Sharks 4, Canucks 3: Rick Tocchet frustrated in loss to tepid San Jose

Having the better team doesn’t mean it’ll be a win.

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Other factors, such as fatigue or puck bounces, play a role.

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The tired but talented Vancouver Canucks were reminded of this truth Saturday night as they lost to the tired and much less talented San Jose Sharks 4-3 at the SAP Center.

Playing their third game in four nights, and their seventh game in 11 days, the Canucks were going to have to dig deep, no matter the opponent.

Through two periods, the Canucks were managing well enough and their powerful power play was keeping them in the game. It was 2-2 after two periods, with the Canucks getting better shots off overall.

And even in the third, they got more shots at even strength and better shots, again.

But it was San Jose who picked up a couple goals in a pair of soft moments — first Filip Hronek getting beaten one-on-one on an entry by Mikael Granlund, who dazzled his way into the Canucks’ zone and then around Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith.

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Moments later, with the Canucks down a man and killing a penalty 4 on 3, a loose puck eluded Ian Cole and the Sharks Mike Hoffman — ironically now a Shark after his old foe in Ottawa Erik Karlsson was traded away — had more strength to swipe the puck into the net before Cole could direct it into the corner or somewhere safer.

The Canucks kept going hard and nabbed an empty-net goal by Brock Boeser — his second goal of the game, he scored another on the power play — but it was too little, too late.

For the second week in a row, head coach Rick Tocchet express frustration with how his team played under duress. He felt San Jose had outworked his squad in the first 30 minutes or so of the game.

“They deserved the game,” a somewhat-frustrated looking Tocchet said after the game.

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He wasn’t pleased by the soft defending by Hronek and his teammates around him on the Granlund rush, but that was just one among many it would see.

“We’ve got to confront, you can’t just let the guy skate through the middle. But it wasn’t just that, we weren’t ready to play early,” he said.

“You’ve got to respect your opponents. It’s a learning lesson for us. Playoff teams don’t do this.”

That’s a point he’s pressed home before.

“You have to play smart. you’ve got to have good angles, short shifts. You’ve got to do your staples. When you don’t have your game, you can’t (say) ‘I’m tired and can’t do my staples. So something different I guess,” he said.

The Canucks now get two days without a game, a chance to rest and recuperate and get back on the winning horse.

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Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes skates with the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of NHL  game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Photo by Jeff Chiu /APHughes’ night

Even as tired as he might have been, Quinn Hughes was on one, as they say.

On his own he had 15 shot attempts, an astounding figure.

Hughes now holds the record for most points in a month by a Canucks defenceman.

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Hughes played 29:30.

11 game point streak

Hughes’ assist also meant he hit 11 games in a row with a point.

Hronek, who had an 11-game streak earlier this season, is now on a three-game point streak

The duo have set a record: no NHL team has ever had two defencemen on separate 11-game point streaks in the same season.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek is congratulated by after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of NHL game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Photo by Jeff Chiu /APHustlin’ Garland

Even before he arrived in Vancouver two years ago, Conor Garland has always been a hard-nosed player.

He may not be putting up points, but there’s little doubt that the style of play that coach Rick Tocchet is asking from his team suits the plucky Bostonian well.

There was a fine back-check by Garland in the second period, as he hustled and knocked down a cross-ice pass as the Sharks entered the Canucks’ end on a four on two, then turned the play back the other way.

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“I just think we’re playing a lot faster and making it harder for teams coming up the ice into the neutral zone,” he said recently. “It’s a hard-nosed style, it’s in your face and you’re always skating and you know your assignment all the time.”

Ripping Boeser

With his two goals, Brock Boeser now has 15 goals on the season.

Yes, 15 goals in 22 games.

He’s halfway to his dream of 30.

He needs 15 goals in 60 games.

He’s having fun. It’s a big, big year for a player who had such a tough couple years.

You know his teammates are delighted for him.

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But he’s battling on.

And he has enough confidence that he’s still throwing big hits, like the one he threw in the third period.

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He didn’t get many scoring chances, but his line still did well to control play; the Canucks outshot the Sharks by 10 when Pettersson was on the ice.

About that tape job

A few fans on Twitter noticed Friday that Elias Pettersson usually has a strip of athletic tape wrapped around his left wrist.

He’s been doing this for some time.

The amount of tape he’s using is of little therapeutic benefit. Physiotherapist David Carter said: “Sometimes we do those tape jobs for a TFCC strain — it’s like a little piece of cartilage in the wrist. But could be any number of other small, carpal bones and ligaments in the area.

“To be honest, it probably wouldn’t do much (for extra support), but it probably feels nice. It might just reduce the range of motion a little.”

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Here are photos from last season, showing how this is a standard thing for him.

April 8:

And here is Feb. 18:

VANCOUVER, CANADA – FEBRUARY 18: Head coach Rick Tocchet of the Vancouver Canucks talks to Andrei Kuzmenko #96 and Elias Pettersson #40 during their NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Arena February 18, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Jeff Vinnick /NHLI via Getty ImagesWould Kuzy have helped?

One can understand a coach’s need to press home a point. Rick Tocchet wouldn’t have taken the decision to scratch Andrei Kuzmenko for a second night in a row lightly.

But with his team finishing up a brutal stretch of games (here’s another one: 10 game in nine different cities over 17 days), a fresh set of legs surely would have helped.

The Canucks and the Sharks both looked tired.

Kuzmenko would not have looked tired. If he had looked mediocre on this night, then you’d have reason to be concerned.

But if ever there was a moment for a hockey coach to openly lean on the rest benefits of load management, it surely was on this night with a 39-goal scorer available to you.

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So to scratch him again in these circumstances, there’s a big message being sent.

NEXT GAME

Tuesday

Anaheim Ducks vs. Vancouver Canucks

7 p.m., Rogers Arena, TV: TSN, Radio: AM730

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