Vancouver Canucks, Bruce Boudreau

Canucks NHL Daily: “Bullied Us”; Unsigned Free Agent

“When was the last time you say ‘Petey’ minus-5,” Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau said postgame Tuesday night after a 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, referring to Vancouver’s typically effective and talented two-way centre Elias Pettersson. “That doesn’t happen.”

Canucks top D-man Quinn Hughes made an atrocious turnover leading to Alexander Ovechkin’s first goal of the night and the Capitals taking a 1-0 lead.

“They came out as desperate and we didn’t come out anywhere near as desperate as they did, and consequently the result shows,” Boudreau added.

“It’s disappointing when you come out and don’t execute, and don’t really compete and get out-competed,” Canucks forward J.T. Miller said. “Pretty much period by period there, it’s frustrating because when you lose games it should never be about your compete level and battle level. They didn’t out-skill us today, they didn’t out-system us, they literally just out-battled us and created their chances and scored on them.”

Let’s Skate!

How about a rare visit to the Canada-based NHL team that Vancouver Canucks fans think about the least; the Ottawa Senators. They’re coming off successful California stops on their recent road trip, their top goaltender is feeling pretty good, and their defensive game has improved.

Meanwhile, the Ottawa Sun also reports that the NHL’s last remaining restricted free agent Alex Formenton has until 5 p.m. Thursday to get a contract in place to be eligible to play this season. The winger had 32 points with the Senators last season.

Yippee

Sportsnet reports that Tempe, Arizona city officials voted unanimously to allow for the construction of a new Coyotes arena and entertainment district. Now they just need to convince the local voters. They will address the issue in a referendum on May 16.

That’s a long way off. So is having hockey fans ever filling a fullsize NHL rink in the Phoenix area on a regular basis.

Enjoy the Hockey Action !!

Rob Simpson

Rob Simpson has covered the NHL in five different decades. He’s authored 4 books on hockey and is a veteran TV and radio play-by-play man and reporter.