3 least impressive Vancouver Canucks players from 5-2 loss to Minnesota Wild ft. Elias Pettersson

The Vancouver Canucks dropped a 5-2 decision against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center. With the win, the Wild snapped a five-game skid.

Vladimir Tarasenko had a three-point performance, with Marco Rossi, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jonas Brodin, and Ryan Hartman (EN) scoring for Minnesota. Meanwhile, Drew O’Connor scored twice for the Vancouver Canucks.

Thatcher Demko made 22 saves for the Canucks in the losing effort.

So, here’s a look at the three least impressive Vancouver Canucks players from their loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

3 least impressive Vancouver Canucks players from loss to Minnesota Wild

#3 Pierre-Oliver Joseph

The Vancouver Canucks blueliner had a less-than-stellar game on Saturday night. He skated for a team-low 14:28 among defensemen across 19 shifts.

Unfortunately, Joseph was on the wrong end of a costly gaffe by the entire club. That play led to Marco Rossi’s go-ahead goal. Here’s a look:

The play started with Elias Pettersson getting kicked out of the face-off circle. That situation forced Jake DeBrusk to take the draw. DeBrusk lost the puck, allowing it to come back to the point. The shot got through traffic, with DeBrusk unable to block it.

The loose puck ended up on the doorstep, where Rossi hammered the puck home. Joseph was clearly too late to the puck, facilitating the goal for Rossi.

#2 Tyler Myers

Another Vancouver Canucks defenseman looked terrible at times. But in one particular instance, Tyler Myers got burned to a crisp. The play occurred early in the third period with the game 2-1 in favor of the Wild.

Here’s a look at the play:

Hinostroza took the puck from his own end and sailed up the ice. There, a flat-footed Tyler Myers made a weak effort to stop the Wild forward from heading into the Vancouver zone.

The puck ended up in the back of the net, with Myers looking like he was skating on molasses. The Canucks blueliner hit the ice for over 10 minutes across 21 shifts. While he had three shots on goal, he did not register a point.

#1 Elias Pettersson

The Canucks top-line center was missing in action on Saturday night. Elias Pettersson played nearly 22 minutes, but could not generate any offense. He did not get a shot on goal, while ending the night a minus-2.

His role in the Rossi goal was just one example of Pettersson’s ongoing inconsistent play. The Canucks will need Pettersson to maintain a strong on-ice presence as the club looks to get back into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.

The Canucks will be back in action on Monday night as they take on the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

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Edited by Nestor Quixtan