VANCOUVER — Another slow start was once again the undoing of the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
After coughing up two goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening minutes, the Canucks rallied but weren't able to fight all the way back. Vancouver settled for a 2-1 loss to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
“We understand the character we have in our room and we never feel like we’re out of it. But we ... just have to have better starts. It’s killing us right now," said Canucks forward Conor Garland. "If we just have a better start and play like we did in the second and the third we’re going to win a lot of hockey games.”
Vancouver is 10-18-5 when allowing the first goal this season.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau was at a loss when asked to explain what, exactly, his team needs to do differently in order to get off to a positive start.
“I have no idea," he said. "Get some psychologists in here and we’ll work with them.”
The Lightning (38-15-6) came into Sunday's matchup under less-than-ideal circumstances. Not only did the team suffer a 4-1 loss to Edmonton on Saturday, but plane troubles kept them in Alberta overnight and the group didn't arrive in Vancouver until about four hours before puck drop.
"I think that's part of being a pro. You have to be able to adapt to situations," said Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper. "Everything is not going to be exactly the same as it always is and so how can you mentally focus for the game, and the guys in general kept their focus."
Sunday's result snapped a three-game losing skid for Tampa and improved the team to 7-0-1 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
“I feel like we're pretty consistent on back-to-backs this season, so I was pretty confident in our team and we had a pretty good mood in the locker room before the game so it helps a lot obviously," said goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. "I thought obviously a good start was huge because we didn't have that last few games so yeah, good start and we stuck with it.”
The Lightning struck quickly on Sunday with Victor Hedman opening the scoring 3:26 into the opening period and Ross Colton adding to the lead less than two minutes later.
Vancouver rallied in the second and J.T. Miller got the Canucks (29-24-7) on the scoreboard in the third but the home team couldn’t find the late equalizer.
Vasilevskiy was a force in net for the Lightning (38-15-6), making 35 saves.
“He’s one of the best goalies in the league so you’ve got to have traffic and I felt like we made it a little bit easier on him. I felt like he saw the pucks most of the time," said Canucks defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. "When you play against a goalie like that and a defence like that you’ve got to have bodies to the net and make it harder on them.”
Thatcher Demko stopped 29-of-31 shots for Vancouver.
The Canucks pulled Demko with 70 seconds left on the game clock but Vancouver couldn't tie it up with the extra attacker.
Miller put the home side on the board 5:54 into the third with a quick shot from the bottom of the slot that beat Vasilevskiy stick side.
The goal, his 24th of the season, extended Miller's point streak to 12 games, with eight goals and 16 assists across the stretch.
Minutes later, Garland poked a lose puck in past Vasilevskiy, only to see the goal called off as it came after the referee's whistle.
A large scrum erupted along the end boards in response.
Vasilevskiy preserved the lead for the Lightning through a Canucks onslaught in the second.
“We tried, we played really hard in the last two periods, I thought," Boudreau said. "Sometimes you’re playing a world-class goalie, arguably the best goalie in the world. We had some really great chances and we couldn’t get it by him. We got one in but he was the one who was the difference maker for their team.”
The Russian netminder denied Miller on back-to-back chances early in the period, first turning away a shot from in tight then stretching out a leg to stop Vancouver's leading scorer when he attempted to tuck in the rebound.
Later in the second, Vasilevskiy weathered five shots on a Canucks power play, including a glove stop on Brock Boeser's doorstop deflection.
Both sides were 0 for 2 with the man advantage on Sunday.
“Obviously, I didn't play my best last few games and I needed the game tonight to step up and help our guys out," Vasilevskiy said. "I'm happy that I was able to do that. I thought the whole team played well, just through the hard work we'll be able to overcome the stretch. It happened before, last season and season before that and season before that, so it's just one of those stretches.”
Tampa Bay nearly took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission after Steven Stamkos ripped a one-timer past Demko with 57.4 seconds left in the frame.
The Canucks quickly launched an offside challenge and a video review officially called off the goal.
Vancouver struggled to break out of their zone early in the game and Tampa Bay outshot the home side 12-1 over the first seven minutes.
Colton gave the visitors a two-goal cushion 5:06 into the first, ripping a snap shot from the hash marks to beat Demko with his 11th goal of the season.
A scramble in Vancouver's crease led to the first goal of the night.
Demko stopped a shot from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare but seemingly lost track of the puck and as he attempted to find it, Hedman popped a shot into the yawning net from in tight.
Hedman has 15 goals on the year.
The Canucks continue their homestand Tuesday when they host the New Jersey Devils. The Lightning will wrap a six-game road trip against the Kraken in Seattle on Wednesday.
NOTES: Vancouver was without Elias Pettersson, who is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Sunday marked the first game the star centre has missed this season. … Lightning forward Alex Killorn played his 700th NHL game. … Right-winger Sheldon Rempal made his season debut for the Canucks. … The Lightning were playing their first game in Vancouver since Dec. 18, 2018.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2022.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
