The Vancouver Canucks extended their losing streak to seven straight following another blown two-goal lead in Tampa on Saturday, and will host the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at Rogers Arena.
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The Vancouver Canucks finished a six-game road trip without a win after blowing their second two-goal lead in as many games in Tampa on Saturday, leaving them with just one loser point in the standings.
Heading into their return to Vancouver, the team is now on a seven-game losing streak, with the last three games featuring leads and the last two including early leads that didn’t hold up.
At Monday’s practice at Rogers Arena, Marco Rossi was absent again with an illness, and the Canucks’ lineup work included several other established combinations as the group continued to work through a difficult stretch.
Linus Karlsson said the situation is difficult but that the team needs to keep learning and competing through it. “I mean, it sucks to lose. It’s frustrating. But I mean, we need to trust the process.” Karlsson also said, “We need to battle a bit harder,” adding, “And I mean, it’s time to learn.”
The road trip has come against a tough slate, including matchups with three of the top four teams in the NHL at the time: Vegas (#1), Carolina (#2) and Edmonton (#4), plus the New York Rangers (#6) and Tampa (#7). Outside of the top 10, Vancouver also faced the New York Islanders (#16), New Jersey Devils (#22) and Calgary Flames (#32).
Carolina will be next for Vancouver. The Canucks get a day to catch their breath before playing the reigning Stanley Cup champions on Tuesday at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks also pointed to concerns about recent form among players they were counting on for the future, with Zeev Buium and Marco Rossi both described as having slid into scratch territory after struggling performances.
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