It’s almost inevitable, and this season has seemed to prove that new coaches provide a flash, but in the end, it’s the team, that needs fixing.
On Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks lost their fourth straight in a 4-1 set back to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.
Frederik Andersen made 30 saves in the Canes win.
“We knew we had to have a bounce-back game, a bounce-back effort (Canes lost to Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-0, on Thursday),” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s not an easy game to play, 82 of these in the regular season. It’s hard. There weren’t any lulls in the way we played. That’s how we need to play.”
Bo Horvat was the lone goal scorer for the Canucks.
“There were stretches there where I thought we played some good hockey,” Horvat said. “They come at you in waves and they seem to be on top of you all the time. We want to be a team like that, where we’re on top of teams and make it frustrating and we don’t crack. We have the type of team to do that. We’ve just got to go and show it.”
Vancouver dropped to 16-18-3.
The Canucks were scoreless in five power play chances.
“It’s hard when your power play is struggling and you come in and play against a team that’s got the best penalty kill in the league,” Canucks head coach Brice Boudreau said. “The more they kill, the stronger they get. Power plays go in fits and starts a bit, but on this [road] trip, it’s let us down a bit.”
Vincent Trocheck and Martin Necas scored for Carolina.
“We’ve got to play together,” Necas said. “If we play hard, we get some chances to show our skill. It pays off, so we’ve got to keep doing that.”
The Hurricanes improved to 25-8-2.
Sebastian Aho opened the scoring, giving the Canes a 1-0 lead.
“I think we were moving the puck up and down, always trying to beat those guys on the rush,” Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov said. “We needed a win, and I think the effort was there. That’s why it was a success tonight.”
Carolina’s Steven Lorentz scored in the third period for the 4-1 final.
Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in the loss, he was not scheduled to start. Jaroslav Halak was placed in NHL COVID19 protocol ahead of game time.
“Any time you get those curve balls, it sort of throws off all your prep and planning,” Boudreau said. “The players, all they’re doing is talking about it and worrying whether it’s them next and what’s going to happen.”
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