The Vancouver Canucks lost their first six games of the season and their fans sent them a clear message of dissatisfaction on Saturday in a loss to the Buffalo Sabers.
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As the hometown club was beaten 5-1 in their home opener, fans at Rogers Arena threw team jerseys onto the ice to express their annoyance. In fact, three vests had to be picked up in the last twenty. Certainly, this is a scene that Captain Bo Horvat did not want to witness again.
“My jersey was thrown on the ice last year and as long as I play, I will never forget that. This type of gesture touches you and it’s really sad to have experienced this again. However, I understand their frustration,” he told Sportsnet.
“We didn’t give them much to applaud,” he added. There have been several stages of reconstruction and there, at this stage of the year, it looks like we will never win again.
Fishtail ends
The Vancouver crowd didn’t appreciate seeing the Canucks once again crumble in the third period, although this time they didn’t hold the lead. They conceded three goals in that engagement and in 2022-23 they were outscored 15-1 after the first 40 minutes of a game.
“It’s guaranteed, given the way we play, especially towards the end of the game,” admitted forward Curtis Lazar of the virulent reaction from the fans. In each confrontation, we had an opportunity to win and our answer was not there. We have to find the sense of urgency to act and be together in this locker room.
“People are passionate and it’s an advantage to play here. They want an immediate reaction and so do we. We can talk about the outside stuff, the amateurs and everything that is said about us, except that in the end everything is decided with what we have in this group, he chained. We believe we are betting on a good team, a lot better than what we have shown. But it has often been said: words are one thing, actions are another.
Promotion for a Quebecer
In addition, defender Guillaume Brisebois was recalled from the Abbotsford farm club on Monday, a few hours before the game scheduled for the evening against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Quebecer will take the place of Tucker Poolman in the formation. He was injured during the Oct. 15 game against the Philadelphia Flyers. During the last campaign, he missed several games due to migraines.
To return to Brisebois, he played 10 career games in the National League, but only one in 2021-2022.