Canucks lose 5-2 to Islanders

For fans who left Rogers Arena disappointed after the Vancouver Canucks’ 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday, Rick Tocchet is determined to provide a better experience in the future.

“It’s up to me,” he said. “The boys played light tonight. I thought we were ready to go. We weren’t.”

For the first time in nine games, the Canucks scored the first goal. But after 40 minutes they found themselves 3-1 down, having been outscored 24-6. Once again, they failed to string together consecutive wins on home ice for the first time this season.

“It’s a frustrating situation because the fans are… what is it? Two, three, four or 500 bucks a ticket, and we’ll throw some duds at them,” Tocchet said, after the Canucks fell to 2-3-3 on home ice.

“I give the islanders all the credit. We played a great, well-coached team tonight. And you know, Patrick (Roy) coached me better tonight.

When Tocchet began his coaching career as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche in 2002, Roy was still playing for the team. Both coaches are now Jack Adams Award winners, but Thursday was the first time they were behind the benches.

“Tonight was a huge team effort,” said Roy, who saw his team earn its first win in three games and improve to 7-6-4 for the season. “Everyone played very solid: defense, attack, goaltender. I thought we were on the puck, sharp and good cross, good pressure in the O-zone, we defended quite well. It was a good match for us.”

It was a big night for Bo Horvat, who scored two assists. It was the second game back at Rogers Arena since the former Canucks captain was traded in January 2022. He earned his first win as an Islander in his fourth game against his old team.

“To finally be rewarded for playing the right way, it definitely feels nice,” Horvat said. “We always knew that if we played the same way, we would be rewarded in the end. It certainly felt nice to be rewarded tonight.”

Tocchet was concerned about the Canucks’ starts, but the home team set a positive tone early when JT Miller fed Jonathan Lekkerimaki a shot from the left for a Semyon Varlamov snap at 2:40 of the first period. It was the first career goal for the 20-year-old, who was playing his second NHL game, filling in for the injured Brock Boeser on Vancouver’s top line.

“It means a lot,” said Lekkerimaki, whose parents were in the stands to witness the moment.

Canucks captain Quinn Hughes acknowledged Lekkerimaki’s goal, as well as Dakota Joshua’s return to the lineup after surgery following a testicular cancer diagnosis in September.

As for the outcome, “I try to take pride in staying balanced,” he said. “If we win 7-1 tonight, I don’t think we’ve done anything special. But obviously frustrated.”

“We continue to make a habit of making other teams’ nights way too easy,” Miller added.

The Canucks are now 1-2-0 on their current six-game homestand and have been outscored 13-8 in those three games. And while all eyes are on the Gray Cup festivities across the street at BC Place this weekend, the hockey action continues this weekend.

Connor Bedard will play his first-ever NHL game in his hometown when the Chicago Blackhawks visit Vancouver on Saturday, followed by last spring’s playoff foes, the Nashville Predators, on Sunday.

The homestand ends next Tuesday against the New York Rangers.

“I apologize again to the fans,” Tocchet said. “We need to correct this.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.