Canucks: 3 takeaways from the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 defeat by the Los Angeles Kings

The Vancouver Canucks had a chance to regain the top spot in the NHL standings during their Thursday night contest with the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena.

However, the scrappy visitors handed Vancouver their fifth loss in the last six games, 5-1, allowing the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins to leapfrog them.

Considering the Kings are fighting for their playoff lives, maintaining a wild card spot, Vancouver should have asserted their dominance over their division rival but instead didn't put up much of an effort in the beginning before crumbling at the end.

Although Brock Boeser tallied his 35th goal of the season while collecting a point in his sixth consecutive game, there are some topics to discuss regarding their recent slump, extended another night.

3 takeaways from the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 defeat by the Los Angeles Kings

#1 A slow start by the Canucks was a major setback

Just 16 seconds into Thursday night's contest, Arshdeep Bains took a tripping penalty, forcing the Canucks to deploy their special teams on the first shift of the game.

Although the Kings didn't score on the man advantage, the penalty disrupted the game's flow for Vancouver, who finished the first period with just three shots on goal. Luckily, the Canucks were only down 1-0 after the first 20 minutes because it was shaping up to be a long night.

Thankfully, they bounced back in the middle frame but still gave up another goal to spend the first two periods chasing the play on the ice and the scoreboard.

After Boeser scored a powerplay goal in the third period to get the Canucks within one, they gave up three goals in 11 minutes to let the game slip away. Despite being the more physical team (33-24), Vancouver couldn't get shots on goal, with the Kings blocking 23 additional attempts.

Sometimes, when teams are in a slump, the bad bounces continue, which happened on Thursday. After a tripping penalty, Vancouver struggled to get their game going, and in the end, it cost them a golden opportunity for two points.

#2 What happened to Elias Lindholm?

On Jan. 31, the Canucks traded a first-round draft pick, a fourth-round draft pick, and three roster players to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Elias Lindholm.

After a sluggish start to the season in Alberta, Lindholm had 32 points in 49 games with nine goals and 23 assists. He was also minus eight on a team that spent most of the season hovering outside the playoff picture.

On Thursday, he played his 13th game as a member of the Canucks, and outside of his two-goal performances on Feb. 6 and Feb. 15, he's been hardly noticeable, with just six points and a minus-five rating.

Against the Kings, Lindholm played 17:31, just 16 seconds less than Elias Pettersson, and won 57.1% of his faceoff to lead the team in that category.

In 2021-22, Lindholm had 42 goals and 40 assists and won't even come close to the totals in 2023-24, just months before becoming a free agent. As one of the elite skaters who switched teams ahead of the NHL trade deadline, he's been a disappointment in Vancouver.

If the Canucks brought him over to win faceoffs, that's great; he's averaging 57.1% in 13 games. But as a top-six player, Lindholm needs to start contributing offensively (one shot on Thursday) or risk being run out of town in the spring.

#3 Slumps come and go, and so do bad habits

The Canucks vaulted to the top of the NHL standings thanks to a 14-2-3 run from Jan. 2 to Feb. 15. They outscored opponents by a 67-49 margin and collected 12 powerplay goals to help boost their special teams numbers.

However, they have recently hit a wall, dropping contests to the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and Seattle Kraken. Moreover, they blew a 5-2 lead to the Wild on Feb. 19, resulting in a 10-7 loss.

Their only recent win came against the Bruins, which took overtime to achieve. During this 1-5-1 slump, they have been outscored 33-19, which means the team is developing bad habits on both ends of the ice.

Considering the Canucks are fighting for the top spot in the NHL and the Western Conference, they shouldn't be losing this many games in a short time at this stage of the season.

The Kings are fighting to claim a playoff spot, while Vancouver has established itself as a top team and is almost in danger of missing the postseason. Ultimately, Thursday night should have been a layup game, but a slow start and inability to execute kept them away from securing two valuable points.

It's not going to get any easier for the Canucks as they hit the road for a rematch with the Kings and Vegas Golden Knights. Even though this is a minor bump in the road, they are playing some of their worst hockey, and it needs to end before it costs them everything they've worked for so far.