The Vancouver Canucks held a players-only meeting following their 6-4 loss on Monday to the Washington Capitals, falling to 0-3-0 on the season.
It’s still early days, but it’s not a spot a team with playoff aspirations want to see themselves in right now.
It isn’t that they’ve lost all three games – it’s how they’re losing them. Vancouver has blown a multi-goal lead in every contest, including against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, a team destined to finish near the bottom of the standings.
On Monday, the Canucks had a 4-2 lead heading into the third period. Washington took full control in the third, however, scoring four times to finish off the comeback effort.
The Canucks have also struggled mightily on the penalty kill, sitting at a league-worst 50 percent efficiency. The Capitals scored on two of their three opportunities last night.
“I think right now, mentally weak would be a good assessment,” coach Bruce Boudreau said Monday night. “When you’re on a roll, you’re waiting for good things to happen. When you’re in something like this, you’re waiting for something bad to happen.”
“That’s three games in a row now that we’ve had leads and outplayed teams and it’s just unacceptable by us, it’s unacceptable by myself and my leadership,” Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. “I hold myself accountable, I’ve got to be better.”
Last season, the Canucks started with a 4-5-1 record over the first 10 games. Coach Travis Green was eventually replaced by Boudreau, who signed a contract extension this past summer.
The Canucks have a quick turnaround, facing off against the 0-3-0 Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Vancouver has a 9-5 scoring edge this season over Columbus.
Minnesota (0-3-0), San Jose (0-4-0), Ottawa (0-2-0), and New Jersey (0-2-0) are the only other teams without a point as the NHL season began its second week yesterday.
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