Vancouver Canucks are Dominating but Still Struggling
The Vancouver Canucks played one of their best games in the Willie Desjardins era on Sunday, yet still lost 3-1
The way the Vancouver Canucks played on Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings would result in a victory nine out of 10 times.
But struggling teams find ways to let those games slip away frequently. This team was once again guilty of that.
Despite peppering Jimmy Howard for 37 shots, the Canucks only managed one goal. There were only a handful of quality chances.
We haven’t seen this great of a performance from them in some time, so to lose by a pair of goals is troubling.
Winning the Battle, Losing the War
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The best teams in hockey usually win games they probably shouldn’t win. Go look at Carey Price‘s start with the Montreal Canadiens.
Unfortunately for the Canucks, Ryan Miller had a very lackluster performance. He was way out of position for Dylan Larkin‘s opening period goal. The next two goals were softies, which simply cannot go in.
But what’s most troubling is how this team only managed one goal.
The Wings are better coached, more talented and faster. The Canucks still found ways to dictate the play, but they just couldn’t finish when they had to.
Even though it was encouraging on Troy Stecher‘s part to see him register six shots on goal, it was also a sign of how Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin aren’t getting the support they need on offence.
That’s also a troubling sign.
This has been a very disappointing season for the Vancouver Canucks, with little signs of things turning around.
The loss to Detroit on Thursday suggests that even when they’re at their best, they will often find ways to lose by multiple goals.