and on to Mikheyev’s breakaway pass, then beat Detroit goalie Alex Lyon with a deft deke.

Pettersson scored on the end-boards rebound from Suter’s shot to make it 3-1 at 13:27. Hoglander had redirected Hronek’s slap-pass to start the Canucks comeback at 1:09.

Pettersson finished with a goal and two assists, moving into a tie with Miller for the team-scoring lead. Tocchet acknowledged the offensive contributions by Pettersson, Hoglander and Suter but also noted the line was on the ice for a couple of goals-against so it was a “wash.”

“We were in the driver's seat headed into the third and we let that one get away,” Canuck winger Dakota Joshua said. “It's very disappointing after how good we've been at bouncing back after losses and protecting leads for most of the year. So to not bounce back and blow a lead definitely doesn't feel good. The only positive is that it's a quick turnaround and we get to get back at it tomorrow.”

Wasn’t the penalty-killing a positive in the second period?

“Yeah, for most of the night, it was good,” Joshua said. “But we still gave up one (in the third) that ended up making a difference in the end. Just like the game, it was. . . not good enough in the end.”

ICE CHIPS – The Canucks are carrying extra defenceman Mark Friedman, but if Zadorov is suspended Vancouver will have to go with four righties on the blue line. Friedman hasn't played an NHL game since Nov. 30. . . With nearly 17 minutes of special teams, DiGiuseppe logged only 6:49 of ice time in his first game since Jan. 2. . . DeSmith allowed four goals on 28 shots and has lost in overtime in his last three starts. The backup’s last win was Jan. 9.