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Canucks collapse and lose opener to Flames in overtime

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Oct 10 2024, 5:12 am
Canucks collapse and lose opener to Flames in overtime

Vancouver Canucks fans know that when things are good, usually, it’s too good to be true.

The vibes in Rogers Arena after 20 minutes in the Vancouver Canucks home opener made you feel like this team winning the Stanley Cup in 2025.

Goals from Daniel Sprong, Brock Boeser and Conor Garland catapulted the Canucks to a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. It was the most goals Vancouver had ever scored in the first period of a home opener. The power play, which struggled mightily towards the end of last season, got two goals from two different units.

Things were so good, Jake DeBrusk was even dancing.

Then, it all fell apart.

The Canucks looked like a different, much sleepier team after the first period, allowing the Flames back into this game.

Rasmus Andersson cut the Canucks lead to 4-2 game before the end of the second. Then, Calgary exploded for three third period goals to take a 5-4 lead.

J.T. Miller tied the game and forced overtime, but Connor Zary’s goal gave Calgary a 6-5 victory in overtime.

“We just got too comfortable,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters postgame. “Maybe we thought it was going to be a lopsided win.”

“Itā€™s the NHL. You gotta be ready. Anybody can beat you at anytime.”

Silovs & Canucks defence look human

Rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs and the Canucks defence provided a number of impressive moments last season.

But, there were question marks about both Silovs and the defence entering 2024-25.

Silovs had some marvelous moments in the 2024 playoffs, but he only has 19 games of NHL experience. The Canucks defence after Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, has size, but that size can’t hide the fact that there are concerns about their puck-moving ability.

In tonight’s contest, both of those concerns came to fruition.

Silovs allowed six goals on 26 shots. And while the Canucks outscored Calgary 2-0 at 5-on-5 with Hughes and Hronek on the ice, they were outscored 3-0 with Carson Soucy, Tyler Myers, Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais.

On the Flames second goal of the game, Forbort got caught in no man’s land, screening Silovs before Andersson’s goal.

Silovs’ perceived weakness of allowing long shots through traffic arose again tonight as well.

But, as Rick Tocchet said constantly after the loss: “it’s one game.”

“A little too much summer hockey,” Tocchet said. “Thatā€™s really what it comes down to.”

“We got away from our identity. Our play away from the puck was not good. We didnā€™t protect the guts of the ice.

“But, itā€™s one game, and weā€™ll sharpen up.”

Canucks’ Miller makes a statement

Elias Pettersson might be the Canucks’ highest paid player but make no mistake, this team’s number one centre is J.T. Miller.

Like many players on this team tonight, Miller had a few plays where his passes weren’t crisp.

But, he came ready to battle from the opening puck drop.

Miller was flying in the first period, creating a couple of chances off the rush. He also set up Boeser for his second goal of the night.

What makes Miller so special though, is his blend of offensive talent mixed with a physically imposing style of play.

Miller, who led all Canucks with three hits, blasted Flames forward Kevin Rooney with a body check in the first period. Rooney unfortunately was down for a few minutes, but did get up under his own power.

Shortly thereafter, Miller answered the bell and scrapped new Flames addition, 6-foot-5, 225-pound Anthony Mantha, in a spirited tilt.

And when the Canucks eventually coughed up their three goal lead, it was Miller to tied the game and stole an extra point for his club.

It was a standout effort from a player who still might be one of the most underrated stars in the NHL. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to enjoy it after tonight, despite registering a Gordie Howe hat trick.

“We gave them every chance to get back into this game,” Miller told reporters postgame. “We didn’t win any battles. we just played loose, summer hockey.”

“At the end of the day it’s game 1. We gotta turn the page, we need to learn and we need to raise our intensity.”

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