from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,
With a more talented roster, a better schedule, a full training camp, almost full health and an emphatic desire by everyone involved to prove that last year’s disaster was a one-off, the Vancouver Canucks are back exactly where they were after the first 16 nights of chaos last season.
Their 5-1 loss Sunday to the Anaheim Ducks capped the most disillusioning three-game road trip of the Jim Benning-Travis Green era and sunk the Canucks to 5-9-2 -- matching the 12 points Vancouver managed in their 6-10-0 false start to 2021’s pandemic season.
They were outscored 19-6 over a span of four nights by Anaheim, the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. Vancouver is already six points out of a playoff spot....
Reporters aren’t allowed in National Hockey League dressing rooms these days, but you can still whiff the self doubt of Canuck players who on this road trip lost touch with most of the concepts required to be successful.
The only thing they maintained from their homestand is the inexplicably bad special teams. Canuck penalty-killers yielded on Sunday two more power-play goals for the seventh time in eight games, which is unfathomable.
Their league-worst 20 power-play goals against are at least double the figure surrendered by 22 teams, and Vancouver’s special-teams deficit is now 11 goals through 16 games.
The only thing worse than that odour of self doubt is the sad stench of hopelessness. The Canucks could be there soon if they play the next three games at home as badly as the three they just played on the road.
Catch the game highlights below.
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