Having watched his Vancouver Canucks fall behind early far too often already this season, Travis Green says he might send the NHL a memo asking for the start time of their games to be pushed back.
鈥淭hat would be an option,鈥� quipped the rookie head coach.
All joking aside, Green鈥檚 club has surrendered the opening goal inside the first five minutes of the first period eight times this season, with four coming before the 70-second mark.
The Canucks have also fallen behind early in three straight, including Thursday鈥檚 5-2 home loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, a result that came on the heels of a 3-2 road victory over Los Angeles despite trailing 2-0 after just three minutes and 14 seconds.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to be a little sharper at the start,鈥� Green said following Friday鈥檚 practice. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been pressed into mistakes early because maybe we鈥檙e trying to do a little too much.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a couple rough starts. We鈥檝e probably had a couple goals we wanted to have back.鈥�
It鈥檚 true that Vancouver netminders Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson have both given up soft goals early 鈥� Nilsson surrendered one 23 seconds in versus L.A. as just the latest example 鈥� but the Canucks have also been sloppy in their own end, sometimes looking like they aren鈥檛 ready to play.
鈥淎t the beginning of the game, a lot of nights it鈥檚 almost like a little bit of a chess match where you鈥檝e maybe got to grunt a puck out here or there, make a hard play early because teams have lots of energy,鈥� said Green. 鈥漁ver the course of 60 minutes, sometimes things break down. That鈥檚 being mentally strong to your game, not just as the game goes on, (but) at the start.鈥�
The Canucks are actually 4-3-1 in games where they鈥檝e allowed opponents to open the scoring inside five minutes, but know that trend can鈥檛 continue if they鈥檙e going to stay in the conversation for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e down 2-0, it鈥檚 rare you can come back and win,鈥� said Vancouver winger Daniel Sedin. 鈥漌e have done a good job so far, but if we keep doing this it鈥檚 going to be tough.鈥�
Canucks centre Bo Horvat said the formula for getting a leg up is there for everyone to see.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty self explanatory,鈥� he said. 鈥漌e鈥檝e just got to be prepared right from the get go.鈥�
Vancouver finished a four-game road trip 2-2-0 before the setback to the expansion Golden Knights, who were down to their fourth-string goalie because of a slew of injuries in the crease.
The Canucks looked tired, but getting just 21 shots was disappointing 鈥� the fewest Vegas has given up this season 鈥� including just one on two power-play chances for a man-advantage unit that showed signs of life with two goals against the Kings following a 2-for-21 stretch.
鈥淕uys are holding onto it for too long or they鈥檙e gripping the stick a little too tight,鈥� said defenceman Ben Hutton. 鈥漌e鈥檝e just got to get back to the way we were playing earlier in the season. We were putting pucks to the net, guys were going to the net, and we were getting some greasy goals.鈥�
Things will get a whole lot tougher for Vancouver (9-8-2) on Saturday when the St. Louis Blues (14-5-1) visit Rogers Arena before the Canucks head out on a six-game road trip that will take them to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, New York (against the Rangers and Islanders), and Nashville.
The Blues, who sit first in the West and second in the overall standings, got back on track Thursday following consecutive losses by downing the Edmonton Oilers 4-1.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e had a good team here for a while,鈥� said Canucks centre Brandon Sutter. 鈥漌e know what their identity is.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be a good test for us.鈥�
Vancouver has tended to play up or down to the level of opponents so far in 2017-18, with victories over Minnesota, Washington, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, while also suffering a couple of setbacks like Thursday鈥檚 defeat to Vegas.
The Canucks have also tended to fall behind early, something they will look to shake before heading out of town.
鈥淐oming from behind is never easy,鈥� said Hutton. 鈥漌e鈥檝e got to come out more mentally prepared.
鈥淕iving up a goal on the first or second shift is always a kick in the butt. It sucks.鈥�
Notes: Canucks defenceman Christopher Tanev (upper body) practised Friday and could return as early as Saturday. 鈥� A healthy scratch the last three games, Vancouver forward Jake Virtanen skated on a line with Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
