Canucks Coffee: Canucks should unplug, unwind, take solace from successful road trip

Unplug and unwind.

It’s sage advice for anyone getting a needed break from the work grind to celebrate the Christmas season.

Ditching the smartphone for at least a few days is a smart choice, especially if you have a connection — either devotion or disillusionment — to the suddenly resilient and always something-is-amiss Vancouver Canucks.

And if you’re a Canucks player, the temptation to scroll through social media in a hockey-mad market after an encouraging run of four wins in five road games should be tempered by knowing trolls are always out there.

So, let’s make a reasonable assessment of where the Canucks are at.

Following a 5-2 loss in Philadelphia on Monday, a game in which Thatcher Demko kept the Canucks from being blown out early, perspective is required. A trip that started without the traded Quinn Hughes and ended with some optimism for a club running on fumes — five games jammed into nine days invites fatigue and injury — ended with more anticipation than angst.

“It was a good trip, especially with all the (trade) movement and everything that happened,” summed up Canucks head coach Adam Foote. “It’s good to see that the resiliency paid off (four wins) and the guys were trying tonight. They were just missing a little.

“They (Flyers) had more juice than us — their legs were going. They got inside ice on us and got to the net. That was the difference. We just ran out of gas and that team was ready to go. We didn’t have the jump. We were slow and we’re not a slow team.”

That can be fixed with rest, readiness and resolve.

However, the problems that existed before the Hughes blockbuster trade that landed Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick are still there. The Canucks are struggling to score and two third-period efforts Monday won’t calm the concern.

They were outshot 155-108 over the five road games and averaging 21.6 shots per outing isn’t going to get it done most nights. On Monday, the Canucks had 24 shots, but another dozen were blocked and 15 missed the net. The looks are there. The execution isn’t.

And it’s not just that the Canucks rank 26th with 2.78 goals per outing and 63 even-strength goals, it’s that the big guns have gone silent.

Brock Boeser has gone 11 games without scoring and has one goal in his last 18 outings. He had one shot against the Flyers, had another blocked and two went wide. That’s the sign of lost confidence for a gunner. Boeser needs to get greasy. Set a screen, tip a puck, or have one go in off his butt. Anything to lighten the mood.

It’s the same for Jake DeBrusk. He has one goal in his last 15 games. The winger had a couple of power play chances Monday — a backhand attempt and wrap-around effort — but is clearly snake-bitten. Same recipe may apply here. Establish a better down-low net presence. Fish for rebounds or get in position for a deflection.

As for defending, the Canucks have been been better but were running on fumes Monday. They were late with reads and reactions and chased the game, which only invited more fatigue. But the school of hard knocks is a valuable lesson to lessen mistakes and increase potential.

And exiting the zone now without the get-out-of-jail card that was Quinn Hughes has often led to plodding zigzag Pacman puck progressions.

However, the promise of impressive Zeev Buium, 20, the fleet-footed Tom Willander, 20, and aggressive Elias Pettersson, 21, are examples of how the Canucks can counter in transition to not only exit smartly, but join the rush to cause matchup confusion for the opposition.

Anything that can provide another offensive element is crucial because the Canucks aren’t going anywhere with a pop-gun offence.

With a back end that’s younger, more mobile, bigger and better, fire-drill defending moments should be more rare. And those no-look or seam passes that find the open man at the far post will be better defended through repetitions. It’s a hard way to learn through trial and error, but that’s how you grow as a collective unit.

Injuries haven’t helped because you also need veteran forwards tracking back in support to suppress the attack.

“We had 10 guys out at once and four centres up the middle that are in a new system and that’s part of it,” Foote said Monday. “And we’ve got a young defence. We still had two goals in two games (on this trip) of not recognizing the backdoor play. We can go over it with video, but it’s one of those things with young D that you have to learn the hard way.

“You can talk about it, you can see it, but until you experience it, you’ll know when they’re playing. These guys are pretty smart. They’re very creative. They’ll drop behind you, and you might think they’re not there, but it happens quick. We’re getting better at it for sure.

“It’s just reps and guys getting used to playing at this level. Things are happening a lot faster are you can’t have pauses in your game. It’s coming. We’re getting better.”

And that should make for a Merry Christmas.

bkuzma@postmedia.com