Thursday March 12: Los Angeles Kings 4 - Vancouver Canucks 0
Not very easy to find any positives to take out of Thursday's shutout loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Except—it's been awhile since the home team delivered such a grim performance.
Not much to see here, but these are your highlights:
The 6-2 loss to the Sharks on March 3 had a different texture—Eddie Lack played well when he stepped in for Markstrom, and the Canucks almost made a game of it when they got back within 3-2.
The last home loss before that was the 5-1 stinker on Feb. 5—also a loss to the Sharks. When I look at it that way, I think it's fair to say that this Canucks team has raised expectations to the point where fans expect to see the team entertain and compete on most nights.
Despite the goose egg on the scoreboard, Willie Desjardins praised his team after the game, saying it's the closest they've come so far this season to competing with L.A.
That's kind of grim within itself. But it was one of those nights when there weren't many chances—and the Kings capitalized on theirs.
It's an idea that Alex Biega touches on in this interview with the Utica Observer-Dispatch, talking about his recent call-up with the Canucks:
It's a simplified game. Everybody has to do their job. If you make a mistake - down here, you might be able to get away with some things. Up there, you have to execute and make plays.
The Canucks didn't get away with much of anything on Thursday.
I had forgotten that Derek Dorsett arrived in Vancouver with his own beef against the Kings after meeting them five times in the Stanley Cup Final as part of the New York Rangers last spring. He provided the one spark of the night when he fought Kyle Clifford in the second period with the Canucks already down 2-0, but it was Dorsett's slash on Brayden McNabb in the first period that led to what proved to be the winning goal, scored by Tyler Toffoli on the power play.
Here's Dorsett, from Botchford's Provies:
We were outplaying them and I took a bad penalty. It shifted the momentum and it was the game winner.It’s a bad play on my part.
He got in my way when I was trying to get up the ice. He punched me. I whacked him. It’s usually the guy who retaliates who ends up in the box.
I have to bounce back. I think this year, I’ve done a good job of not taking undisciplined penalties. Tonight I took one and it cost the team.
No Canuck was *good* last night, but a few were especially bad.
Linden Vey at centre simply doesn't make sense against a big team like the Kings. He finished the night 4-for-13 in the faceoff circle but was 0-for-8 through the first two periods, including losing an offensive draw to start the Canucks' first-period power play. By contrast, L.A.'s minor-league call-up Nick Shore went 8-1 in the circle and assisted on Justin Williams' second-period goal.
It was also a rough night for Dan Hamhuis, who finished as a minus-three. His early third-period giveaway onto the stick of Anze Kopitar sealed the outcome of the game.
I don't like Hamhuis and Sbisa together at all. Haven't we determined by now that it's too much to ask Sbisa to play his off-side?
I'm ready for Kevin Bieksa to get back into the lineup and see if we can bring back some of the old magic.
The Canucks did start the game well—matching L.A.'s intensity with Ronalds Kenins throwing his weight around and getting under the skin of Dustin Brown. Once the Kings got the lead, the intensity dialled right down as L.A. used its tried-and-true tactic of boring the opponent to death.
Vancouver got nine shots on Jonathan Quick in the first period, seven in the second and just three in the third, so I'd say it was a team win for the Kings much more than two points stolen by a hot goaltender. Quick was sharp when he needed to be and his rebound control was outstanding, but I'll grudgingly admit, the Kings played a great road game.
To me, it looks like their trade-deadline acquisition of Andrej Sekera is a good one. He got rocked by a hit from Ronalds Kenins while manning the point in the first period but otherwise, he played a solid, low-key defensive game, paired with Brayden McNabb.
The L.A. win, combined with Winnipeg's loss to Florida, moves the Kings into the second wild card spot—tied with the Calgary Flames at 79 points, one point behind the Canucks. Everybody's now even at 67 games played.
One thing worth noting, though. This doesn't necessarily mean the Kings are going back on one of their patented late-season surges. They looked like they had all guns blazing when they beat Vancouver 3-2 back in early January but ended up winning just one of their next eight games after that. I suppose there's a chance that could happen again but it doesn't seem very likely, does it?
Here's hoping that the Canucks will be able to bounce back on Saturday against the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs—who will be playing an early-afternoon back-to-back after a game tonight in Calgary.
The weird part? For all their recent drama, the Leafs have been winning games. They're 4-5-1 in their last 10 and coming off a 4-3 win over Buffalo last Wednesday at the ACC.
Let's put this one to bed and move on...