Post-Game Talk: GM 73 | Blue Jackets def. Canucks | 7-6 (SO) (Raty x2, Karlsson, Boeser, Myers, DeBrusk) | Pain.

Sadly, this seems to be a reoccurring issue outside of last season. Every end of season is somewhat optimistic because we had a new coach and team tried hard to sneak into the playoffs to only fail. The following season was no better.

It's been a repeat for years now outside of last season.
Ummmm nobody outside of Benning bros were optimistic when Benning was around.
 
Pretty much need to run the table against some good teams to make it now. Oh well, on to the next season. Hopefully we acquire at least one impact player through free agency. Sadly, I'm not seeing a lot of impact players who aren't too old or too expensive. Maybe Demko will return to Vezina-finalist form and carry the team.
 
I'm proud of the boys tonight...I don't care if we don't make the playoffs. Lanks had a tough game but he's been overplayed and he's saved us all season, we should show some loyalty to him

Kieffer is the king man! And Raty showing us he's ready to go 😁
 
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Garland's points per 60 has gone from 2.46 last year to 1.38 <---will be a Canuck low for him as well.
Goals for % 64 to 50
A very good 3rd line player but struggles against better competition and more minutes he does not produce.


I mean the entire team is much worse 5v5. DeBrusk is at 1.44, Pettersson at 1.57, Boeser at 1.65, Suter at 1.77, Blueger at 1.47, etc. He started the year strong but hasn’t been nearly as good since around December, but with the forward corps as it is, there aren’t many options. He still has the second best xGF% at 5v5 after Hughes.
 
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It's an 82-game schedule for a reason. Teams that miss the post-season don't just lose it in the last 10 games. It's a cumulative impact of 'small losses' throughout the season.

Right now, they're down their top two centers. Last month is an injury to Quinn Hughes. Before that, to Filip Hronek. Then the Miller implosion and the season-long absence of Demko. One calamity piled on another.

This team blew so many leads this season, even in games they led in the third period. And once the game got to OT, they had once of the worst records in the league. If they even win half of those OT games, they're probably a play-off team.

But I guess that's the naval gazing for another interminable offseason. Canucks will be out of the limelight from the second week of April to the middle of September. It seems like one of the longest off-seasons of any pro sport.

But Canuck fans should be used to it by now.
 
Missed this game. Really convinced at this point that despite the media and all the energy being focused on Pettersson and Miller etc etc, the biggest problem this team has had is not having Demko this year. Even going back to the earlier part of the season (and it isnt revisionist history since I said it back then too), Lankinen was able to make the high danger chance saves and absolutely saved us a bunch when left out to dry but a healthy Demko and this team has the 6 or 7 points that bridges the gap here. All those fans of a certain team who cant do math that talk about PDO and us regressing to the mean this year love to point to our shooting percentage but the biggest drop this year was going from a near top of the league save percentage to the bottom. Last years Demko and we are in.

Obviously super convenient to be talking about this after a weaker stretch for Lankinen, and its kind of punching down on a guy who is a big part of why we are even in the conversation, but it isnt an insult to Lankinen to say he isnt Thatcher Demko (yet anyways). On the flip side I really really hope they dont play Hughes and Demko into further or worsened injuries.
 
If they don't extend him, they probably would have traded him. They then probably wouldn't have been playing meaningful games in late March because they would have lost a couple extra games. It kind of goes hand in hand.
Yeah but it’s easier to just look at every move in hindsight and second guess it.
Forget that Demko can’t stay healthy for longer than 5 games at a time.
Forget that Lankinen is the only reason we’re this close to a wildcard spot at this point in this ridiculous season.
Easier to blame the GM for any decision and say he should have done the other thing.
 
Caps, Panthers, Lightning I guess. Maybe prefer Caps. Mostly no to Canadian teams. And Carolina.
Only Canadian team Ill cheer for is Winnipeg, sometimes MTL.

What in the f*** was this game? I just saw the…lowlites? Raty with a crazy nice goal and props to Myers for his nice goal but my god. Half the goals CBJ scored our guys were running around like chickens with their heads cut off with no clue how to defend. The other half Lankinen had no idea where his net was and was always not set in his stance
 
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Like I said, let’s just brace ourselves for missing the playoffs—that way, if it happens, it’s not such a gut punch. Better to keep expectations low and avoid the disappointment.
 
It's too bad Lankinen as sprung a serious leakage during this road-swing. He wasn't great in New York; and was even shakier last night against the Jackets. Unfortunately those two results were really costly.

But you can't be too critical. I think he's just beginning to wear down. And without him. we wouldn't be talking about the playoffs.

But they'll pretty well have to ride Demko the rest of the way--he's their only hope now.
 
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An exciting game.

Whomever had the last shot!

Lots of action, a couple more dances would have been perfect.

A lot more fun to watch numerous players rather than just one.
 
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Yeah but it’s easier to just look at every move in hindsight and second guess it.
Forget that Demko can’t stay healthy for longer than 5 games at a time.
Forget that Lankinen is the only reason we’re this close to a wildcard spot at this point in this ridiculous season.
Easier to blame the GM for any decision and say he should have done the other thing.
I'm not looking in hindsight. I know why he did it. Playoffs. It would have been crazy not too because playoffs. Every would have or should have is going to come down to playoffs. Silovs is unable to win and Demko is unable to stay healthy.

I know why he did it. I don't have that mandate as an arm chair GM. Lol.
 
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Really sucks they lost that. Need better goaltending from Lankinen but it appears he has hit his wall.

What a wacky game.

BUT….

So nice to see legitimate contributions from the farm this year. Raty and Lekk essentially PPG players in the AHL that are beginning to find a way in the NHL.

Really happy for Raty as he has worked hard on his game since joining the team. I think that work is starting to pay off. Another off season working on his skating and I think he can bring it to the next level to stick in the NHL.

The likes of Raty, EP2, Lekk, Karlsson etc mean the Canucks will have cheap players playing roles moving forward. That is massively important in a capped league.
 

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