Post-Game Talk: GM 1 | Vancouver Canucks lost to Calgary Flames | 5-6 (OT) | Sprong, Boeser(2), Garland, & Miller | Not Good Enough

[thecupismine]

My eyes were bleeding watching the Forbort-Desharnais pair turn every single puck over

Matches the eye test. I wanted to give leeway to Alvin on the signings because he hit so much last offseason, but going in this direction after they already had puck moving issues in the playoffs has always been super confusing to me.

 

[Leif Rohlin]

We would be better off with Cole-Friedman as our 3rd pair.

 

[Blue and Green]

I mean, Silovs is what he is really. He's a big athletic guy who didn't have a technical background until he got here, and he lost development time because of the pandemic.

I know people had these big expectations after the playoffs but I didn't really see it. He was a mediocre AHL starter who didn't even play a starter's load to date. A proper development curve was for him to play 50+ games in the AHL with sheltered 10-20 games at the NHL level. IMO he needed to show dominant AHL numbers and tread water at the NHL level.

It was asking a lot for him to be the full time backup this year and I argued that it might mess with his ceiling (see above and feel free to look at my post history). It was ludicrous for him to take on the #1 job this year, so thank god they signed Lankinen.

The hardest thing in the NHL is consistency and he wasn't even consistent in the playoffs to my eye. And he's shown that he can show up and rise to occasion in short tournament-type situations, but now this is the regular season where everyone will have a decent scouting report on him.

Anyways, these issues (tracking, fighting through screens) aren't really surprises to me. He's going to have to learn and adapt to this level. It's not surprising that he will have games like this and as long as he bounces back on a regular basis this is to be expected in his normal development curve. I'm still bullish on his potential overall.

I basically agree with this. I said after the playoffs that he shouldn't be handed the #2 role, that he should have to earn it. I'm not as keen on his potential as you are and I am concerned that the team is perhaps heading into a situation where it has an elite starter who might be wearing out physically, and no one to be a competent successor. Been rolling the dice on late-round goalie picks for quite some time now; that's a tough way to find a starter.

 

[wonton15]

Matches the eye test. I wanted to give leeway to Alvin on the signings because he hit so much last offseason, but going in this direction after they already had puck moving issues in the playoffs has always been super confusing to me.

I can understand the Desharnais one as there’s tools there, but he needs to be paired with someone much more reliable and someone who can move the puck well.
Unless, the master plan was to sign the best filler D we could find with our cap constraints like Forbort to keep afloat until we find the cap space to get that 2LD in a trade while including Forbort going the other way. …Because I can’t see us competing with these pairs for long.

 

[Peen]

My usual mantra is to give things 20 games before we start really talking about patterns for the season.

I felt that shit coming. I said that you couldn’t evaluate anything from the first period, and then said the same halfway through the second. It was a weird game and that we’d benefit to just get out of it - even when it was 4-1 and tilted.

Probably will end up being one of the top 3-5 weird games of the season. They happen.

 

[Flik]

Embrace the Flacid

What a f***ing disappointment tonight.

Just embarrassing for the last two periods of play.

Gotta pick it up for Friday.

 

[David71]

deharnais held onto two flames who went after miller. lol

 

[F A N]

Well that sucked.

 

[sting101]

Was at the game. Looked fantastic to start completely on another level then just went dormant and expected to go for a nice safe non contact skate and get the win. Disjointed break outs coverages and horrible goaltending took over. Team did not look game fit

3rd pair does not look tenable. Forbort looks cooked. Would have done a lot better getting a myriad of available players like Bean Kylington Dermott even who can at least skate and turn and make a pass without having to smash it off the boards. I'll try to bite my tongue for 5/6 games to let him get going but wow that was ugly. Not that Desharnais was much better but either one would be better with Friedman even at this time of year

To be fair none of the pairings played good for what should be expected. Hronek frustrates me. So much talent but he makes a lot of bad reads

Miller looked like he hadn't played much of the pre season and this team is too soft up front especially so without Joshua. Sherwood and Debrusk look like solid additions but Amen Suter Raty Heinen Hoglander Sprong i'm worried they wont put up enough push back for players who are middle six at best. Generally speaking 2 or 3 no biggie but a couple more guys hard to play against would be ideal. Boeser i could care less he's a snipe show again, Garland is almost always stuck in stirring shit. Hoglander is almost there. Pounded someone tonight and is starting to learn to use his strength in more ways. Thought he was one of the most consistent guys with Boeser tonight.

Raty looked like a nervous kid trying hard to not be the one making a mistake. He'll have to be better want the puck in transition or he's going to Abby quickly. Has to be able to play 12-15 minutes and at least get through the neutral zone not being skated off the track. He's smart and good in end zones typically but struggled a bit tonight and the size and faceoffs are plus features. Has to offset his feet with anticipation not chase or he's doomed. He's capable but it's a mental hurdle to get past his physical hurdle if that makes sense.

Have had doubts about the Heinen signing and tonight didn't dispel any of them. Very vanilla player from my viewings over the years. Love the hometown story he's a great guy but hopefully he levels up or i've just missed a lot of his best stretches

What's with the Pettersson roast jeesh. Yes had some poor play late and looked a little out of game shape but also looked good early. I'm sure he regrets looking for the easy tap in goal instead of shooting but he was also really good defensively. Played too many minutes due to not having options and that led to some flat play and turnovers later in the game but i'm not as worried as most here it seems. Hardly worth lighting him up after 1 game

I'm also not sold on Sprong in the top6 long term. Some brutal coverages anticipations off puck and likes to cheat. For his salary i guess you cant complain and he wasn't bad tonight as he was able to score and sneak behind the D for a couple chances. Just not sold on his overall play helping Debrusk Pettersson and continuity

Silovs looked really bad. Like just shoot and you will score bad. He's better than this but that game was trash.

Onward and Upward

 

[God]

I'm not worried about Desharnais, who looked good in pre-season, but Forbort hasn't looked good at any point in a Canuck uniform. Definitely a pro scouting miss, and I actually wonder if Brannstrom looks better there if the coaches don't like the off-hand pairing.

On the other hand, I've been worried about Silovs since he was getting exposed by those long point shots against Edmonton, and this is a terrible game to have these issues show up again after a fairly solid pre-season. I can't see them trading Lankinen when Demko's healthy.

Re: Pettersson, I actually thought he had a lot more pop in the first period and looked like his old self. After he passed up that glorious slot opportunity by passing the puck to a heavily covered DeBrusk, he was a non-factor to bad - didn't like his play in the last half of the 3rd when we were down.

With all that said, I like that Ray emphasized October is sloppy hockey.

 

[HockeyWooot]

I only caught watched the first live but man they completely tilted the ice, looking like they were in a different league than the Flames.

The Rooney hit probably galvanized the Flames to fight their way back into the game.

Lots of work to do but lots of promise too, fortunately the season isn’t over after game 1 of the regular season.

 

[Jack Burton]

Ahhhhhhhh calgary.

 

[VanJack]

October hockey is October hockey. Everybody's 'Cup favorite Edmonton is waxed 6-0 by the Jets; and the Av's lose to Knights by a touchdown and a two point conversion.

But until the Canucks dispel the naysayers, the dialogue is going to continue about goaltending and their defense. Silovs was ventilated in this game, but the Canucks triple towers of Myers, Desharnais and Forbort just looked 'slooow' in this one.

Tocchet was surprising calm in the post-game presser. Says his team surrendered the middle of the ice and were slow to cover the points.

Not sure whether it's noteworthy or not, but after scoring in the first period; Sprong was stapled to the pine for most of the third......the continuation of a trend with this player?

They'll need to be a ton better against Philly on Friday. Time for Lankinen to get the start .

 

[alicia]

Well.. we lit them the f*** up in the first period, and then we reverted back to 2023 Canucks, who decided one period of 100% energy was enough and we got burnt for it. This is becoming a common issue.. coaching? It was most prevalent in the playoffs when we needed to go 100% for all 3 periods or be burnt..

First game though, we shall see. At least the Soilers lost 6-0, some asshole at the bar tried to hit me because I was wearing a Canucks jersey and he thought he had it all figured out that the Oilers were going to win the Cup. Was super nice to point out that his savior scored 0.

Apparently I'm not a real fan though, because I was wearing my Hughes skate jersey, even though my favorite player for the last decade was Horvat (and owned his rookie jersey )

Ugh.

 

[Big zZz]

Well.. we lit them the f*** up in the first period, and then we reverted back to 2023 Canucks, who decided one period of 100% energy was enough and we got burnt for it. This is becoming a common issue.. coaching? It was most prevalent in the playoffs when we needed to go 100% for all 3 periods or be burnt..

First game though, we shall see. At least the Soilers lost 6-0, some asshole at the bar tried to hit me because I was wearing a Canucks jersey and he thought he had it all figured out that the Oilers were going to win the Cup. Was super nice to point out that his savior scored 0.

Apparently I'm not a real fan though, because I was wearing my Hughes skate jersey, even though my favorite player for the last decade was Horvat (and owned his rookie jersey )

Ugh.

Horvat is one of my all time favorite Canucks. As of now, I'd much rather Bo and his dollars than what Petey is bringing to the table in the last 60 games.

 

[DarrenX]

How the f*** did we get here? I had to stop watching just after the first...

Yep... i went to bed after the first period, woke up and .... wtf?

 

[JT Milker]

My eyes were bleeding watching the Forbort-Desharnais pair turn every single puck over

Almost like Forbort made the team despite being outplayed by several young players in camp, but we cut or sat those guys because experience or pk or something.

 

[Dolemite]

Wait…what? They lost? This game was in the bag. Gonna have to watch the 2nd and 3rd later today.

Wow…just…wow.

 

[theguardianII]

Humph, well was that ..... an exhibition game?

Going back to last year it certainly appears to solidify the notion that Demko was covering up a lot of holes, even bigger holes now with the diminished defence.

The first period looked like the division winner playing against a odds on favourite for a top three draft pick this year.
But then they got exposed, everywhere.

It is only the first game and there are quite a few newbies but EP is still stumbling around out there looking out of sorts. He got out played by Huberdeau. If not for his PP point he got nothing even with the most icetime of all the forwards and second most on the team. He seemed to fade away as the game progressed. BUT it is only the first game of the easy season.

Tocchet certainly has his own ideas, benching Sprong IMO opened it up for Calgary's defence to park themselves on the blue line. He was just about the only real speed threat for the Canucks.

Game one seems to me a little early to b sending messages to a team needing yet to find chemistry and bonding.

The defence looked overwhelmed at times and the forwards looked like they were afraid of making a mistake.

It was only game one of eighty-two and little should be made of the result but it did eerily look like Canucks of the past where multi goal leads got dropped. Sadly they looked a lot like the February to April Canucks of last year after Demko got hurt or the previous two seasons when Demko got injured and they weren't getting results.

Friday's game is against another supposed rebuilding team with little expectation of making the playoffs, BUT it is a Torts team so it might come down to can Tocchet out Torts in a Torts type coaching challenge. Which will be quicker to use the "staples" and pin a player or two to the bench.

No Demko, weakened defence, a no show EP and a coach already showing the dog house to some players and by doing so putting them under the microscope the inferred blame game.

I didn't like the piped in cheering.

 

[John Belushi]

I don’t even care about the defence right now, we just need to hold the line until the trade deadline.

Everybody knows we’re getting a top 4 D at the deadline this year, it’s going to happen, it’s not an if it’s a when.

And there is a very high probability willander is going to play the last 10 games for us at the end of the season as well.

Which completely reshapes our defence at the bottom

What makes you think Willander is close to making a tangible impact at the NHL level? He's not dominating the NCAA by any means.

 

[theguardianII]

Almost like Forbort made the team despite being outplayed by several young players in camp, but we cut or sat those guys because experience or pk or something.

IF they had kept Zadorov then they could have had the giants, Myers, Soucy AND fleet of foot, mobile playoff performer Zadorov who might have signed for a little less in return of term and a clause.
A defence that had chemistry and WAS the 5th best in the league.

They could have had the cap space easily by not signing Sherwood. And if they didn't sign Sherwood and used Poolman's LTIR they could have had Deharnais as well. A very stout and huge experienced defence, Juulsen could have fit in then.

Instead Tocchet will be using his "staples" to pin players to the bench.

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Sucks to lose after such a crazy good start, but whatever. After the Philly and Tampa games at the start of last year, we were all screeching that they were cooked, etc. Then look what happened hahahahaha.

Not worried. It's a long season. Shitty games are gonna happen. Onto the next one.

 

[Spectrefire]

The upside is none of the problems tonight are really that difficult to fix.

Forbort's 1.5m 1 year deal is easy to move off of if needed and having guys like Juulsen, Friedman and Brannstrom available means we have options.

Same with Silovs, awful start, but that's why we signed Lankinen as insurance.

Petey's the biggest issue, but who really knows what's going on there.

Wonder if a deal could be made around Lilligren.

 

[theguardianII]

Sucks to lose after such a crazy good start, but whatever. After the Philly and Tampa games at the start of last year, we were all screeching that they were cooked, etc. Then look what happened hahahahaha.

Not worried. It's a long season. Shitty games are gonna happen. Onto the next one.

It is early
BUT
Is this a carryover from last season?
They only lost 31 games last year but over half 17, were in the last 34 games, marginally a .500 team which in the loser point era means no better than 24th in the league.

I don't recall the doom and gloom over losing to those two games. The Flyers may have been a surprise but not the Tampa game. Expectations were no all that high at the beginning of last season I didn't think.

 

[Canucker]

The defense is still a big problem for this team...Once you get past Hughes, Hronek and Soucy? Yikes...I'm ok with Desharnais, he'll be reasonably serviceable as a bottom pairing guy, Forbort is a waste other than some PK utility, and Tyler Myers is still a gongshow. He signed a deal for less money, great...but he's still a mess and they haven't pushed him down closer to where he needs to be on the depth chart. He's still getting time on the PK and is still a very erratic defender...he should be at about 16 minutes per game with no special teams time. They should get Brannstrom up here and replace Forbort...they don't currently have enough players who can transition and move the puck up ice quickly. As well as Allvin and co. have done in the off season, they really needed to find one solid top 4 defenseman who can move the puck, rather than a couple of bottom pairing trees.