from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Against a heavyweight team, the Vancouver Canucks were lightweights on Tuesday.

Playing the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, a possible first-round playoff opponent for the Canucks in 2 ½ weeks, Vancouver was blown open early and lost 6-3.

The Canucks’ slack defending and awful execution in the first 10 minutes, as they served a pile of outnumbered rushes to a big, fast Vegas team that feasts on them, never gave Vancouver a chance to win.

The statement the Canucks made against a formidable opponent, so soon after four losses in Vancouver against playoff-bound teams, will surely embolden the Knights.

“I think as an individual, you look at your game. . . and: 'How can I play better? What can I do to do. . . to contribute to the team?'” Canuck coach Rick Tocchet told reporters after the game. “If everybody does that, you know, you hope the next game will improve on that. Some guys have got to look at their shifts and, 'What can I do different to help the team?' There's a penalty kill; can we be a little bit more aggressive on the wall to get that (puck) out? I think we were a little light getting in there. I just thought we were a little light everywhere. And that's not the type of game you want when you get into the stretch drive, so we've got to find it quickly.”

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Game highlights are below.