VANCOUVER– Bruce Boudreau has the backing of Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin despite an 0-5-2 start to the season under the sophomore coach.
Allvin met with the media Wednesday to discuss the Canucks being the only winless team in the NHL and what it will take to change that.
The slow start, in which Vancouver became the first team in NHL history to give up multiple goal leads in its first four games, has led to speculation that Boudreau, who replaced Travis Green as coach on 5 December, could be fired.
The Canucks were outscored 15-2 in the third period this season.
However, Allvin said he was supportive of Boudreau and the coaching staff.
“Yeah, day one coaching staff, we have good communication and we’re working together and we’re going to find a way out of this,” Allvin said. “I’m the general manager so I’m as responsible as the coaches and the players and we all work together. I see the hard work the coaching staff do every day and my job is to always look at options to get better. and support them.”
Allvin also gave a vote of confidence to the Canucks’ top young players.
“I definitely have faith in this young core,” he said. “We have a lot of young and good players here. I believe we are the sixth youngest team in the League on the opening night list, so I really think this young group still has a lot to learn. and part of it is dealing with the diversity here and how they come out of it.”
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As for a series of injuries that include the best defender Quinn Hughes (lower body) has missed the last two games and has already seen 10 defensemen enter the lineup, Allvin wasn’t ready to use that as an excuse. Instead, he stressed that his best forwards needed to do a better job of supporting a depleted defence.
“I think the players coming in have shown they are capable,” he said. “I don’t think that’s been a problem. We have to have our best players to buy and be the best players every day you walk in here at the rink, and I think that’s the difference right now.”
Centers Bo Horvat (four goals), JT Miller (four) and Elias Pettersson (three) have combined for 11 of Vancouver’s 18 goals this season; no other player has more than two.
The Canucks rank 28th in the NHL in goals per game (2.57) and 28th in goals against per game (4.29). They have allowed at least four goals in five of their seven games.
Vancouver had mixed news on the injury front on Wednesday.
Hughes skated, according to Boudreau, and the frontline forward Brock Boeser was scheduled to skate Thursday after missing a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday with an undisclosed injury.
“I’m pretty sure Hughes will play next week,” Boudreau said. “He was on the ice this morning and he felt much better. It’s not long term injuries with these guys.
Center Curtis Lazar, however, will miss 3-4 weeks with an undisclosed injury he suffered. Vancouver called forwards Sheldon dry and William Lockwood of the American Hockey League before back-to-back games at the Seattle Kraken on Thursday and at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
The Canucks also got off to a slow start last season; they were 8-15-2 before firing coach Green and general manager Jim Benning on Dec. 5. They finished on a 32-15-10 streak under Boudreau that raised expectations despite missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons. . But Allvin, who was hired Jan. 26, expressed concerns after the season about a lack of defensive structure, poor 5-on-5 play and an overreliance on goaltender Thatcher Demko.
Despite his support for Boudreau, he repeated those concerns on Wednesday.
“I think teams started taking us lightly,” Allvin said of the late-season surge. “It was something we wanted to address at the start of the season and part of it was finding more structure and accountability in the systems game. We’re a talented team but we have to get this team and this group to play together as a band and a team.”
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