Bruins 5, Canucks 1: Terrible Vancouver is powerless against Boston

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The lights were on at Rogers Arena on Saturday night, but watching the Vancouver Canucks play you would have thought they were like the rest of the Lower Mainland: completely without power.

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Playing against a team that has conceded 13 goals in its last two games after absolutely dominating the Florida Panthers in their last game, you would think that the Vancouver Canucks didn’t look like a broken BC Hydro transformer in the first period would have. but they were.

The Canucks were flat against these Bruins, who are a shadow of the club they were just two seasons ago. Lifeless. No trace of electricity. They lost 5-1 to the Bruins because they just didn’t have it.

In two periods they experienced a layer of sustained pressure that came after they were down 4-0.

Through two periods of play, they had managed exactly one power play draw against the NHL’s most penalized team.

The Canucks are apparently battling the flu, but this performance was so completely lackluster that you have to wonder what’s going on in Mudville.

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The glazes

The Canucks iced the puck four times even though they weren’t really under pressure. That led to both goals, said Tocchet.

It was really amazing.

“The icing on the cake is inexcusable for all of us,” Tocchet said flatly.

The mentality

“We talked about a specific play we wanted to make against Boston. We maybe didn’t do it until the third round… I think that makes the (coaching) staff mad because we had a good game plan,” Tocchet said. But somehow when you’re chasing the game… when you get the puck, it’s like a hot potato, suddenly I don’t want it anymore. So what do you do? Just get rid of it. I think we need to calm the waters.”

Tocchet then went further, suggesting that there are a handful of players who are having difficulty flipping the switch.

“Let’s face the facts here, for four or five people, they have problems. They’re struggling to emotionally integrate into the game, and that’s my job. In order to get these guys, still certain guys, we have to find other equipment from them. You have to understand that it’s the NHL and you can’t play a single good game. … You have to be jacked,” he said.

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The losses

The fact is, the Canucks still have a pretty good record.

The problem is the losses. They have won 15 games, but almost every one of the eight defeats raises eyebrows at the very least.

They lost twice to Tampa and were outclassed each time. They were thrown out of the rink by New Jersey. The Oilers and Islanders did much the same thing a month ago. Then there was an ugly loss in Nashville against one of the bottom teams in the league this season. The only regulation loss the Canucks perhaps deserved better this season was the 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers, the first game the Canucks played without JT Miller.

Head up

Tocchet also criticized his team’s implementation of the game plan, or lack thereof. He firmly believed that there was a place to put the puck more than once. Turn the defense around and make it scramble.

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“The weak side was open several times tonight. We just couldn’t find it. We just didn’t see it tonight. Skate another four to five feet. Hit the weak side. It’s open. Instead, we are betting on the strong side,” he said.

A former rugby coach of mine always talked about “don’t accept pressure” so the other team puts pressure on you, but that’s just something you can push back on. Don’t let them force you to do something you don’t want to do, but rather channel their pressure, find the weak spot, and make them feel uncomfortable.

Net front scramble

For example, this is what the Bruins wanted. Cause chaos in front of the Canucks’ goal crease. They have defended their place so well this season, but if you make it a challenge and play to their strengths, there could be a gap somewhere.

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Brad Marchand, who plays in a building where he has had so much success over the years, said the Bruins planned a few little plays to try in the goal crease and they obviously worked.

“We did a good job of getting the pucks to the net and trying to get the bodies there. When you create havoc it’s difficult to defend and we did a good job playing straight to the net and trying to block that shot,” he said.

David Pastrnak provided three assists, creating numerous opportunities for his linemates.

“Demko hadn’t played in a while, so we didn’t want to make it too easy for him and we wanted to get the bodies up front and get some shots up early,” the Bruins star said. “He’s a great goalkeeper, but it’s never easy to lose so much time.”

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The boo birds

There were once again plenty of empty seats, another statement on ticket prices and those who were here were not impressed.

The boos began on the power play of the second half and were repeated again and again throughout the game.

With the lowest ticket price listed being over $100, fans deserve to be entertained.

The product is not good enough.

Defensive disaster

The Canucks have been an outstanding defensive unit for most of this season, so the first third performance was truly outstanding.

Natural Stat Trick gave Boston 12, even 12 high danger chances. No team will make a bad decision given all these opportunities.

It was an incredibly terrible first season for Vancouver. They couldn’t defend and they couldn’t generate anything offensively either.

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The Bruins defeated the hometown team 16-4 in the first frame.

That’s just embarrassing.

I repeat: The Bruins have conceded 13 goals in their last two games.

Kudos to Max

Max Sasson is a good story. He works hard.

He wishes his first NHL goal came in a better game – but he’s now scored one more NHL goal than the rest of us.

NEXT GAME

Monday