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Coach Rick Tocchet wanted the Vancouver Canucks to play faster on Friday, but you can only move so quickly when you’re sleepwalking.
With a lineup that featured Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and Filip Hronek, the Canucks mostly drifted through the first half of Friday’s pre-season game in Seattle where Vancouver fell behind by three goals before losing 3-1 to the Kraken.
The Canucks are only halfway through their six-game National Hockey League pre-season schedule, and the team was lively and more engaged over the final 25 minutes against the Kraken. Typically, experienced NHL players know how to get themselves ready, and Vancouver doesn’t play its regular-season opener until Oct. 9.
But head coach Tocchet has been calling for more pace since training camp ended on Sunday, and not enough players had it while the Canucks were being outshot 15-8 through 30 minutes.
For much of the game, minor-league hopefuls Arshdeep Bains and Max Sasson, playing with fellow prospect Linus Karlsson, were the best Vancouver forwards. Kiefer Sherwood also had his feet moving and looked engaged, and veteran Sammy Blais had easily the best of his three games during his tryout.
The team finally woke up late in the second period, started generating some pressure with its forecheck and got a wrap-around goal from defenceman Tyler Myers at 16:18. But the Canucks managed only six third-period shots on Kraken goalie Joey Daccord despite a late power play and a six-on-five advantage for the final 90 seconds.
“We started being more invested,” Tocchet said of the better second half. “I think (we started) playing through people, more support. I think the first period, parts of the second… I don’t know, it seemed that we were a little tired early. But then we started to support each other and kind of go through (people). But you can’t play at the end of your stick, so it’s a learning lesson.”
The Canucks are expected to take an almost entirely different lineup to Calgary for Saturday’s game against the Flames. Vancouver’s fifth pre-season game in seven nights is Monday in Edmonton.
NEW GOALIE DEBUT
Six days after abandoning free agency to join the Canucks on a one-year, $875,000 contract, Kevin Lankinen played his first pre-season and looked… fine
After missing training camp and with just three practices to prepare, Lankinen was beaten three times on 23 shots and didn’t produce many five-star saves. But two of the pucks that eluded him were deflected, including Brandon Montour’s point shot that ricocheted in off Vancouver defenceman Derek Forbort, and the third goal, by Ryan Winterton, was a point-blank rebound after a centring pass bounced on target off his skate.
With star starter Thatcher Demko out indefinitely due to a slow-healing knee injury, there has been some added urgency in the Canucks’ crease during the pre-season. But Arturs Silovs, Jiri Patera and now Lankinen have each produced a solid (or better) performance. The Canucks are 2-1 in three games.
Lankinen was conspicuous Friday, still wearing his yellow-streaked pads from the Nashville Predators while awaiting or working in his new Canucks gear.
“That’s always the exciting thing when you get into a new team, just doing the new colours, getting a new mask,” Lankinen said earlier this week. “It never gets old, I’ll tell you that. Even after 10 years playing pro, I mean, it’s always like a mini-Christmas for goalies.”
The Canucks are Lankinen’s third NHL team and his sixth since the undrafted 29-year-old turned pro in Finland.
NICE MOMENT
Draft pick Sawyer Mynio, one of the junior standouts for the Canucks who graduated from the prospects tournament in Penticton to main camp while impressing coaches at both, got to start an NHL pre-season game in his home city for hockey.
The 19-year-old, third-round pick from 2023 has played the last three seasons for the Seattle Thunderbirds in nearby Kent, Wash., but was given the chance by Tocchet to start under the bright lights of Climate Pledge Arena.
Mynio showed off his speed to catch Kraken veteran Jordan Eberle on a first-period breakaway. The defenceman from Kamloops, B.C., has impressed Canucks’ staff with his mobility, passing and hockey IQ. Mynio logged 19:29 of ice time Friday and was minus-one.
“I think Mynio, 19-year-old kid, he’s a great prospect for us,” Tocchet said. “He held his poise out there.”
WHEN IS MILLER TIME?
Halfway through the Canucks’ pre-season, 103-point centre J.T. Miller is the only non-injured Canucks regular who has yet to play a tuneup game. At least, we think he isn’t injured.
“I’m obviously ready to play,” Miller told reporters after Thursday’s practice at the University of B.C. “The pre-season, it’s never pretty, let’s be honest. It’s all about just trying to worry about your habits and trying to get those in the right spot. Then hopefully… typically by Game 6, we play pretty close to the full team, and it feels a little better as we go. I’m obviously going to get in soon. I’ll play a couple of games probably.”
The last player off the ice on Thursday, Miller has been fully practising and doesn’t appear to be struggling with anything. Tocchet has pointed out a couple of times that Miller was one of the best-conditioned Canucks in pre-camp testing.
“It’s been the same the last two or three years,” Miller said of his summer training. “I don’t like getting back into working out, so I find taking less time (off) is a lot easier. It’s definitely becoming more year round, that’s for sure. I only take 10 to 14 days, and by that time I’m ready to get out of my house anyway.”
SOME STATS
We’re not sure if the NHL has a supply-chain problem with hits, but statisticians in Seattle awarded only four of them — two to each team — in a game that was a little edgy at times over the final 25 minutes. Not surprisingly, energy players Sherwood and Blais were the only Canucks deemed worthy of registering a hit… Hronek logged 25:41 of ice time, which is a lot for a pre-season game… Vancouver’s penalty-killing is eight-for-eight through three games… Half of the Canucks’ eight first-half shots on Friday were divided between Sasson and Karlsson… Pettersson was 6-12 on faceoffs, and Pius Suter barely better at 7-12. So the Kraken were constantly starting with the puck.
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