The Vancouver Canucks didn’t win a lot of games on their six-game road trip but they did offer up plenty of metaphors for their season. The team fell apart, rallied back, and fell apart all over again. There were devastating injuries, young players from the AHL coming through with big performances, and late-game comebacks that still resulted in losses after regulation.
Almost every game in some way felt like the 2024-25 season writ large. The latest metaphor was almost too on the nose. Looking for one more miraculous comeback in the third period against the Winnipeg Jets, the Canucks instead shot themselves in the foot with an unforced error.
With Thatcher Demko pulled for the extra attacker, an extra extra attacker stepped over the boards for a too many men on the ice penalty. That’s the 2024-25 Canucks. All too often, they were the makers of their own demise.
Of course, there were plenty of obstacles outside of their control, as there were all season. Their top two centres are both injured and they were trying to beat the best team and goaltender in the NHL. But it’s particularly difficult to overcome those obstacles while suffering from self-inflicted wounds.
The Canucks desperately needed a strong road trip to stay in the playoff race, especially with the St. Louis Blues storming up the standings. Instead, they went 2-2-2, picking up six points of a possible 12.
They started the trip in the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, in control of their own des.
