The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Saturday thanks to their own strong play, but there’s no denying that their opponents laid an egg tonight.
Such a drubbing led to some serious soul-searching after the game.
"[At the start] we pushed a little too hard offensively and got caught,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “If we’re getting scored on like that there needs to be adjustments system-wide. It’s on the coaches, not the players.”
Henrik Sedin backed up that sentiment, stating that the Canucks got burned because they were “gambling out there to create chances.”
Mats Zuccarello’s first of two goals is one of the better examples:
Henrik Sedin provided some telling and troubling quotes to PHT’s Cam Tucker, too.
#Canucks Henrik Sedin on defensive lapses: "I think we've done that for a couple games where we haven't played up to our standards."
— Cam Tucker (@CamTucker_Sport) December 14, 2014
Henrik Sedin: "We've been in the other games, which has been hiding our mistakes. Tonight we paid." #Canucks
— Cam Tucker (@CamTucker_Sport) December 14, 2014
The Canucks have now lost four in a row and five of seven games, so it’s time for Desjardins, Sedin and the rest of the team to find some answers.