What Happened
The Vancouver Canucks have opened the first full season of their rebuild with the worst 20-game stretch of the salary-cap era. At 3-16-1, Vancouver's .175 points percentage equals the lowest by any NHL team through 20 games since the cap was introduced in 2005, and its 16 regulation losses are the most by any club at this stage in nearly three decades. The Canucks are 1-8 at home, with their lone home victory coming on Oct. 3. Their latest low point was a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, a game in which Vancouver recorded six shots through two periods against the NHL's third-worst team. Head coach Manny Malhotra had cautioned in September that process would matter more than results. "There's a very big difference between losing games, which is inevitable. . . and playing losing hockey," Malhotra told reporters on the eve of training camp.
"There's a very big difference between losing games, which is inevitable. . . and playing losing hockey," head coach Manny Malhotra told reporters on the eve of training camp in September.
Key Details
- Vancouver's 3-16-1 record equals a .175 points percentage, the worst 20-game mark by any NHL team since 2005.
- The Canucks' 16 regulation losses are the most by any team at this point in a season in nearly three decades.
- Vancouver is 1-8 on home ice, with its only home win on Oct. 3.
- The Canucks lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, managing six shots through two periods.
- Vancouver opened the season 2-1 before losing 16 of its next 17 games.
- The club's minus-34 goal differential, inflated by poor special teams, is better than most of the worst first-quarter teams in NHL history.
What It Means
The numbers confirm just how deep the rebuild's first-quarter hole is. A .175 points percentage and 16 regulation losses in 20 games put Vancouver on a historic pace for futility, and the home record of 1-8 underscores the lack of results in front of their own fans. The one mitigating factor is the minus-34 goal differential, which is better than most of the worst first-quarter teams in NHL history, suggesting the Canucks have been competitive in many games even as the losses mount. Poor special teams have inflated that differential.