The Canucks looked lazy and disinterested for 40 minutes on Monday, as Philadelphia got a much-needed win at Rogers Arena by a score of 3-1. That was a classic game of Tocchet hockey. A lot of dump-ins and board battles in a very low-event game. The Canucks lost most of those board battles, which resulted in an embarrassingly low number of scoring chances, especially in the first two periods. If there was still doubt, there is no denying it now: the Canucks are the worst NHL team by a country mile. Remember, the Canucks were facing a struggling Philadelphia team that played against the Calgary Flames last night. In the end, Philadelphia bullied the Canucks and took their lunch money, and did not even need a great effort to do it.

Game Stories: Chytil and Willander Out Again, Lekkerimäki Promoted, Sportsnet+ Exclusive Game

As we discussed in Monday morning’s Canucks Rundown, Filip Chytil and Tom Willander were present at morning skate, but did not play tonight. Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who has had a great start this season, was rewarded with a spot on the top line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser.

Jacob Quillan remained a healthy scratch in this game, which remains a head-scratcher, given his heavy style of play. His forechecking, speed, and play along the wall could have been some help this game, considering how Philadelphia plays.

This was the first of nine games this season where Canucks fans could only stream the game exclusively on Sportsnet+. A controversial move by Rogers as they try to drive up subscriptions. However, Canucks fans should frankly be thanking Rogers for preventing them from watching this game. This was a very tough watch.

Canucks Offense Stifled in the First Period

Two minutes in, Michael Bunting attempted a pass to Christian Dvorak, but the puck got between Brendan Gallagher‘s feet and bounced to Dvorak; then Bunting found the loose puck to open the scoring. A strange goal, but definitely a frustrating one to give up early for the Canucks.

The Canucks struggled with making passes, keeping puck possession, and really generating much of anything in the first 20 minutes. The offense was thoroughly suffocated by Philadelphia.

Laziness Sets in During the Second Period

Matvei Michkov made a great pass to Travis Konecny, who put it short-side on Meriläinen on the power play at 3:05. The Canucks have surrendered a power play goal in 16 of their 20 games this season, as the puck watching and chasing continues to be a struggle to clean up. For Michkov, he continues to make a case for Tocchet to give him more ice time, as he alluded to in his recent social media activity and comments to media on Saturday.

Once again, the Canucks struggled mightily to generate much of anything. They looked nervous and unassertive, and lost as the players overpassed and floated on the ice, waiting for the puck to come to them. The Canucks only had two shots in the second and six through 40 minutes. Embarrassing. Lazy even.

Too Little Too Late in the Third

After the puck went off the boards awkwardly and eluded Filip Hronek in the offensive zone, Tyson Foerster appeared to score 25 seconds in, as he used Zeev Buium as a screen. The Canucks challenged for offside, and it was successful. That was as much of a lifeline as the Canucks were going to get.

Midway through the period, Michael Bunting could not believe an elbowing call was made against him as he felt Linus Karlsson went down easily. With 7:16 remaining, Jonathan Lekkerimäki broke the shutout as he converted on the power play to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 2-1. At that point, the Canucks were outshooting Philadelphia 9-0 in the period.

Linus Karlsson then drew another penalty, prompting Bunting to shout some expletives from Philadelphia’s bench. On the ensuing power play, Jonathan Lekkerimäki almost had another one as he rang the puck off the crossbar. Is he the only player with a consistently dangerous shot on the Canucks?

After that, Joseph Woll took a delay-of-game penalty by intentionally taking his mask off during play. During the Canuck power play, on their first shot of the period, Travis Sanheim scored shorthanded into the empty net to give Philadelphia a 3-1 lead with 58 seconds left. That would hold as the final score.

Philadelphia parked the bus in the third period, and they got away with it because the Canucks were kept to the outside. Philadelphia almost handed the game on a silver platter for the Canucks to take, but they failed to take advantage. It felt like a mockery of the last-place Canucks as Philadelphia continued their mastery against them in recent seasons, going up to 13-4-2 in their last 19 meetings.

Malhotra Disappointed and Concerned About Effort

In his postgame media availability, Head Coach Manny Malhotra, when asked about the frustration level, gave a candid answer. “When we keep seeing the same mistakes, it’s problematic,” he commented. He also added that it is concerning that the pregame messaging and things discussed as a group were not being executed.

The Canucks need to start on time. However, when the team has won just three of 20 games, it starts wearing on the players. Effort is not being rewarded in the win column, and the players are starting to sag. With 64 games left, it is going to be a long season, folks, and Landon DuPont is not even guaranteed.

Stats & Game Flow

The first graph from NaturalStatTrick.com is the shot attempt advantage. The second is the expected goals advantage. In both graphs, they show a complete and utter domination by Philadelphia in the first two periods, followed by a late push by the Canucks to give the illusion that they deserved anything from this game. The expected goals, according to MoneyPuck, were 3.13 to 2.26, in favor of Philadelphia.

Looking Ahead to the Next Game

The Canucks will face off against J.T. Miller and the New York Rangers on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PCT), in hopes of a response from one of the most frustrating efforts of the season. You can catch that game on Sportsnet.