Game 14: Vancouver @ St. Louis (6-7-1)

Dec 19 2017, 1:19 pm

Vancouver (L) @ St. Louis (W) Final Score: 3-2

Vancouver maintained pace with the Blues and the game ended with an even shot summary, but they could never seem to keep the upper hand. The same defensive zone breakdowns that plagued them the previous night in Minnesota once again lead to their defeat.
 Another huge part of the game, one that Coach Alaign Vigneault seems hesitant to partake in, was the lack of grit from the Vancouver 4th line. The Blues started the game by attacking Alex Edler and throwing enough hits that the Canucks were immediately hesitant to go into the corners. On the other hand, St. Louis seemed non-chelant about going wherever they wanted on the ice.

The final goal, scored by Alex Steen, infuriated Luongo. After a long battle in front of the net, the whistle came a split second too late and Steen was able to force the puck through Lu’s pads. When the whistle was blown is actually irrelevant; the fact that someone was able to stand in the crease and jam at the puck enough to score shows a far more sinister issue. The Canucks are starting to look like a soft team that can be taken advantage of not just on the infamous sissy Sedin line, but running all the way down through the entire dressing room.

Vancouver faces Chicago on sunday as part of the 6-game road trip. They will need to play better hockey than they have this week, but more importantly a desire to block shots, take hits and throw with more than just snarky comments from LaPierre or Burrows is a requirement to avoid the 7-1 beatdown they received this time last year.

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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