Pettersson invisible, lack of effort, and more: 3 reasons why Vancouver Canucks were shut out 2-0 by Carolina Hurricanes

The Vancouver Canucks were blanked 2-0 by the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night at PNC Arena. Dustin Tokarski made 14 saves to earn the clean sheet as the Canucks were unable to get their offense going against a stingy Hurricanes defense.

Jordan Staal notched two points (1G, 1A), with Andrei Svechnikov also scoring for the Carolina Hurricanes. Meanwhile, Thatcher Demko made 18 saves in the losing effort.

So, here’s a look at the three key reasons why the Vancouver Canucks were shut out by the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.

3 reasons why Vancouver Canucks were shut out by Carolina Hurricanes

#3 Ice cold power play

The Vancouver Canucks went 0-for-3 with the man advantage against the Hurricanes, failing to generate high-danger chances.

With the Canucks’ lack of scoring chances 5-on-5, the ice-cold power play became an even more significant factor in the loss. Specifically, the Canucks had two chances in the third period, which could have led to the Canucks at least getting back into the game.

Instead, the Canucks failed to score on both Jalen Chatfield penalties, paving the way for Tokarski’s third-career shutout.

#2 Lack of effort

The Vancouver Canucks are in a four-game losing streak, showing an increasingly lower competitive level with every game.

The Canucks failed to show any kind of consistent effort on Friday night, managing just 14 shots on goal. During the third period, the Canucks were outshot 8-5. The lack of effort underscored how easy Vancouver made it for a grinding, defense-first Hurricanes to shut them down.

#1 Pettersson invisible in return

Elias Pettersson made his return to the Vancouver Canucks’ lineup on Friday night. However, he was largely invisible.

Pettersson played over 20 minutes on the night, failing to register a shot on goal in 25 shifts. He failed to generate offense, skating around the ice for most of the night, trying to look for loose pucks or rebounds.

The lack of drive on Pettersson’s part was the tip of the iceberg as other top-six forwards like J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk all failed to get any kind of traction against the Hurricanes.

Moreover, captain Quinn Hughes played an astounding 28:57 on the night over 26 shifts, but managed just one shot on goal, ending the night a -1. Despite overplaying Hughes, the team was unable to generate much offense.

The Canucks won’t have much time to rebound as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena. The Canucks will be looking to snap their losing skid against the Atlantic Division-leading Leafs.