The Vancouver Canucks have started the season a disappointing 0-0-2 when they could easily be 2-0-0. They have had leads going into the third period in both games this season and have managed to get outscored 4-1 and squander two points. They played 20 minutes against the Calgary Flames and 40 minutes against the Philadelphia Flyers, so I guess the next is 60 minutes? That’s what fans hope will happen in Tampa Bay on Tuesday when they face the Lightning in their first road contest of 2024-25.
Related: It’s Clear the Canucks Need to Start Playing a Full 60-Minute Game
With that, let’s take a gander at the notebook from the brief two-game homestand that began the campaign.
Silovs Struggles, Lankinen Shines
Arturs Silovs got the start in the home opener and struggled in what ended as a 6-5 overtime loss to the Flames. He had trouble tracking the puck through traffic and ultimately allowed three from mid- and long-range (in other words, areas that are not designated as high-danger). These struggles are not new either as he allowed 12 of these goals (six from mid-range and six from long-range) in the playoffs, too. Head coach Rick Tocchet told the media after the game that new goalie coach Marko Torenius will work with him on that before his next start, which will likely come sometime on this road trip.
Kevin Lankinen got his first start in Canucks colours on Friday (Oct. 11), and while he finished with the same fate as Silovs, a one in the OT column, he had a strong night stopping 29 shots. He even made a highlight-reel save ala Thatcher Demko and exhibited a calmness in the crease that will be needed until the aforementioned star returns to the net. Whether he gets more starts than Silovs in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but he definitely made his presence known with his solid performance against the Flyers.
Elias Pettersson started the season with two new linemates in Jake DeBrusk and Daniel Sprong. On paper, it looked like it could be a dangerous and productive trio. However, two games in, it has been anything but. According to Natural Stat Trick, they have a 39.13 Corsi for percentage (CF%) and have only generated five scoring chances and one high-danger chance in 11:54 of ice time at five on five. Tocchet has severely limited their time at even strength and even benched Sprong in the third period of both the Flames and Flyers games….
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