VANCOUVER — After suffering yet another lopsided loss, Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet is heading back to the chalkboard.
“It's my job, the coaches, to make these guys understand stuff," he told reporters after the Detroit Red Wings dumped his team 6-1 on Monday.
"We're going to practise tomorrow, we're gonna have to go back to grade school on how to defend, how to stop and start, because too many guys are spinning. We’re a very high risk team.”
Vancouver has given up at least five goals in 25 of 54 games this season.
“It's hard to be consistent. It's hard to win. It's hard to be part of the process. It's hard to stop and start," said Tocchet, who took over as head coach on Jan. 22. "We've got to strip it down and we've got to just make people understand how important it is to do these hard things to win.”
Dylan Larkin scored twice for the Red Wings (24-20-8), who also chalked up a 5-2 victory over the Canucks (21-29-4) on Saturday.
Robby Fabbri and Gustav Lindstrom each contributed a goal and an assist for the visitors, while Pius Suter and Jonatan Berggren also found the back of the net. Michael Rasmussen notched a pair of helpers.
The Canucks' lone goal came from Sheldon Dries early in the second period.
Ville Husso made 29 saves — including a late penalty shot — for Detroit as the Red Wings extended their win streak to three games. Vancouver's Collin Delia stopped 17-of-23 shots.
Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde called the result "a really good road win."
"It's tough to beat anybody in this league two times in a row," he said. "And especially with the noon game (on Saturday), the travel, it's a five-hour flight for us and we've basically been on a go for eight days in a row and we've had four long practices this week along with the three games.
"You don't know what to expect and what our legs were but our guys responded extremely well. They were great from the get-go."
Detroit took a 3-1 lead into the third period after Larkin put away a pair of goals in the opening frame and Fabbri added to the cushion midway through the second period.
The visitors piled on in the third, scoring three times in seven minutes and 12 seconds.
Lindstrom boosted the lead to 4-1 just 40 seconds into the frame. Rasmussen collected the puck at the side of the net, tried a wraparound shot before Lindstrom finally jammed the puck in for his first goal of the season.
Suter added to the lead 5:19 into the frame when he blasted a shot past Delia from the low slot and Berggren sealed the score 7:52 into the third, collecting a slick pass from Joe Veleno and tapping it in backdoor to make it 6-1 with his 11th goal of the campaign.
“I think we’ve got to be better than what we showed in the third period," said Vancouver defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. "I thought we were in the game at one point there, 3-1, a shot away to be right back in it.
"And they came out and they (score), so we have to manage the game a little bit better in the third to kind of hang around a little bit and get our chances. But we couldn’t do that."
The Canucks had ample opportunity to grind out another goal in the second with a pair of power plays, but couldn't capitalize with the man advantage.
Detroit was a perfect 1-for-1 with the man advantage while Vancouver went 0-for-4.
Vancouver was awarded a penalty shot with 59.4 seconds left on the game clock when Husso was called for delay of game when the net came down over his back as Elias Pettersson tried to jam a shot in from the side.
Depth forward Phillip Di Giuseppe skated in and sent a quick wrist shot off the goalie's blocker.
MSU SHOOTING 'SOBERING': LARKIN
Larkin said he and his teammates learned about a fatal shooting at Michigan State University as they walked back into the locker room after Monday's game.
"We're all just pretty, pretty devastated by it and our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, all the students, all the families," he said, his voice breaking. "Just very sad … and it just hurts the heart and we feel for everyone involved.
"I know tonight was a win but it's kind of hard to talk about anything else. We're all thinking about our home state right now.”
UPS AND DOWNS
Vancouver placed goalie Spencer Martin on waivers for assignment to the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks on Monday. The 27-year-old has an 11-15-1 record with a 3.99 goals-against average and a .871 save percentage this season. Starting netminder Thatcher Demko has been out with a lower-body injury since Dec. 1, but is expected to return soon.
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY
Vancouver held its second annual Black History Month game. Celebrations included warm-up jerseys designed by Ethiopian-Canadian artist Yared Nigussu and a ceremonial puck drop featuring pioneering players Alton White, John Craighead, and the Canucks manager of minor hockey, Rod Brathwaite.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
Red Wings: Continue a four-game road swing against the Oilers in Edmonton on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2023.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
