VANCOUVER — After six games the Vancouver Canucks are in a much happier place this NHL season than they were at the same time last year.
The Canucks opened their schedule with a convincing 8-1 home win over the Edmonton Oilers, then won three times on a five-game road trip. A 4-2-0 record leaves Vancouver second in the Pacific Division and fourth in the Western Conference heading into Thursday night’s games.
Last year, with Bruce Boudreau as head coach, the Canucks lost their first seven games. The team didn’t earn a point until an overtime loss in the fourth game and their first win didn’t come until Oct. 27.
“We’re a little happier this time around,” centre J.T. Miller said after practice Thursday at Rogers Arena. “We just feel more confident.
“We’re also not on top of the clouds right now either.”
Defenceman Quinn Hughes, who was named Vancouver's captain in the off-season, said the way the team played on the road was as important as the results.
“It does take off a little bit of pressure,” said Hughes. “Just playing the right way and knowing we’re going to be consistent.
“They weren’t wins where we were giving up chances or we had to score seven goals. That’s where the confidence comes in.”
The Canucks play their first back-to-back games of the season at home on Friday against the St. Louis Blues followed by the New York Rangers on Saturday. The homestand continues Halloween night against the Nashville Predators, who lost 3-2 to Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Fans and pundits were not sure what to expect from the Canucks this season.
The Canucks missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season last year but were 20-12-4 after Rick Tocchet replaced Boudreau as head coach. That stretch run showed the team’s potential, but the Canucks also had a late-season bounce under Boudreau only to see the excitement fade after the horrible start.
The Canucks are playing a more structured game this season. They have scored 23 goals and allowed just 15. Their power play is ranked third in the league at 35.5 per cent.
Vancouver still has defensive lapses. The team has been badly outshot some nights and the penalty kill is also ranked 17th in the league at 78.3 per cent.
One big difference is the team looks comfortable on the ice.
“When you win, your confidence and your energy is a little bit different,” said goaltender Thatcher Demko, who has a 2-2 record, 2.42 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. “It’s early in the year and we have a lot of work to do.”
Right winger Brock Boeser, who plays on a line with Miller and Phil Di Giuseppe, leads the Canucks with six goals, four of them in the opening night win over Edmonton.
“I think (our line was) a little rusty at the beginning of the season,” said Boeser, who would like to top the 27 goals he scored back in 2017-18, his first full season in Vancouver. “We started really playing the way we did last year, just working hard, creating more turnovers, outworking the line we play against.
“That is kind of our motto. If we do that, I think we’ll get our chances.”
Miller said the improvement in Boeser’s game goes beyond scoring.
“The way he’s playing the game, he’s at another level than he’s ever been,” said Miller. “There’s so many little things in the sense of being a harder-to-play against type of guy that he’s really worked on. He’s getting rewarded on the scoresheet.”
Entering Thursday's games, centre Elias Pettersson was sixth in the league in scoring with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and Hughes’ plus-8 was tied for best in the NHL.
Tocchet has been impressed by Vancouver’s resilience. After being badly outplayed in a 2-0 loss to Philadelphia, where they were outshot 42-26, the Canucks rebounded to win two of their next three games.
“A couple guys didn’t have a good game,” said Tocchet. “I thought they played better the next game.
“That’s what I like. We’re all going to have bad games, whether it’s physically or mentally, but can you correct it. It’s the guys that go three, four or five games making the same mistakes and they’re not into it. I didn’t see that. I saw guys that corrected it right away. That’s a good sign.”
Vancouver has also taken advantage of playing in a division with several struggling teams. Calgary, Anaheim, Edmonton and Seattle all have losing records.
The Blues took a 2-2-1 record into their game Thursday against Calgary (2-4-1) and they've allowed four more goals than they've scored.
“They’re a hard-working team,” said Tocchet. “They’re like us, they’re trying to find their way, their team identity.
“They work hard and they’ve got some guys who can put the puck in the net.”
The Rangers (4-2-0) lead the Metropolitan Division and are third in the Eastern Conference. They play in Edmonton on Friday night.
Boeser said the back-to-back games will be another early season test.
“Back-to-back can be hard,” he said. “You’ve got two solid teams coming here. We’ve just got to be ready, have a good first game and build off that game.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2023.
Jim Morris, The Canadian Press
