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<\/p>\nThursday\u2019s 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings stretched Vancouver\u2019s losing skid to nine games, with the team earning a single point across the stretch.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s the same stuff game after game,\u201d said veteran winger Brock Boeser. \u201cI don\u2019t know where the disconnect is, if guys in here aren\u2019t listening to what the coaches are preaching on our style of play or some of our structure is not working or what it is. But it\u2019s embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n
After going down 2-0 just over six minutes into the first period, the Canucks showed signs of life when Elias Pettersson sent a one-timer soaring in past Red Wings\u2019 netminder John Gibson on a power play.<\/p>\n
It took the visitors just one minute and 54 seconds to reply with a power play tally of their own and Vancouver couldn\u2019t rally again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a couple fits and (starts) where we had some life and some momentum,\u201d said head coach Manny Malhotra. \u201cBut for the most part it was inability to sustain momentum, come out pucks, win puck battles, kill plays in the d-zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a lot of effort-based things that just weren\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pettersson\u2019s goal marked Vancouver\u2019s last shot of the first period. The Canucks didn\u2019t register another until the 6:16 mark of the third when Jake DeBrusk snapped a puck at Detroit\u2019s backup goalie Michal Postava.<\/p>\n
Generating offence has appeared difficult for the Canucks for much of the season.<\/p>\n
Vancouver has been outshot in all but one game (a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Oct. 3) and outscored 56-35 in its first 12 outings. <\/p>\n
The home team also chalked up 17 giveaways in Thursday\u2019s loss, a statistic that Malhotra said highlights the team\u2019s inability to control pucks and control play. <\/p>\n
Boeser, one of the team\u2019s associate captains, said he\u2019s spoken to players when they make mistakes, but continues to see a disconnected group on the ice. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if guys don\u2019t listen or there\u2019s something in the structure we need to fix or what it is,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we definitely have a lot better in this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
The effort level in Thursday\u2019s loss to Detroit was \u201ca little disappointing,\u201d Malhotra said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere has to be a level of concern by the players to know that it\u2019s not good enough, and it\u2019s only going to get harder,\u201d the coach said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the identity that we have as a team is very much a reflection of their attitude and what they\u2019re putting forth. So there has to be an acknowledgment at some point that it has to come from within. And it just needs to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
POSITIVE POSTAVA<\/p>\n
Postava was one player who appreciated the third-period cheers.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Czech netminder came in to start the final frame after Gibson got something in his eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just thinking they\u2019re grading my save,\u201d he said of the crowd noise. \u201cI know it\u2019s been, like, five shots after two periods, so they just cheering about shots on net. I just get in my mind, like, they\u2019re cheering for me and just feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Postava was called up from the American Hockey League\u2019s Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday morning after Daniil Tarasov was hurt in practice. <\/p>\n
He caught a 6 a.m. flight in Michigan, changed planes in Minneapolis and arrived in Vancouver around noon.<\/p>\n
Going into the game, there were no plans to have the six-foot-one, 222-pound goalie make his NHL debut, said Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t find out until about 10 minutes left in the intermission that this was going on, (Gibson) had something in his eye,\u201d McLellan said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re still looking at it, and so the (emergency backup goalie) is dressing, Michal\u2019s told he\u2019s going to play, and away he goes. Did a real good job, happy for him, and congratulations, you\u2019re in the NHL now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going from sitting on the bench to playing was \u201ccrazy,\u201d Postava said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s the reward for me for all the work I do, like last year and this year also,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m so happy now, and hope I be working more and more and have more games.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thursday\u2019s 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings stretched Vancouver\u2019s losing skid to nine games, with the team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":943174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-943173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/943174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}