3 least impressive Vancouver Canucks players 5-1 shellacking by Pittsburgh Penguins ft. Kevin Lankinen

The Vancouver Canucks were on the wrong end of a 5-1 shellacking at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at the PPG Paints Arena.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby became the franchise’s all-time scoring leader, passing Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for most regular-season and playoff points.

Crosby scored his fourth of the season, with Tommy Novak, Anthony Mathan, Connor Dewar, and Justin Brazeau adding the others for the Penguins. Meanwhile, Conor Garland opened the scoring for the Vancouver Canucks. However, that would be all of the offense the team would get.

So, here’s a look at the three least impressive Vancouver Canucks players from their loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

3 least impressive Vancouver Canucks players from loss to Pittsburgh Penguins

#3 Quinn Hughes

The Vancouver Canucks captain was on the ice for over 25 minutes on Tuesday night. However, he was also part of multiple Penguins’ goals. In particular, his role in the Sidney Crosby tally left much to be desired.

Here’s a look:

The play came off the draw, with Hughes getting beaten on the play. That allowed Crosby to walk in front of the net and rip a shot from the slot.

Hughes ended the night with two shots on goal and no blocks.

#2 Marcus Pettersson

The Vancouver Canucks blueliner didn’t have the best game of his career on Tuesday night. He hit the ice for nearly 18 minutes across 23 shifts. However, he struggled to contain the Penguins’ forwards all night.

Here’s a look at one such example:

Pettersson was unable to prevent Malkin from centering the puck to the front of the net. Mantha, crashing the crease, was able to get a tip-in without much hindrance from the other Canucks defenders.

Had Pettersson prevented Malkin from making the pass, the goal could have been prevented. Instead, the Penguins blew the doors off the game, making it 4-1 at the time.

#1 Kevin Lankinen

The usually reliable Lankinen had his worst outing of the season. He surrendered five goals on 26 shots. While all five goals cannot be pinned solely on Lankinen, he didn’t make key saves when the game was still within the Canucks’ grasp.

As such, the Penguins blew the game open, making it impossible for Vancouver to close the gap and get back into the game.

The Canucks will have a chance to start another winning streak as they visit the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.

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Edited by Nestor Quixtan