Losing Streak Lives On For Vancouver in Loss to Minnesota

Another home game and another disappointing loss for the Canucks as they dropped a tough one to the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, in overtime on Saturday.

While this one was, for the most part, undeserved, the Canucks still have not found a way to end their slide and have not found much luck to provide any sort of relief.

The Canucks once again dug themselves into an early hole, falling behind 2-0 in the first on goals from Koivu and Bergeron.

To their credit, the Canucks showed a lot of fight and took over the game in the second period with an early goal from Ryan Kesler.

They seemed to take control of the game in the second when Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for a cheap shot from behind to Alex Burrows. 

The Canucks dominated the game from that point, out-shooting the Wild 13-7 in the second and 17-6 in the third. Unfortunately, Minnesota goaltender Nicklas Backstrom was almost unbeatable. 

Canuck defenseman Alexander Edler managed to tie it in the third with a shot from the point off a clean face-off win, but just when things looked to finally be turning around, Minnesota's Eric Belanger scored to put the Wild back on top—seconds after Sedin had hit the post for Vancouver.

The Canucks, however, showed a lot of resiliency, and were rewarded for their domination when Kesler tied the game with a 6-on-4 power play goal with 0:16 remaining in regulation.

However, the momentum was short-lived as Daniel Sedin was called for a very questionable hooking penalty early in the extra session.

Moments later, Minnesota made them pay with a Marc-Andre Bergeron one-timer for the game-winner. 

Vancouver deserved a better outcome Saturday, but regardless, the fact remains that this club simply did not get the job done.

Nothing has seemed to change their fortune, and the players and fans are no doubt at a loss trying to turn this thing around.

The loss sets a new club record of nine straight defeats at home, as the Canucks have quickly gone from cup contenders to being on the playoff bubble. 

They are now one point out of a playoff spot, and have played more games than most other teams, so they must start winning—and fast. 

Following the game, a disappointed Mats Sundin weighed in on the team's performance.

"I thought we played a strong game," Sundin said. "I don't know what else we could have done out there. I think we created tons of chances right through the whole game, and they scored on the chances they had." 

That basically sums up this one.

They threw 40 shots at Backstrom, and for once, looked like a desperate hockey team. The Canucks did about everything they could have done, but once again could not come up with the two points.

Sundin, for his part, was once again disappointing as he took another stupid penalty in the game and produced nothing offensively. He was a minus-5 going into the game, with a measly two goals.

The Canucks finished the month of January with an atrocious 2-12 record, and find themselves on the outside looking in as the playoffs draw closer by the day.

Of note

Mason Raymond was a healthy scratch as Vigneault was looking to inject some feistiness into the Canucks' game with Mike Brown.

The Canucks unfortunately remain at home as they will host Carolina Tuesday and then the Blackhawks on Saturday. The team will then embark on a much needed three-game road trip.