Postgame: Do we really have to talk about this one?

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Oh brother.

The same day I release an article on why the Vegas Golden Knights confuse the hell out of me, the Vancouver Canucks get absolutely pumped by said confusing team. When I say “pumped”, I mean “PUMPED”: That game was an absolutely terrible watch and it comes at a time where I’m working on several different projects at once (hence why this is being published a little later than usual).

I think there’s a lot to get into here… we’ll see. Here’s why I don’t want to talk about last night’s game:

It’s time to make some roster adjustments

I want to get this out of the way: Arshdeep Bains can’t play in the NHL (yet). There’s no doubt in my mind that he has the potential to be an everyday NHLer at some point, but that “some point” is not today. His underlying numbers have been the worst on the Canucks since his debut and he got absolutely cratered against Vegas last night. His xGF% was at a staggering 22.87, the second lowest on the team (only ahead of Sam Lafferty) and was repeatedly turning the puck over in the defensive zone.

He wasn’t the only player that had a tough night, though.

Ian Cole has been an awesome get for Vancouver. His defensive numbers have stayed consistently great all season and his penalty killing chops are clearly there; but last night’s game – and the last string of games, in all honesty – was a tough one. His underlying numbers weren’t all that bad, but he was on the ice for every Golden Knights goal… THEY SCORED SIX GOALS!

Yes, I get it, you obviously have to have some real bad luck to be out for all six goals against. Simply put: I don’t care. That’s they type of stat that should instantly mark him out of the lineup for tonight’s game vs the Arizona Coyotes; and I’d fully expect to see Noah Juulsen slot in over Cole. I will defend Cole – as a player – ’til he’s gone; he’s seriously great for what he is, but when a player of his age has games like that, the Canucks might have to start doing a better job at managing his workload or else he’ll have more and more nights like that one.

I don’t really know who else to single out. Tyler Myers had a pretty bad game but, like, that just happens with him more than any other Canuck. Nikita Zadorov – before getting ejected – was getting turnstiled on just about every rush chance he faced (his form has been dipping as of late).

I would call out Teddy Blueger but he’s been so good all year that it just feels wrong to.

The elephant in the room… again

Okay, what was going on in the world of Canucks Twitter last night?

People were complaining about the refs; others went after those who were complaining about the refs; and then people were going after Elias Pettersson for… reasons?

Look, the Canucks were not good enough last night; especially in the special teams battle (which is becoming a serious concern). You want to know who else had a bad night? The officials. I know, it’s maybe a bit rich for some people to stomach but both things can be true at once.

At 3-1, Alex Pietrangelo figured that it was time to unleash the ultimate puke tactic of snapping your head back when the opponent’s stick is at his chest; and of course, the officials fell for it, because they always do. Noah Hanifin would score on the powerplay to take a 4-1 lead. Yes, the Canucks special teams HAVE to be better, but I can’t let this one slide; this is exactly what Rick Tocchet was talking about just a handful of weeks ago.

Then, of course, there was the whole Nikita Zadorov thing. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was worthy of a five-minute major. Then I took a second look and determined that – in fact – it did warrant a major penalty.

And that’s when I saw this tweet:

This. This is why I can’t buy in to the idea that we all need to pipe down about the NHL’s very abundant officiating problem. Much like most people in authoritative positions, NHL refs get excused and babied for being completely incompetent at the one thing they’re supposed to do. Twitter user MajorMoose_ kept it concise, but it’s simply true. There isn’t a lick of consistency in which games are called and it’s been an issue that has plagued the league forever, but has especially been under the microscope over the last ~5 years or so; and it’s not because it’s gotten worse, people are just fed up.

I’m not trying to tell you that the Canucks lost this game because of the officials: They were repeatedly exposed off the counter attack and had no answer for the Knights’ speed and size. But it’s when people (rightfully) complain about the refs and then some keyboard warrior on Twitter starts acting like a politician, shaming on the common man for pointing out very obvious mistakes made by those in higher-up roles, is where I start to get annoyed. People who flat-out blame the refs for the way a game is decided are – typically – wrong, but most people aren’t actively blaming them; they’re rightfully complaining.

This has nothing to do with the Canucks and everything to do with how this league is being run. They desperately need some new faces in charge.

Ending on a positive note

(I feel like this header reads like a The 1975 album closer).

I have attempted to look at this game with a positive twist to end off; so, let’s all celebrate the night that was, as messed up as it was.

Hughes strikes twice

Quinn Hughes continued his legend caliber season with two goals in this one. One was to bring the game within three, and the other to bring the game within two at the start of the third period; followed by a Vegas goal just 24 seconds later. Brilliant.

Regardless, Hughes just keeps on being the best player on this team by a country mile. I know there are some that will try to argue that J.T. Miller is this team’s MVP but I just don’t even give that take the light of day (full credit to Miller for an incredible season, though).

Nils Höglander is a top line forward

Any game which features a Nils Höglander goal is good for the agenda.

I don’t care about what you think, Höglander is one of this team’s six best forwards and I’m glad that he’s continuously crushing this opportunity on Pettersson’s wing.

Podkolzin showed flashes

I think there’s a chance we see Vasily Podkolzin on the Canucks’ playoff roster in just a handful of weeks. He has an advantage over a player like Bains solely because of the size and speed that he brings.

There were a few instances where Podkolzin really showed his potential, but I still need to see way more from him before I call him an NHL player.

In before Moose calls me a fake fan.

And that’s all the positives from this one!

Can we just get a good game tonight, please? I feel like we’ve been robbed of them as of late.

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