Canucks need more from top players after another disappointing loss

VANCOUVER — Mondayâ€s score for the Vancouver Canucks was misleading. It was actually the St. Louis Blues 5, Kiefer Sherwood 2, the rest of the Canucks 0.

Vancouver completed its lost Thanksgiving Weekend by surrendering an early goal to St. Louis, then pressing themselves into other mistakes in a 5-2 loss. Saturday in Edmonton, the Canucks lost 3-1 to the Oilers.

They surrendered 72 shots and six goals (plus two empty-netters) while scoring three over the two games. The Canucks†only goal from their top two lines was Brock Boeserâ€s spinning hook shot in Edmonton. Sherwood plays on what started Monday as the Canucks†fourth line.

The Canucks began their National Hockey League regular season last week full of positivity, but fully understood that their biggest challenge would be scoring goals and that their top players, collectively, have to be better than they were last season.

They werenâ€t good enough on the weekend.

“Well, you know what? It’s early in the season,†head coach Adam Foote told reporters Monday night when asked about the top players. “We’re at Game 3, and we’re not going to get into that. You know, the top guys know. I’m sure they’re thinking about their power play; it’s been three games and they want to get it going. But we’re not going to over-analyze that at this moment.â€

The Canuck power play, another potential source of increased scoring and coming off a dynamite pre-season, had only one failed attempt against the Blues (which tells you how little the visitors were put under duress) and is now 0-for-7 through three games.

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“Every team, your first line is supposed to be your best line,†DeBrusk said. “I take pride in that, and we haven’t been. I feel it the most. Saying that, we’re chasing the game a lot. That means that the forecheck isn’t great, which is my responsibility, and our neutral zone and our breakouts aren’t that great. It’s a group of five, honestly.

“Iâ€ve just got to find my game. You know, it’s three games in, but it’s frustrating, to be honest with you. I think at the end of the day. . . Iâ€ve got to be a threat out there. I feel like I haven’t really been a part of anything. That’s my fault, I have to be better on that and can’t allow that to happen anymore.â€

DeBrusk, Boeser and Pettersson combined for four shots. Petterssonâ€s ice time was 15:36.

DeBrusk wasnâ€t the only Canuck blaming himself.

“I felt like I probably had five Grade-As (chances) and I didnâ€t score on any of them,†second-line winger Conor Garland said. “We might be talking about something else if I could bury something early. I feel like we’re making plays. Feel like we’re trying to attack, trying to play with some juice up front. But it doesn’t go in and they get a couple of weird ones, so it’s tough.â€

Matchup defenceman Marcus Pettersson lost net-front coverage on Jimmy Snuggerudâ€s goal that opened scoring for St. Louis at 8:48 of the first period, and the Canucks†botched a line change that allowed Brayden Schenn to make it 2-0 in the aftermath of a partial breakaway at 2:10 of the second period.

Sherwood, whose line with Aatu Raty and Arshdeep Bains was easily the Canucks†best, tried to bring Vancouver into the game. He scored from Ratyâ€s clever pass in traffic at 5:33 of the middle period and again on a beautiful shorthanded breakaway deke at 12:12 that could have injured St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington.

But instead of using the goals to build momentum and their game by stacking together solid shifts, the Canucks looked eager to blow out the Blues before the second intermission. They charged into mistakes.

Elias Petterssonâ€s hooking penalty allowed the Blues†power play to restore the two-goal lead at 8:13 of the second period, Snuggerud scoring a step in front of Canuck Drew Oâ€Connor after Tyler Myers had the puck knocked away by Schenn behind the net.

And at 13:45, just 1:33 after what looked like a game-changing shorthanded goal by Sherwood, Nick Bjugstad scored on a three-on-two rush after Kane followed the puck towards the St. Louis net with Vancouver defenceman Quinn Hughes already in deep.

“We score the shorty, and then we go press, press, press, and they get an odd-man rush again,†Foote said. “There’s lots of hockey left in the game. When it’s unfortunate where we get behind the eight-ball early, weâ€ve got to just hang in and trust it. And we’re just going sometimes too much. But the good thing is, they want to win. They go for it, they want to win the hockey game.

“I just felt that we pressed it a little bit too much, and we were diving in. You get so excited when you get to 3-2. They feel the energy of the crowd. We know weâ€re humming. Maybe over-trying at that moment, going all-in.â€

The Canucks hurt themselves.

“Yeah, we’re giving up a lot, and itâ€s something weâ€ve got to clean up,†Marcus Pettersson said. “Both teams were jumping early. It was a fast pace early, and then obviously we gave that one up and that’s on me. I let (Snuggerud) pass me there off the rush. It kind of gets us in a hole right away, and then we’re chasing them. I think we kind of. . . try to do too much sometimes and, you know, sell the farm a little bit.â€

“Losses always sting, but it’s humbling for sure,†DeBrusk said. “Obviously, a long way to go. Everyone’s positive at the start, but you never want to lose two in a row, especially on home ice kind of the way that happened (tonight). Obviously, they shut us down pretty good. We need to be better, as simple as that.â€

ICE CHIPS — Backup Kevin Lankinen got his first start of the season for Vancouver and allowed four goals on 34 shots. Defenceman Victor Mancini also drew into the lineup due to a nagging injury to Derek Forbort. . . The line of 18-year-old centre Braeden Cootes between wingers Oâ€Connor and Jonathan Lekkerimaki was caved in territorially by the Blues. Shot attempts at five-on-five were 22-2 for St. Louis when Cootes was on the ice. . . The Canucks practise Tuesday before travelling to Dallas for a five-game road trip that starts Thursday with back-to-back games against the Stars and Chicago Blackhawks.

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