There's no other way to say it: the Canucks were undermanned versus the Los Angeles Kings. Actually, scratch that. There is another way to say it: considering their lineup consisted of so many raw rookies, you could also say they were overboyed. Same basic problem, though.
And speaking of the same basic problem, the Canucks closed out the 2015 calendar year the same way they opened it: with a loss to the Los Angeles Kings. And you people said this team wasn't consistent. Well, they sure seem to consistently lose to the Kings. That was something I noticed I watched this game.
- The Canucks kicked this game off with a tribute to Canucks that have passed away, and it was wonderful and sad to see footage of guys like Rick Rypien, Pavol Demitra and Luc Bourdon. Plus it helped set the stage for a pretty gloomy evening. I was depressed by puck drop. That's five to ten minutes earlier than usual.
- Disappointing as it always is to see the Canucks lose (especially in a shutout), this loss was sort of to be expected. The Kings are a good team. I know the Canucks were able to get past the Oilers with a similarly ravaged lineup, but that's the Oilers. You can cobble together half an NHL lineup and hope for the best against Edmonton. Against the Kings, you need to be at your best, and the Canucks are decidedly not that. Seriously. Here is footage of the Canucks attempting to gain the Kings' blueline.
- Willie Desjardins: "We were missing some guys in the line-up tonight and it showed. Our guys played hard, but it wasn't enough." No kidding. It didn't help that several of the players Vancouver did have available were nowhere near 100% either. Henrik Sedin continues to play through a busted ass sustained while busting his ass for this team. And a returning Chris Higgins looked about as mobile as the world's first computer.
- No doubt the Kings saw footage of Henrik's stand-up game Saturday, as they gleefully took runs at the wounded soldier all night. It began early in the first, with Brayden McNabb throwing an elbow that would have made the late "Macho Man" Randy Savage proud. Alex Biega took exception to the hit, going after McNabb immediately and trading roughing penalties with the Kings' blueliner. Biega took the extra two though, because he pushed McNabb over. No pushing. You're only allowed to elbow people in the face.
- Should McNabb receive supplemental discipline for that hit? Henrik Sedin probably feels that way. "I thought it was a flying elbow to the head," he said. "The only point of contact was my face." I'm with Henrik. But it's not about the point of contact -- McNabb leaves his feet. It's a bunny hop, sure, but I think the Department of Player Safety has been pretty clear over the years that, if you leave your feet to make a head hit, you're sitting out. McNabb should be suspended like disbelief.
- Oh, there was another injury, too. Sven Baertschi left this game with some sort of upper-body injury and didn't return. That's the worst. If he's out any length of time, the Canucks are going to miss him, which is something we wouldn't have said two months ago.
- Okay, let's talk good things, like how well Alex Biega played in this game. Sure, he finished a minus-3 in even-strength corsi, but in a game where the Kings outpossessed the Canucks nearly 2-1 (57-30), Biega's minus-3 looks pretty good, and it looks even better when you juxtapose it with the numbers put up by his fellow defencemen. But Biega's play goes beyond the stat sheet. Hell, he made the team tonight. "He won't come out of the line-up," coach Desjardins said. "Other guys will, but he won't." Congrats to Biega on graduating from the program. Someone get the man a cap and gown.
- Meanwhile, you've gotta feel for Yannick Weber, who is more than likely the "other guys" Willie is referring to. The coaching staff was already iffy on Weber to start the season, and now another smallish, right-handed defenceman has waltzed into the lineup and blown them away. You've got to think Weber's days are numbered. His play tonight won't help. Weber was at minus-12 in even-strength corsi before the first period was even up. He finished the night worst among Vancouver blueliners at minus-15. Tough to like that number. Unless you're mathematician Barry Mazur.
- On the bright side, Weber got the most shifts (34), although this probably speaks more to how depleted Vancouver's lineup was. Willie spent the night overrelying on a defenceman he doesn't even particularly like.
- Speaking of guys who may have come up and earned jobs, the coaching staff doesn't seem to mind Linden Vey these days, do they? Not only did he play tonight over Adam Cracknell, but Vey was back in the slot on the first-unit powerplay. That seems a bit much. Vey's shown some nice speed and poise since returning from Utica, but maybe hold off on giving him the best job there is until he scores at least one goal? If you can snag that gig with zero goals, I'm applying.
