3 takeaways from a complete effort that fell short in Vancouver

This game was so long ago it feels like it could have happened last year. Without the best player on the team, the Carolina Hurricanes performed admirably. With their third-period efforts falling short due to a poor first two sessions. It was an infuriating game and it annoyed fans the world over as it was not the Canes team we had come to expect.

In the first period, they looked to edge the Canucks, but Vancouver’s ability to put the puck in the net was the difference as their forwards made the most out of the chances they had. It wasn’t a good performance in any fashion of the word. The team was painfully underwhelming in the first 40 minutes and went bankrupt when throwing the house at the Canucks at the end of the game.

It got more even as the game went on. Considering this was a back-to-back set with travel across Western Canada, the lack of the result can be excused a little bit. With the team moving across from Alberta to British Canada, it can be forgiven that the team was not at the level we expect. With that in mind, that does not excuse the first 40 minutes.

With no Sebastian Aho, this game highlighted the dependency that has built up on the Finnish centerman. It was not a good performance. If the team is truly that dependant on Aho to dictate the tempo of the offense, then this team is an injury away to the center from being a complete rebuilder. Aho really is that important, but if the team can’t cope without him, they’re about to sink like a stone.