Another day, another loss for the Vancouver Canucks. On Monday night at Rogers Arena, the Ottawa Senators won 2-0, and the score faithfully reflected the flow of the game.
At 10:11 of the second period, Artem Zub’s shot from the point hit Shane Pinto high, and the puck fell into open space, where Ridley Gregg collected it alone in the slot before switching from backhand to forehand and beating Kevin Lankinen.
Vancouver challenged, arguing that the puck was played with a hand, but review ruled it a deflection rather than a hand pass, so the goal stood.
Brady Tkachuk later sealed it with an empty-net goal late in the third minute.
According to NHL.com, the big story for the Senators is momentum. The Senators extended their point streak to seven games, ending the five-game trip at 4–0–1, and got another point from Tim Stützle, who extended his scoring run to 13 games.
The Senators have now gone 5-0-2 over the seven-game span, which says a lot more about where this team is going than where the Canucks are stuck.
Reimer takes charge
James Reimer stopped all 16 shots he faced, and when you add in the fact that the Senators’ formation stuck all night, even with top defenseman Jake Sanderson out of the lineup, it’s an even more disappointing story for the Canucks.
Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that Reimer was making his first start since Feb. 5, which highlighted the shutout even more. It was his 1st shutout of the season and the 32nd of his NHL career.
I’ve watched enough Canucks hockey over the years to know when the night is starting to wear thin, and this time it was starting to show quite early.
The Canucks never applied much pressure, never forced the Senators into long, ugly defensive turnovers and finished the third period with only three shots on goal. That included two power plays without a single shot, which is the kind of detail that tells the story better than any disappointed postgame quote.
What keeps going wrong?
Reuters reported that the Canucks have now lost five straight at home, and the numbers surrounding this slump are hard to ignore.
The Canucks have won just one in their last 10 games, and it was the ninth time this season they have been held to under 20 shots.
Lankinen did what he could with 22 saves, and CBS coverage found that he at least kept the game within reach long enough for a push that never really came.
For the Canucks, it was another reminder that good goaltending isn’t enough when the offense is quiet for long periods of time.
The Canucks will play the Nashville Predators on Thursday, while the Senators go home to face the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, with real playoff life still ahead of them.
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