By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

October 15, 2024

The Vancouver Canucks (0-1-2) suffered their third straight loss of the season, first in regulation, falling 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-0) on October 15th, 2024 at Amalie Arena.

Tough Start For Vancouver

The Lightning came out strong, dominating the first period with a relentless offensive attack. Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring for Tampa Bay.

Starting goalie Arturs Silovs made some outstanding saves as Vancouver tried their best to get their own offense generated in the Lightning end to even the score, but the Canucks couldn’t establish sustained pressure or shots.

Canucks were outshot 13-7 and were 0 for 1 on the power play.

Fight Back Peter’s Out

The Canucks made adjustments taking their game to the Lightning in the middle frame but Tampa increased their lead to 2-0 and Conor Garland hit the Lightning goal post late in the period, and Vancouver could not sustain their compete level throughout the entire period.

Canucks outshot Lightning 10-5.

Lightning Seal the Deal

Tampa Bay added two more goals in the third period to secure their win, the first in the opening minute at 39 seconds; the last an empty net goal at 18:14.

Canucks lone goal came from Conor Garland in the final period from Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller at 4:14 on the power play, but it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback.

Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet Controlled After Game But Unimpressed

Rick Tocchet was visibly frustrated with the Canucks’ performance in their 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Main points of concern:

• Lack of preparedness: He felt the team wasn’t ready to play, particularly in the first period where they were outworked and lost most battles. He highlighted that giving up an early lead to a strong team like Tampa Bay put them on the back foot.
• Lack of grit and compete level: Tocchet emphasized the need for players to “dig in” and compete harder, especially in critical moments and puck battles. He pointed out that they were losing battles in the corners and not capitalizing on scoring opportunities.
• Inconsistency: He acknowledged that there were parts of the game he liked, but the team’s inconsistency was hurting them. This echoes his concerns from previous games where missed chances and an inability to win important plays have been recurring issues.
• Starting on time: Tocchet stressed the importance of starting strong in their next game against the Florida Panthers.
• Winning battles: He reiterated the need to be more physical and win more puck battles to gain control of the game.
• Lack of compete and intensity: Tocchet believes the team has the potential to play better and has urged them to step up their game.

Game Notes

• Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning
• Nikita Kucherov scored his 4th goal of the season for Tampa Bay to open the scoring
• The Canucks struggled to generate consistent offensive pressure throughout the game especially 5 on 5.
• The Canucks power play was 1 for 3 and penalty kill 5 for 5
• Canucks outshot Lightning 11-10 in the final period but were outshot in the game 28-27.

The mission to get that elusive first win of the season continues for the Canucks against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, October 17 at Amerant Bank Arena at 4:00 pm PDT.