Golden Knights 6 Canucks 3: Too many lapses, too many sins in Sin City

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Playoff-positioning dominoes can still fall in a number of directions.

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The Vancouver Canucks know they can only abide by their season-long mantra — it’s about us and not them — to not get passive and properly prepare for the NHL post-season.

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However, clinching a playoff spot should still bring some flinching because the Vegas Golden Knights are a potential first-round opponent. And the defending Stanley Cup champions flexed their offensive muscle Tuesday to send a stark reminder of what may await in the second season with a convincing 6-3 victory.

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The Golden Knights used speed and savvy to score early and often with four goals on their first eight shots in the opening period — thanks to sloppy line changes, odd-man rushes and bad positioning — and that should sound the alarm that not all is right in Vancouver.

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If that wasn’t bad enough, the Canucks also lost defenceman Nikita Zadorov to a five-minute major and game misconduct late in the first period. 

He drove Brett Howden from behind with 10 seconds remaining and his head hit the Plexiglas. It provided a five-minute power play on which the Golden Knights connected early in the second to go up 5-1.

The warning signs were ignored

Rick Tocchet sensed this three-game road trip was going to be a test of mettle.

How urgent should you be with a playoff spot locked up? Is it more of a mental battle to push the pace and how do you address that?

“I don’t think you lose urgency,” the Canucks head coach said following an optional morning skate. “A lot of guys want to play better and add more to their games and that intensifies. You want a happy balance. Yo don’t want to put on pressure where they’re squeezing their sticks.

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“Experienced guys know how to handle pressure and when they’re not playing well. You can really learn from coaches because a lot of us have played in the playoffs. We can relax these guys, so when they go into the fire, they’re ready for it.”

The Canucks weren’t ready for anything Tuesday. On two occasions, they gave up a goal in short order after scoring.

Here’s what we learned as Anthony Mantha, Jonathan Marchessault, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, William Karlsson and Howden scored for the Golden Knights. Quinn Hughes scored twice (and hit the crossbar) while Nils Hoglander had the other goal for the Canucks:

Smart start not in the cards

The Canucks lead the NHL in first period goals (89) and have given up the seventh fewest (53).

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They’re also 27-6-3 when leading after 20 minutes, but they were moot points Tuesday.

The Golden Knights broke smartly from the gate and on their second shift, the Canucks were sloppy and coughed up a breakaway in which Pavel Dorofeyev forced Casey DeSmith to make a right pad save. But the puck was loose and Mantha was left unattended for a jam job at 1:27.

It didn’t get any better after that and the onus was on the Canucks to make something of the rest of the night and take some momentum into Arizona on Wednesday. They had a territorial edge in the second period to try to make a game of it.

Hughes gave the Canucks a breath of life in the frame when Elias Pettersson set a power play screen and his point shot found the glove side to reduce the deficit to 5-2.

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And early in the third, the captain struck again for his career-high 15th goal, but the Golden Knights responded 24 seconds later.

The Canucks tried to do the same and mount a comeback in the first period.

Hoglander scored by coming off the boards and getting to the front of the net and jamming his career-high 23rd goal to make it 2-1. However, the Golden Knights struck just 20 seconds later as the Canucks were slow on the back check and didn’t pick up the trailer.

Can Pettersson find some swagger?

The slick Swede logged his 400th career regular-season game Tuesday.

The signpost was of significance because his 407 points (169-238) average to a point-per-game clip, the true measure of sustained production and future value.

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And that’s where it gets interesting.

Pettersson has had his challenges this season — a reported groin issue and a recent maintenance day — plus scoring slumps that have led to a host to wingers to get his game going. His 84 points (33-51) have him in the top 13 of league scoring.

However, he hasn’t been prominent at pace or as dominant with the puck as he can be. He had two shots and four attempts Tuesday.

“It’s my job to figure ways to get him going,” said Tocchet. “When he moves his feet, and I know everybody talks about it, he drives plays. He’s a hell of a player and we just have to keep reminding him to get in those situations and attack.

“He’s got 61 goals on his wings (23 from Hoglander and 38 from Boeser). Do the right things and it could be a dangerous line for us.”

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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