It hasn’t been an ideal start for the Vancouver Canucks this season, not only going 0-2, but also blowing a 3-0 lead to the Edmonton Oilers and a 2-0 lead to the Philadelphia Flyers to get those losses.
Not just that, but Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau is anxiously waiting for that 600th career win, sitting on 599 to start the season.
Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna talked about the Canucks on "Daily Faceoff Live" and what their biggest concerns are so far.
Mike McKenna: “It’s defense, first and foremost. I don’t think that blue line is constructed strong enough as is. I think if you’re depending on [Quinn] Hughes to be your guy at all times, [Oliver] Ekman-Larsson in a supporting role, these are guys that can skate; they can do things offensively. I think Quinn Hughes' defensive game has taken massive strides in the last year and a half, but it’s still not quite at a level of a Victor Hedman.
So who’s your shutdown guy? Like, if [Tyler] Myers is back, is he the one? I just don’t think there’s enough there. You can almost start to see the frustration coming already again for Thatcher Demko, who really should be a top 10 goalie if he gets some defensive support.
So, I think offensively this team will be fine. We’ve seen that they’ve been able to score, but look at the defensive onus even on the forwards. J.T. Miller’s been on the ice for every goal against, and that’s just not acceptable when you’re a No. 1 center. You have to take those tough matchups and be able to win them at all times, even if you’re playing against the Oilers. If you want to win a Stanley Cup, you got to win those matchups if you’re going against [Connor] McDavid.
So, it’s kind of everywhere right now in Vancouver. This is a really big game, obviously for Boudreau, going in to play against Washington, his old team, and trying to grab that 600th win, but I think just big picture more than the coach: Vancouver needs to get the win, and they need to do it against a team that’s pretty good like Washington. I think it would go a long way.”
Frank Seravalli: “Yeah, and they need their stars to be their stars. You mentioned the point about J.T. Miller being on the ice in that ugly stat, all eight goals against, and it’s an incredible, mind-blowing stat to think about.
For me, you touched some really good points. Their best players need to be their best players; their defense needs to be better. Thatcher Demko’s expected save percentage — this is how much they’ve given up — is in the .700s; that’s how well he’s played to this point. He is back to Demkoing teams; he’s keeping his team in it.
I’ll throw one more to you: their penalty kill. They’ve given up power-play goals against in both of the games to start. It was that ugly run on the penalty kill last year that really sunk their season. I think they were something like 53-for-82 on the kill to open last season before Travis Green was then fired. You can’t go down that path again. This is a movie that Canucks fans have seen before; they don’t like the ending. They’ve got to do something about that penalty kill. By the way, their power play has not been great either, so it’s certainly both special teams are important for the Vancouver Canucks.”
You can watch the full episode here…
More must-reads: