Canucks Allow Four In The Second, Fall 7-3 To The Flames
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Saturday was another tough night for the Vancouver Canucks as they fell 7-3 to the Calgary Flames. Liam Öhgren and Nils Höglander scored at even strength, while Brock Boeser found the back of the net on the power play. Nikita Tolopilo stopped seven of 11 shots before being pulled in the second for Kevin Lankinen, who made nine saves while facing 12 shots.
The second period was once again the Canucks’ Achilles’ heel, as the Flames scored four in the middle frame. At this point, it is hard to understand why the second period has been such a problem for Vancouver, as they have now allowed 103 goals through 72 games. While the Canucks will most likely not catch the franchise record of 152 set by the 1984-85 team, there is a chance they could pass second place, which sits at 119.
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Shifting over to goaltending, Saturday was a perfect example of why teams should not sit a young goaltender for two weeks straight. Tolopilo struggled with his rebound control and never looked comfortable in the net. At this stage of the season, Vancouver should be splitting the goaltending starts so that Tolopilo can get more game action at the NHL level.
“We gotta be better for Tolo there,” said Adam Foote post-game. “I know he probably wanted a couple of those, but little details. The first one, we were too low on the PK. Then we missed two box-outs in a row. Then they got the fourth one, and that fifth one, we were trying to go for a breakaway, pick off a pass on a PK, and that’s not the time to do it. Just those little details are going to burn you in a game that wasn’t out of control. We let it get away from us early. We kept fighting, but you gotta take care of your end and the details, and we didn’t.”
Overall, the only real positive was the play of Öhgren, Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson. The trio outshot their opponents 8-4 in 13:06 of ice time and connected on the Canucks’ first goal. Hopefully, this line will stay together for at least the next few games, as it…
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