As the NHL season begins, Rick Tocchet is still searching for one element of his Vancouver Canucks: consistency.

The head coach challenged his group to play a full 60-minute game on Monday as they hosted the Carolina Hurricanes.

Instead, the Canucks fell behind 3-1 early in the second period and had to rally to tie the game at 3-3 late in the third. Ultimately, Vancouver settled for just one point in a 4-3 overtime loss.

“You just have to stay focused on the task at hand. You can’t have these lulls. I think sometimes we lose focus at a certain point in the game and then the next line loses focus,” Tocchet said.

“If someone had a bad shift, I understand. Or maybe there are two bad shifts. We need that third shift to get back to what we’re talking about. You don’t can’t pour gasoline on the fire But we had a regulatory defeat, so it’s not horrible.

Consistency is a factor the Canucks (4-1-3) need to address now, early in the season, before it hampers their place in the standings, the coach said.

“If you don’t play well, you could lose three, four or five in a row if you’re not careful,” Tocchet warned.

Carolina outshot Vancouver 13-5 in the first period Monday and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Captain Quinn Hughes admitted the Canucks were “a little bit on their heels” in the first 30 minutes, but said they had some looks and pushed in the second half of the game.

“We’re eight games in…and I think we’ve played good hockey for the most part,” said Hughes, who scored to cut Vancouver’s deficit to 3-2 midway through the third period.

“And we just have to stay in the process and keep doing what we’re doing.”

Vancouver built a reputation last season for coming back into games, particularly in its first-round playoff series against the Predators.

Kevin Lankinen witnessed those comebacks from the Nashville bench as the Preds’ backup goaltender. Now a starter in Vancouver, the Finnish goaltender said the Canucks should never be excluded.

“I think with this team anything is possible, especially at Rogers Arena,” Lankinen said. “I feel like when we have the crowd on our side, it’s a really tough building to play in as an opposing team. And tonight we showed we had some momentum in the third .

“We also have some really special skills, and guys that can step up in big moments and make big plays. So I think that showed tonight.”

Vancouver is now 3-0-2 when leading after two periods this season, and 0-1-1 when trailing heading into the third.

Even though it’s early in the campaign, consistency is a goal every team in the league is looking for, said left winger Jake DeBrusk.

“That’s what you work toward throughout the year, let alone the playoffs. That’s what you want as an end product,” he said. “But in saying that, obviously, I think the starts come from us. We just have to be ready to play.”

POWER PLAY PROBLEMS

Vancouver’s power play looked strong to open the season, going 2-for-4 in the campaign opener. It has failed since then, with just three goals in 21 man advantage over the last seven games. The Canucks’ power play went 0-for-3 on Monday.

“We’re going to have to make some changes. I’m not working hard enough, I’m very indifferent,” Tocchet said. “(Carolina) is a high-pressure team. We had rare moments where we got a few looks. …But I thought a few guys there were playing slow. You can’t play slow against high (penalty) pressure, you just can’t.

STILL STRICES

The Canucks have points in their last five games (4-0-1) and will look to extend that streak to six when they host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 29, 2024.