VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks are on the cusp of entering one of the toughest parts of their schedule this season.
After Monday’s contest against Montreal, the Canucks will play six consecutive games against some of the best teams in the league: Washington, Carolina, Toronto (which is a back-to-back), Winnipeg, Los Angeles and Edmonton.
Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson are expected to travel on the club’s upcoming road trip, but even with their possible returns at some point during that stretch, the Canucks are facing a daunting challenge. Couple that with the club’s razor-thin playoff cushion and it magnified the stakes of Friday’s game against the 31st-ranked Nashville Predators. Yes, the Canucks were on the second leg of a back-to-back, but this was still a very winnable game against a miserable Predators team at a time when the club needs to bank as many points as it can before the schedule gets harder.
Forget 2 points, the Canucks didn’t manage a goal as they got shut out 3-0 by the Predators. Here are three takeaways from another disappointing loss this season at Rogers Arena.
The Predators are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL this season, which is a shock after the splashy offseason they had. They have talented snipers, yes, but lack dynamic playmakers who can set those shooters up and have a desperate shortage of top-flight centres.
Nashville’s found a spark lately by shifting Stamkos from wing to center and moving him to the top line to play with Jonathan Marchessault and Filip Forsberg. Heading into Friday’s game, Marchessault had nine goals in his last 10 games, and Stamkos was producing at a point-per-game clip in that stretch. The Canucks’ path to winning Friday’s game was simple: Keep those two off the scoresheet and there’s a good chance that Nashville’s dire shortage of secondary scoring would get exposed.
The Predators’ top line didn’t sustain much offensive pressure — it surrendered more shots and chances than it created at five-on-five — but Stamkos still found the scoresheet late in the second. That made all the difference.
The breakdown started with Guillaume Brisebois making an ill-advised pinch in the offensive zone after Kiefer Sherwood lost the puck along the wall. Nashville swiftly transitioned the puck up ice and while Brisebois was able to race back in time, he and Tyler Myers were stuck with poor gap control on a clear-cut three-on-two chance. The Preds made slick passes on the entry and teed Stamkos up for a vintage one-timer.
Canuck killer Steven Stamkos opens the scoring. He has 19 goals in 22 games against Vancouver.
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It was an especially tough blow for the Canucks because they were generally carrying play and outshot the Predators 10-4 in the second period.
Kiefer Sherwood’s and Kevin Lankinen’s revenge tours fall short
Has any player looked more motivated to show up against their former team than Sherwood? He was outstanding against the Predators the last time these two teams met in November. He was fast, feisty, racked up shots and chances at will and even scored in that game.
During Friday’s rematch, Sherwood played like he’d shotgunned two cans of Red Bull before the game. He was all over the puck with his speed and disruptiveness. He was winning battles and driving plays. Sherwood racked up a team-high five shots on goal with a couple of dangerous looks on the counterattack in the second period.
On one rush, he deftly chipped the puck past Brady Skjei to create a threatening two-on-one opportunity and just missed the net. Later, he was the trailer alongside J.T. Miller and Conor Garland on a three-on-two opportunity. Miller sprung ahead Garland, who laid the puck back for Sherwood. Skjei recovered just in time to get a piece of Sherwood’s shot on the Grade-A chance.
Sherwood’s energy and pace stood out because the Canucks, despite having a decisive edge in shots, lacked standout offensive drivers against the Predators.
Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk were quiet. Miller had a couple of dangerous looks in the first period, including a breakaway, but he struggled to drive play and make an impact over the final 40 minutes. Most disappointingly, the Canucks power play didn’t muster a single shot on goal during two pivotal opportunities in the third period.
Juuse Saros deserves credit — he made a couple of outstanding saves, including an incredible rebound stop on Garland in the second period, but for all the shots the Canucks registered, they didn’t create enough high-danger chances.
The Preds were also more dangerous offensively than their 19 shots would indicate. They were all over the Canucks in the first 10 minutes of the first period, and if it wasn’t for Lankinen’s steady play, they would have been in a deeper hole.
Is it time for Erik Brännström to return to Canucks’ lineup?
Look, we know Brännström isn’t going to save this Canucks’ blue line on his own. He’s a No. 6/7 quality defenceman and when he’s had to take on top-four assignments, the seams have shown occasionally.
But with Hughes and Filip Hronek out, can the Canucks justify keeping Brännström’s puck-moving and secondary offensive skill out of the lineup?
Brisebois was fine against the Kraken, but he and Myers were caved in for long stretches of the Predators game. Brisebois’ pinch was the key mistake on Stamkos’ goal. His defensive-minded presence is a bit redundant on the current Canucks’ blue line which is already overflowing with simple, stay-at-home options. They need a catalyst with the puck on the blue line, and that’s where Brännström probably deserves a shot over Brisebois.
(Photo of Brock Boeser and Gustav Nyquist: Rich Lam / Getty Images)
