[Edited] Bottom 5 Finish Now in Reach!

[FijianCanuck]

32 minutes ago, khay said:

You are right. It's not going to be easy. But one of those teams isn't really 6-8 games above .500.

 

Montreal is 6-0-3 against us so, 8-8-6 against the rest of the division, exactly at .500.

 

We are 3-5-1 against Montreal so, 13-11-2 against the rest of the division, two games over .500 despite the horrible start.

 

We are basically in this mess because of our struggles against Montreal.

 

The good news is we don't play them anymore so we can't gift them more points. Bad news is we don't play them anymore so no more 4 point games and we can't help ourselves to catch them.

 

We need Montreal to play below .500 and I think they will. Montreal's record isn't as good as it seems against the rest of the division as I pointed out, combined with tough schedule? To see how tough Montreal's schedule is, they need to play 27 games in the next 48 days and it includes 4 back-to-backs and playing every other night. On the contrary, we have 2 back-to-backs left.

 

The best scenario is if Toronto goes 4-2-0 or better against Montreal, Montreal basically loses their games in hands on us giving us a chance to catch them. Another possibility is Calgary beating Montreal but as you said, that puts Calgary above us and we don't want Calgary going 5-0-0 against the Habs. But, we still have 4 games left against them to help ourselves against Calgary so we still want Calgary to stop Habs taking >= 5 points out of 10 points.

 

Anyhow, the point is that I think the Habs are going to miss the playoffs and it will be us or Calgary that makes it in. We just have to duke it out against Calgary for that final spot. By the time we come out of 1-week break to play against Calgary, the two teams will have played the same number of games although Calgary is likely to have 3-5 points more than us. And, as fate has it, the last game of the season is against the Flames. Wouldn't it be exciting if the last playoff spot came down to that one game and we beat them to get in? That would be epic.

 

I think despite our terrible start, the boys have done well to compete and made it more interesting. I think there still is a path to the playoffs although it will be hard.

 

I'm more worried about whether we can maintain this pace because of the dumb defensive style that the coaches have the players playing. Can our team continue to play this wretched defensive style and players avoid injuries and extreme fatigue to finish this stretch run? Can Demko continue to play over .930 save percentage? And how will we fare in the upcoming 7 game road trip? 

 

Habs need Price to play above average. He has not looked good at all this season. He has a good game then a few crappy ones after. Jake Allen might have to be their savior. 

[Primal Optimist]

On 2/18/2021 at 12:33 PM, Provost said:

Edit:  as of 26 February, the odds sit around 2.5%.  No team has ever come back from under 4%.  All the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the first few pages by folks can be moved on from by any reasonable person.  In reality though, we were always going to lose 3 games eventually and other teams we were chasing them would win some.  It just happened quickly.

We now have 21 games left on the season. We have won 7 of the last ten and are a .500 club with a 7-2-1 record, the best last ten record in the division. That won't hold up mind you, but it is nice to see.

 

Games in hand are tricky things, but all the teams ahead of us have some. From 1 g.i.h. to 4, the four clubs above us 2, 3, 7 and 7 points ahead of us respectively.

To take advantage of games in hand they will have to win them.

 

past games : Opponent : games remaining

W Jan 30th, L Feb 19th, L Feb 21st, W Mar 1st, L Mar 2nd  WPG March 22, March 24th, April 4th, April 6th  :2W's 3L's, 4 g.r.

L Jan 16th, L Jan 18th, L Feb 11th, W Feb 13th, L Feb 15th, W Feb 17th, CGY March 31st, April 8th, April 10th, May 8th :2W's 4L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 13th, L Jan 14th, L Feb 23rd, L Feb 25th, W Mar 13th EDM April 3rd, April 12th, April 14th, May 4th, May 5th :2W's 3L's, 5 g.r.

L Feb 4th, L Feb 6th, L Feb 8th, W Mar 4th, W Mar 6th, TOR April 17th, April 19th, April 30th, May 1st :2W's 3L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 25th, W Jan 27th, W Jan 28th, W Mar 15th, W Mar 17th OTT April 22nd, April 24th, April 26th, April 28th  :5W's 0L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 20th, L Jan 21st, L Jan 23rd, L Feb 1st, L Feb 2nd, W Mar 8th, L Mar 10th, W Mar 19th, L Mar 20th  MTL  :3W's 6L's, 0 g.r.

 

Jan 6 wins, 5 losses

Feb 2 wins, 9 losses, 2 ot losses

Mar 8 wins 2 losses 1 shoot out loss

 

STandings based list:

Toronto, won just 4 of their last ten. Giants for sure at the top of the standings, but unbeatable? not by a long shot. Peak Toronto may have already passed by.

Edmonton, I think here is the part to watch. Can we beat Edmonton at least 3 of the 5 remaining games? our playoff chances live and die by these 5 games, imo.

Winnipeg, We will know more literally in two games time and we will be done with the Jets at the end of the first week of April. Immediacy is a word, the canucks NEED W's.

Montreal, we are done with unless we have to meet in the playoffs, which i propose is not likely. I think Montreal fades out as Vancouver takes over the 4th spot.

Calgary, 4 games remaining, one being the last game of the year, and one at the end of this month. Hope we can win the two in April and it seems likely.

Ottawa, at the other end of the spectrum from Montreal, we have 4 games remaining and likely to win three of them as the expected result.

 

Conclussion: February seemed likely to sink the Canucks as was pointed out well by others in the thread we would need to overcome historically unbeatable odds to come back to the playoffs after February's standings were in the books. Enter an 8-2-1 March Record to the rescue! Best in Division in March. Let us hope and wait to see if the final 3 games of March end the way the rest has gone. Could we go 10-2-2 or 10-3-1 for all of march? Bonus two of them are against our 'betters' in the standings. 

 

April has 14 games, seemingly every second day all month with just 2 two day breaks tossed in there. The boys have a week off after these Winnipeg games, and that break for physical health and rest, along with the mental health break of the pressure may be perfect for what we are about to face in the coming month. a 600 record in April would mean about 17 points for the month.  Four of those 14 games are against Ottawa, hehe. 

 

EDIT: just a quick nod to home and away: we have 9 away games in April, 7 of them in a row to kick off the month. I think we can definatively state that 7 game road trip will determine our playoff chances. 3 Edm, 2 Wpg, 2 Cgy games. is 4 of 7 a success? I think we need 5 to have some margin for error in May.

 

I am pretty good with the idea that the Canucks can be the first team to come back from a statistical chance of less than 4% of making the playoffs as of the end of February, because now it would appear we just need to play at .600. A feat the club has done often in the pandemic bubble and outperformed in March just now already. 4th place is ours to lose, 3rd a little tougher, but ideal. 

 

Have a great Sunday Nucks Fans and while we can't plan the parade route, we can start to pencil in mid May Vancouver Hockey!!!!

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by Primal Optimist

[oldnews]

2 hours ago, Primal Optimist said:

We now have 21 games left on the season. We have won 7 of the last ten and are a .500 club with a 7-2-1 record, the best last ten record in the division. That won't hold up mind you, but it is nice to see.

 

Games in hand are tricky things, but all the teams ahead of us have some. From 1 g.i.h. to 4, the four clubs above us 2, 3, 7 and 7 points ahead of us respectively.

To take advantage of games in hand they will have to win them.

 

past games : Opponent : games remaining

W Jan 30th, L Feb 19th, L Feb 21st, W Mar 1st, L Mar 2nd  WPG March 22, March 24th, April 4th, April 6th  :2W's 3L's, 4 g.r.

L Jan 16th, L Jan 18th, L Feb 11th, W Feb 13th, L Feb 15th, W Feb 17th, CGY March 31st, April 8th, April 10th, May 8th :2W's 4L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 13th, L Jan 14th, L Feb 23rd, L Feb 25th, W Mar 13th EDM April 3rd, April 12th, April 14th, May 4th, May 5th :2W's 3L's, 5 g.r.

L Feb 4th, L Feb 6th, L Feb 8th, W Mar 4th, W Mar 6th, TOR April 17th, April 19th, April 30th, May 1st :2W's 3L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 25th, W Jan 27th, W Jan 28th, W Mar 15th, W Mar 17th OTT April 22nd, April 24th, April 26th, April 28th  :5W's 0L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 20th, L Jan 21st, L Jan 23rd, L Feb 1st, L Feb 2nd, W Mar 8th, L Mar 10th, W Mar 19th, L Mar 20th  MTL  :3W's 6L's, 0 g.r.

 

Jan 6 wins, 5 losses

Feb 2 wins, 9 losses, 2 ot losses

Mar 8 wins 2 losses 1 shoot out loss

 

STandings based list:

Toronto, won just 4 of their last ten. Giants for sure at the top of the standings, but unbeatable? not by a long shot. Peak Toronto may have already passed by.

Edmonton, I think here is the part to watch. Can we beat Edmonton at least 3 of the 5 remaining games? our playoff chances live and die by these 5 games, imo.

Winnipeg, We will know more literally in two games time and we will be done with the Jets at the end of the first week of April. Immediacy is a word, the canucks NEED W's.

Montreal, we are done with unless we have to meet in the playoffs, which i propose is not likely. I think Montreal fades out as Vancouver takes over the 4th spot.

Calgary, 4 games remaining, one being the last game of the year, and one at the end of this month. Hope we can win the two in April and it seems likely.

Ottawa, at the other end of the spectrum from Montreal, we have 4 games remaining and likely to win three of them as the expected result.

 

Conclussion: February seemed likely to sink the Canucks as was pointed out well by others in the thread we would need to overcome historically unbeatable odds to come back to the playoffs after February's standings were in the books. Enter an 8-2-1 March Record to the rescue! Best in Division in March. Let us hope and wait to see if the final 3 games of March end the way the rest has gone. Could we go 10-2-2 or 10-3-1 for all of march? Bonus two of them are against our 'betters' in the standings. 

 

April has 14 games, seemingly every second day all month with just 2 two day breaks tossed in there. The boys have a week off after these Winnipeg games, and that break for physical health and rest, along with the mental health break of the pressure may be perfect for what we are about to face in the coming month. a 600 record in April would mean about 17 points for the month.  Four of those 14 games are against Ottawa, hehe. 

 

EDIT: just a quick nod to home and away: we have 9 away games in April, 7 of them in a row to kick off the month. I think we can definatively state that 7 game road trip will determine our playoff chances. 3 Edm, 2 Wpg, 2 Cgy games. is 4 of 7 a success? I think we need 5 to have some margin for error in May.

 

I am pretty good with the idea that the Canucks can be the first team to come back from a statistical chance of less than 4% of making the playoffs as of the end of February, because now it would appear we just need to play at .600. A feat the club has done often in the pandemic bubble and outperformed in March just now already. 4th place is ours to lose, 3rd a little tougher, but ideal. 

 

Have a great Sunday Nucks Fans and while we can't plan the parade route, we can start to pencil in mid May Vancouver Hockey!!!!

 

Username checks out...(as does mine, lol).

I would hope 4th place is ours to lose but I think it might depend on a team currently in front of us having a signficant slide (otherwise it would take an epic run, or some pretty subtle good fortune)....

 

For me - the most fun scenario would be the Leafs having another couple weeks like they just have.  That would be priceless.  We gained 10 pts in 7 games on them (gave up one last night, so 9 in 8 games - but if they were to have another slide of those epic proportions - this could be one of the most fun seasons of all time lol. 

That last slide was initiated / or did coincide with a couple spankings by the Canucks...

 

Let's pencil in April 17 to March 1st as the continuation of the beginning of the end for the Leafs lol.  

 

I won't be banking on their total collapse, considering their ability to generally score their way out of the problems at times, but I'm still skeptical of their ability to play 'late season' hockey consistently - and they do have a history of flagging hard as the season progresses (in part, I believe, because of the way they've built their teams).  If we can dominate Calgary head to head and keep them behind us - while having another cinderalla stretch while the Leafs falter - one could not ask for more.

Jets, Habs, Oilers, Canucks in the playoffs - with one certain to go to a 'conference Final' - would be a sweet scenario. Or sub in Calgary for Edmonton - that may even me more fun.  Regardless of who comes out of the North though - I'll be getting behind that team in the final 4 (even if it's Toronto).  I want to see that Cup return to the North.

 

Anyhow - my 'expectations' remain tempered - to see the team play respectable, competitive hockey...I've been extremely impressed by their ability to go on this run, at the same time as suffering overlapping center injuries....if they can avoid any more injuries, Demko remain Demko, and continue to tread water until those guys return, it could get really interesting.

Edited March 21, 2021 by oldnews

[NewbieCanuckFan]

I just want Holtby to play respectable enough so Seattle selects him.  Serves several purposes.  One, to get that 4+ million cap hit off our books next season.  Two, means a player likely more impactful on the Canucks *long-term* doesn't get selected by Seattle.  And three, it means, in the near term, the Canucks benefit to hopefully challenge/win a spot in this season's playoffs.  Four, it'll give Demko more rest time.  I wouldn't have any other goalie in the NHL than Demko playing for us.  A well rested Demko playing at the top of his game, always gives us a chance (and I don't mean a Jim Carey chance).

Edited March 21, 2021 by NewbieCanuckFan

[DSVII]

1 hour ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

I just want Holtby to play respectable enough so Seattle selects him.  Serves several purposes.  One, to get that 4+ million cap hit off our books next season.  Two, means a player likely more impactful on the Canucks *long-term* doesn't get selected by Seattle.  And three, it means, in the near term, the Canucks benefit to hopefully challenge/win a spot in this season's playoffs.  Four, it'll give Demko more rest time.  I wouldn't have any other goalie in the NHL than Demko playing for us.  A well rested Demko playing at the top of his game, always gives us a chance (and I don't mean a Jim Carey chance).

I'm in the same boat. Love to see them take him and do us a solid but at this rate, I don't see why the Kraken selecting Holtby over say, Jake Allen or Khudobin. Both one million cheaper and a better recent track record of success.

 

Depending on how RFA negotiations go, we could be heading into next season with 7-8 mil spent in net. 

Edited March 21, 2021 by DSVII

[coryberg]

1 hour ago, DSVII said:

I'm in the same boat. Love to see them take him and do us a solid but at this rate, I don't see why the Kraken selecting Holtby over say, Jake Allen or Khudobin. Both one million cheaper and a better recent track record of success.

 

Depending on how RFA negotiations go, we could be heading into next season with 7-8 mil spent in net. 

Holtbys track record...

[RU SERIOUS]

Reality check as of March 21st (After the Montreal games);

 

We have a 13.9% chance of making the playoffs.     

Fingers crossed!

[philtbc829]

so as of yesterdays OT loss to the Habs....the Nucks have 21 games remaining and the Habs have 25 games remaining. ...So lets say the Habs only win 13 of the last 25 ...that gives them 63 points...so the Nucks will need to win 15 of their last 21 to clinch...and that is counting on the fact that the Flames crumble in the end and that the Leafs, Oilers, and Jets maintain...so I am only looking at the Habs....

In anycase that is a big ask, not impossible but damn near ....and IMHO they are not going to make it....it would be nice for them to finish above .500 and perhaps play spoilers until the end and smack the flames around a few more times 

[CanadianRugby]

7 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

I just want Holtby to play respectable enough so Seattle selects him.  

If Demko keeps playing half as good as he's been doing, Holtby isn't playing many games this season.  He's also owed most of his money later in his contract.  Wouldn't make any sense for Seattle to take him unfortunately.

[Toyotasfan]

The team has played pretty good after the Reverse Retro home losing streak. We will never see those jerseys again.

[CanadianRugby]

4 hours ago, coryberg said:

Holtbys track record...

What's your point?  If we're going by track records we should resign him with a raise. 

[Primal Optimist]

4 hours ago, coryberg said:

Holtbys track record...

I think fans are underestimating what mental health side effects, call it coping or not coping well, from covid issues has probably done to these young athletes. Young relative to me at 48 yrs at least. We are also a bit gun shy from the experience of EK's offense crawling up a hole and dying right after he signed with Vancouver. 

 

I don't think Holtby is as bad as this one weird season has canucks fans thinking. but he is also my backup tendy over in the fantasy hockey section of the site, haha, so I may be biased.

[DSVII]

 

9 hours ago, coryberg said:

Holtbys track record...

Somehow I don't think Kraken are gonna care about what he did three years ago and would care more about his sub 0.90 SV% this (as of Mar 21) and last season. I hope I am wrong and they do take his cap off our books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by DSVII

[IBatch]

It ain't over until ...

[IBatch]

8 hours ago, DSVII said:

 

Somehow I don't think Kraken are gonna care about what he did three years ago and would care more about his sub 0.90 SV% this (as of Mar 21) and last season. I hope I am wrong and they do take his cap off our books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping Holtby gets two or three games and shuts the door for us too.  After all that's what he's paid to do, and all this talk about how amazing Ian Clark is...so far meh on Holtby.   And on Holtby, a lot of the goals scored against him were tips, re-redirections and ones he couldn't see given the screening infront of him.    For the most part he's done enough to win games if we played better infront of him...

[IBatch]

23 hours ago, Primal Optimist said:

We now have 21 games left on the season. We have won 7 of the last ten and are a .500 club with a 7-2-1 record, the best last ten record in the division. That won't hold up mind you, but it is nice to see.

 

Games in hand are tricky things, but all the teams ahead of us have some. From 1 g.i.h. to 4, the four clubs above us 2, 3, 7 and 7 points ahead of us respectively.

To take advantage of games in hand they will have to win them.

 

past games : Opponent : games remaining

W Jan 30th, L Feb 19th, L Feb 21st, W Mar 1st, L Mar 2nd  WPG March 22, March 24th, April 4th, April 6th  :2W's 3L's, 4 g.r.

L Jan 16th, L Jan 18th, L Feb 11th, W Feb 13th, L Feb 15th, W Feb 17th, CGY March 31st, April 8th, April 10th, May 8th :2W's 4L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 13th, L Jan 14th, L Feb 23rd, L Feb 25th, W Mar 13th EDM April 3rd, April 12th, April 14th, May 4th, May 5th :2W's 3L's, 5 g.r.

L Feb 4th, L Feb 6th, L Feb 8th, W Mar 4th, W Mar 6th, TOR April 17th, April 19th, April 30th, May 1st :2W's 3L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 25th, W Jan 27th, W Jan 28th, W Mar 15th, W Mar 17th OTT April 22nd, April 24th, April 26th, April 28th  :5W's 0L's, 4 g.r.

W Jan 20th, L Jan 21st, L Jan 23rd, L Feb 1st, L Feb 2nd, W Mar 8th, L Mar 10th, W Mar 19th, L Mar 20th  MTL  :3W's 6L's, 0 g.r.

 

Jan 6 wins, 5 losses

Feb 2 wins, 9 losses, 2 ot losses

Mar 8 wins 2 losses 1 shoot out loss

 

STandings based list:

Toronto, won just 4 of their last ten. Giants for sure at the top of the standings, but unbeatable? not by a long shot. Peak Toronto may have already passed by.

Edmonton, I think here is the part to watch. Can we beat Edmonton at least 3 of the 5 remaining games? our playoff chances live and die by these 5 games, imo.

Winnipeg, We will know more literally in two games time and we will be done with the Jets at the end of the first week of April. Immediacy is a word, the canucks NEED W's.

Montreal, we are done with unless we have to meet in the playoffs, which i propose is not likely. I think Montreal fades out as Vancouver takes over the 4th spot.

Calgary, 4 games remaining, one being the last game of the year, and one at the end of this month. Hope we can win the two in April and it seems likely.

Ottawa, at the other end of the spectrum from Montreal, we have 4 games remaining and likely to win three of them as the expected result.

 

Conclussion: February seemed likely to sink the Canucks as was pointed out well by others in the thread we would need to overcome historically unbeatable odds to come back to the playoffs after February's standings were in the books. Enter an 8-2-1 March Record to the rescue! Best in Division in March. Let us hope and wait to see if the final 3 games of March end the way the rest has gone. Could we go 10-2-2 or 10-3-1 for all of march? Bonus two of them are against our 'betters' in the standings. 

 

April has 14 games, seemingly every second day all month with just 2 two day breaks tossed in there. The boys have a week off after these Winnipeg games, and that break for physical health and rest, along with the mental health break of the pressure may be perfect for what we are about to face in the coming month. a 600 record in April would mean about 17 points for the month.  Four of those 14 games are against Ottawa, hehe. 

 

EDIT: just a quick nod to home and away: we have 9 away games in April, 7 of them in a row to kick off the month. I think we can definatively state that 7 game road trip will determine our playoff chances. 3 Edm, 2 Wpg, 2 Cgy games. is 4 of 7 a success? I think we need 5 to have some margin for error in May.

 

I am pretty good with the idea that the Canucks can be the first team to come back from a statistical chance of less than 4% of making the playoffs as of the end of February, because now it would appear we just need to play at .600. A feat the club has done often in the pandemic bubble and outperformed in March just now already. 4th place is ours to lose, 3rd a little tougher, but ideal. 

 

Have a great Sunday Nucks Fans and while we can't plan the parade route, we can start to pencil in mid May Vancouver Hockey!!!!

 

That's some optimism ... but this looks good to me.   Feel we need to play .700 hockey here on out for any margin of error to make the show for sure ... .600 seems very doable, itd close enough to how the team has played since Miller and Myers arrived if you ignore some of the losing streaks we've had.   Beating WNP the next two games would for sure help us on the trek.   Feel we need around 28 of the remaining 42 points to squeeze in ...basically 2 out of every 3 games ...

Edited March 22, 2021 by IBatch

[drofssalg]

Forget about Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg. The Canucks are concerned with how Montreal (and to a lesser extent Calgary) does. 

 

Assuming a 62 point 4th spot:

Montreal needs to go 13 and 12 for 26 points more points

Calgary needs to go 15 and 9 for 30 points more points

Vancouver needs to go 14 and 7 for 28 points more points

 

The points are based on games up to March 21. If you look at the points required it looks so close, but looking at the records to get there the Canucks do not have a lot of leeway.

 

It will become a lot clearer during the week off and Montreal catches up in games played. Basically Montreal needs to finish the season out at .520 to secure a playoff spot - easier to run out 25 games at .520 than 21 games at .667. Honestly, I expect the Canucks to miss the playoffs but it likely ends up being by only a couple points because I don't see Montreal doing better than 13/12. 

[Primal Optimist]

1 minute ago, IBatch said:

That's some optimism ... but this looks good to me.   Feel we need to play .700 hockey here on out for any margin of error to make the show for sure ... .600 seems very doable, he's close enough to how the team has played since Miller arrived if you ignore some of the losing streaks we've had.   Beating WNP the next two games would for sure help us on the trek.   Feel we need around 28 of the remaining 42 points to squeeze in ...

Thanks, my takeaway after all that is that February was devastating, in particular the five away game losses to open the month and the 4 home losses to close the month. Even one win in each of those two stretches would have really changed a lot of the discourse here today. 

 

I am fairly confident the team can take .600, they have done it before and recently playing to that level. No reason they can't carry it on to the end of April, then the fingernail biting last four in May...it is going to be a wild ride!

[CanucksJay]

I'm not really liking how everyone is dumping on Holtby.

Last game against Mtl, our D was like Swiss cheese.

 

He made a LOT of key savings (breakaways, point blank shots)

 

We even went to like 5th round of shootout

 

What more do you expect from a backup?

 

He let in 4 goals and the SO but I do wonder how Demmer would have done.

He could have stolen the win or he could have made some saves Holtby didn't make but may have also let in some goals that Holtby stopped and still lost.

 

We deserved to lose that game with the amount of quality chances we gave up and hanging that loss on a goaltender seems wrong to me

 

I just reviewed the 4 goals and they were all screens. (From our own D-men incluing some that even went through their legs)

I dont think Holtby saw most of those shots. 

 

He also had a huge save on Drouin in OT

 

Also it went to Round 6 of shoot outs...

 

The team needed a better effort  and take advantage of Toffoli not playing

Edited March 22, 2021 by CanucksJay

[kanucks25]

6 hours ago, CanucksJay said:

I'm not really liking how everyone is dumping on Holtby.

Last game against Mtl, our D was like Swiss cheese.

 

He made a LOT of key savings (breakaways, point blank shots)

 

We even went to like 5th round of shootout

 

What more do you expect from a backup?

 

He let in 4 goals and the SO but I do wonder how Demmer would have done.

He could have stolen the win or he could have made some saves Holtby didn't make but may have also let in some goals that Holtby stopped and still lost.

 

We deserved to lose that game with the amount of quality chances we gave up and hanging that loss on a goaltender seems wrong to me

 

I just reviewed the 4 goals and they were all screens. (From our own D-men incluing some that even went through their legs)

I dont think Holtby saw most of those shots. 

 

He also had a huge save on Drouin in OT

 

Also it went to Round 6 of shoot outs...

 

The team needed a better effort  and take advantage of Toffoli not playing

Last game wasn't his fault but he hasn't been good enough so far, especially at his cap-hit.