Canucks' 3 Up, 3 Down: Playing Full 60 Minutes, Elias Pettersson Disappears & More

Canucks the victim of poor officiating, Hughes sets yet another record, Mikheyev finally scores a goal & more!

The Vancouver Canucks had an impressive start to their nine-game homestand, winning 5-0 against the Winnipeg Jets, but have since stumbled against the Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals. In the former, they blew a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 in overtime, and in the latter, despite scoring first again, lost 2-1 after a lackluster second period in which they got outshot 14-5. They are now 1-1-1 on the homestand and will face another desperate team in the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

Suffice it to say, the Canucks are slumping at the wrong time and playing some concerning hockey as they continue down the stretch run to the playoffs. If they hope to make any noise in April and beyond, the minuses in this edition of Canucks’ 3 Up, 3 Down need to become pluses sooner rather than later.

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Plus One: Ilya Mikheyev Finally Scores a Goal

One positive that came from the 4-3 debacle against the Avalanche was Ilya Mikheyev’s first goal in 35 games. His last tally came back in December against the Chicago Blackhawks and it was nice to finally see him tickle the twine. Since being placed on JT Miller’s wing, he has been playing better, using his speed and tenacity on the forecheck to come up with pucks and create scoring chances.

After a plethora of chances in recent games, Mikheyev got one to go after a deft Miller pass found him going to the net. He tipped it by goaltender Alexandar Georgiev and you could see the excitement and relief on his face. Hopefully, that is just the start of a run of goals for him, as the Canucks need all the offence they can get down the stretch and into the playoffs.

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Minus One: Apparently, Playing 60 Minutes of Hockey is Hard

The Canucks are 1-1-1 on their current homestand, but they could easily be 3-0. All they needed to do was play a full 60 minutes. In the last two games (both losses where they had the lead at one point), they have started strong but had one horrible period. Against the Avs, it was the third where they entered with a 3-1 lead and failed to hold onto it. They took a few undisciplined penalties (yes, the refs were to blame for the Nathan MacKinnon one), couldn’t score on the power play, and let the Avalanche’s star players take over the game.