The Vancouver Canucks held a players-only meeting following their 6-4 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.
The Canucks held a 4-2 lead going into the third period, but allowed four unanswered goals while trailing 10-4 in shots.
“I think we had a great second period and I think the game plan for the third period was good,” Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau said after the loss, according to NHL.com. But it seems like we started falling apart and we were afraid to win. They attacked us pretty well, and we just didn’t handle it very well.
“I think that right now, a mental weakness would be a good assessment,” added Boudreau. When you’re on a roll, you expect good things to happen. When you’re in something like this, you expect something bad to happen. ”
The Canucks, who will face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth of a five-game road series to start the season, have been outscored 14-9 in goals since the start of the campaign. The team squandered a multi-goal lead in each of its three losses to start the season, becoming the first team in NHL history to do so.
“It’s been three games in a row now that we’ve been off the hook and it’s just not acceptable for us, it’s not acceptable for me and my leadership,” Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. I feel responsible, I have to be better. Luckily we play [mardi] evening, so we have to have a short-term memory and go out there and do it. ”
The Canucks also had a slow start to the season last year, posting a 3-5-1 record in the first month of the season under Travis Green, who was later replaced by Boudreau. Vancouver has missed the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons.
