'It's go time': Canucks struggling to find higher gear during homestand

VANCOUVER — Rest, practise, home cooking and a leisurely game schedule aren’t working for the Vancouver Canucks.

Coach Rick Tocchet said after Friday’s practice that this is “go time” for his team. 

“You should thrive in this environment,” he said, referring to his team’s nine-game homestand. “I don't know how you can be tired, like, in games. If you're going to lose a game, it shouldn't be because of fatigue. So I think it's a mindset. We're in — I hate to say it — uncharted waters for a lot of guys on this team. It's go time. There's 15 games left. Let's get out of third and fourth gear. We've got to get to fifth gear. It's not wait till until April (and the playoffs). It’s: ‘Let's go.’ That's the message.”

But after two practice days to prepare for Saturday’s game against the desperate Washington Capitals, the Canucks slipped out of third gear in the second period and were stuck in neutral for 12 or 14 minutes. They lost their lead and then the game, 2-1.

This follows a 4-3 overtime loss Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche in which the Canucks actually seemed to go in reverse in the third period as they blew a two-goal lead.

They had three days to rest and prepare for that game.

As they were paddling furiously through a ridiculous schedule in February, when the Canucks played 10 games in 17 nights in nine cities and four time zones, March seemed like terra firma. Nine games at home spread over 24 days. So far, it hasn’t exactly been home-free for Vancouver.

“It's my job. . . to help some of these guys,” Tocchet said Saturday night. “They’ve got to understand that it's going to get harder and harder. It's that seal, right? They're used to this (not being in the playoffs). They've got to get past that seal. It's my job to get them to break that seal; there's more in the tank. There's always that more, and we've got to break through it. Find it.”

They have another two days to get ready for the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. The Montreal Canadiens visit Rogers Arena on Thursday.

So far, the 1-1-1 opening third of their homestand is far from a disaster. The Canucks have 92 points and lead the Pacific Division by eight, although the second-place Edmonton Oilers have logged three fewer games.

But third gear would have been an improvement for the Canucks in the second period against the Capitals.

Most of the Canucks’ second period on Saturday looked like their third period on Wednesday, when they all but stopped playing against the Avalanche while getting outbattled, outskated and outshot 17-3 as they blew a two-goal lead before losing 4-3 in overtime.

Washington is fighting for the final wild-card playoff spot in the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference. The Capitals are coming off a recent 7-2-1 run and are not an easy out for anyone these days. But they are not the Avalanche. 

Alex Ovechkin looks 38, Evgeny Kuznetsov is gone and Nicklas Backstrom hasn’t been seen since October. There are some good players on Washington, but no one like the Avalanche’s game-changers Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen.

And yet, the Canucks were again stuck in their own zone for minutes at a time in the middle period. When they did come up with pucks, they seemed unable to make a 10-foot pass.

The Capitals, who trailed 1-0 on Brock Boeser’s redirect from Quinn Hughes at 71 seconds of the first period, outshot the Canucks 12-2 through 12 minutes and quickly turned the deficit into a 2-1 lead.

Tom Wilson, at 6:01, and Ovechkin, at 7:54, were completely unchecked at the side of the net behind Canuck goalie Casey DeSmith.

Sure, there an awful icing call before the Wilson goal that kept the Canucks under pressure. But Vancouver’s Teddy Blueger actually won the ensuing faceoff before defenceman Ian Cole’s rim-around was intercepted at the right-wing boards and Canuck coverage collapsed.

Tocchet said linesman Ryan Gibbons, one of the NHL’s best, apologized to him before the third period for his missed call in the second.

“That happens,” Tocchet said. “That’s not the reason we lost. We win the draw and it's in our net. The bottom line: execute. I don't think that was a hard play. We won the draw.”

On the second goal, Washington defenceman Alex Alexeyev had such an uncontested look from above the hashmarks that DeSmith charged out to face the shooter — and so was out of position when Alexeyev dished to Connor McMichael, who either passed or scuffed it to Ovechkin for a tap-in.

It wasn’t until about the 16-minute mark of the second period that the Canucks actually built some sustained offensive-zone pressure, rolling two lines while keeping the Capitals under duress. But J.T. Miller missed the net from an excellent shooting position — a recurring theme on Saturday — and Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren stuffed Pius Suter at the back post.

“I feel like, for some reason. . . our execution stops,” Miller said of the second-period stall. “Maybe we want the puck so bad sometimes. You know, we want it to come easy. And the other teams push, and then we kind of get away from our staples that make us a good team and kind of hope it goes well. And then at that time, we kind of get more panicky with the puck because they're coming at us. 

“We just need to do a better job of being composed in moments like that because it's going to happen a lot down the stretch. That's what we're trying to get better at; when it's not going good for us, how are we going to play? We've played with a lot of leads this year. We haven't trailed going into the third very often. That's just something we need to be better at. When we're getting pushed by the other team, how are we going to respond? You know, that takes a level of maturity and discipline. And it starts with us as leaders on the team to make sure that the team goes in the right direction.”

Aided by an early momentum-generating power play and, possibly some blunt encouragement by Tocchet during the intermission, the Canucks were better in the third period. They got pucks behind the Capitals’ defence and used their forecheck to sustain pressure. They skated. Still, Vancouver spent a lot of time on the perimeter and generated few quality scoring chances between the dots.

Lindgren’s best save was snaring Elias Pettersson’s heavy shot during the lone Vancouver power play.

After winning an offensive-zone faceoff with 12.3 seconds remaining and the Canucks skating six against five, Elias Lindholm failed to connect with Miller on a four-foot pass to the top of the crease just before the buzzer. It epitomized Vancouver’s night.

“There's a reason for everybody to be playing hard this time of year,” Miller said. “There are no easy games, and we need to find a way to rise to the occasion a little bit better than we did in a game like today.”

They need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.