Struggling Vancouver Canucks lack execution in ‘key moments’: coach

Vancouver Canucks' Carson Soucy (7) hooks Buffalo Sabres' Tage Thompson (72) as he and Vancouver's Filip Hronek, back right, attempt to slow him down during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Things finally seemed to be clicking for the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

Then came the third period.

Vancouver went into the frame up 2-1 on the visiting Sabres, but a five-minute stretch midway through saw the Canucks cough up two goals in less than five minutes. Buffalo registered a 3-2 victory.

It was the seventh time this season the Canucks (20-16-10) have relinquished a third-period lead.

“We haven’t been good enough closing games out,” said Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, who made 23 saves in his third straight start. ”I mean, obviously, we’ve got to hammer those details down. And in a hurry here, we’re over halfway through the year. So, we have to string some games together, for sure.”

The Canucks (20-16-10) were coming off an explosive 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Stringing together wins has been a struggle for Vancouver this season, though. The squad has not posted two consecutive victories since Dec. 1. They are 7-9-7 since.

Pinpointing where the inconsistency comes from is tough, Demko said, but it’s up to each individual player to solve the problem.

“We’ve got to man up a little bit, and certainly myself included. I mean, I don’t think I’ve been good enough this year so far,” he said.

“So I’ve got to keep working to find that level that I know I can get to. And I’ll be the first guy working on my game day in and day out. So I’ll focus on myself and focus on my game. And I think if everyone does that, then we’ll be OK.”

Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet also believes consistency is the responsibility of each individual player.

“When you come to the rink, you’ve got to consistently do the hard things, do the right things. And then when everyone collectively does that, then the team becomes consistent,” he said. “And I don’t know — sometimes we’re just lacking that.”

Tuesday’s game was a “microcosm” of the season, Tocchet said, with results falling away due to key moments.

“Sometimes in a key moment, we’re just kind of — I hate to use the word — we just kind of go numb for whatever reason," he said. “And in a key situation. We’ve got to turn that around.”

Vancouver had chances in the dying moments of Tuesday’s game.

With Demko on the bench in favour of an extra attacker, the Canucks pressed, peppering Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with shots, only to see their attempts denied.

His best sequence of the night came with seconds left on the clock when Vancouver’s Brock Boeser blasted a shot on net from the top of the faceoff circle and Luukkonen denied him with his left pad. The puck popped out to Conor Garland as he crashed the net and tried to poke in the rebound, only to see Luukkonen deny him with his left skate.

The Canucks simply haven’t been capitalizing in big moments this season, Tocchet said.

“In hockey, there’s key moments. Most of the game is played — 70, 80 per cent — at neutral. It’s that 30 per cent you need big moments where the tide turns. Whether it’s a big faceoff win or a block or a back door play to score," he said.

“These are big plays that you’ve got to make, and we’re not having enough this year. We know that we need more big play moments to get ourselves out of this.”

PETTERSSON’S POINTS

Canucks centre Elias Pettersson scored Vancouver’s second goal of the night, blasting a shot in over Luukkonen’s shoulder at the 10:29 mark of the second period.

It was his 11th goal of the season and his first in six games since returning from an undisclosed injury.

KULICH’S CLIMB

Jiri Kulich had a goal and two assists for Buffalo.

The 20-year-old Czech centre now has eight goals and four assists on the season after missing a stretch with a lower-body injury.

“Real impressive,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said of Kulich’s performance. ”We knew how well he had been playing before he went out. We had walked about centre or wing, I think he’s proven now that he can play in the middle, and he can carry the puck through the neutral zone, he can win key faceoffs for us, and defensively, he’s been real strong.”

By Gemma Karstens-Smith

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.