The view from Vancouver

VANCOUVER SUN

Iain MacIntyre: They shoot, they snore: Canucks lose big in Los Angeles
“It was a starkly different performance than the Canucks had Thursday, when they defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-2.

But after handling Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture, the Canucks were beaten by Kings like Tyler Toffoli, Linden Vey, Dwight King and Jordan Nolan. Los Angeles stars Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards were good, too, but it wasn’t hard to be against the Canucks.”

Daniel Wagner: I Watched This Game: Canucks at Los Angeles Kings, November 9, 2013
“After the Kings scored a fourth goal when Justin Williams was completely open in front of the net, Luongo was pulled from the game in favour of Eddie Lack, because it’s impossible to pull an entire team and replace them with a backup team. While you could argue that Luongo could have made a ridiculous save or two, the Canucks were shoddier than an overworked cobbler when it came to the defensive zone.”

THE PROVINCE

Ben Kuzma: Risk doesn’t reward weary Canucks in loss to Los Angeles
“High risk. High reward. And now some high anxiety.

By willingly living on the edge, the Vancouver Canucks had fashioned the league’s best road record. Flocking to the forecheck and pinching at will had propelled them to a smart start because they overwhelmed the opposition to create scoring chances and were willing to live with odd-man rushes.

However, that wasn’t their real undoing in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. It’s what went bump in the night that jolted the Canucks back to reality because they looked tentative in playing their third game in five days and suffering their worst setback of the young season. And now they face the division-leading Anaheim Ducks on Sunday to close out the tough four-game trip.”

Ben Kuzma: Canucks-Kings Game Day: Drew Doughty’s hatred, frustration sets edgy tone
“Said Kesler of Doughty: ‘He’s fast and he has a skill level to make you pay if you make mistakes. But when John Tortorella came here, he really instilled in us what kind of team we’re going to be. Nobody is diving this year or talking. We’re playing an honest game and a hard game.’”

Ben Kuzma: Van Provies: Could have, should have, Oy Vey, hello Camilo, rap on, say what?
“I don’t pay too much attention to it or even think about it. I don’t think a bunch of it goes on and, quite honestly, I think we’ve lost a little of the game within the game because of all the rules that have been instilled.”
— Tortorella on whether he pays attention if there’s verbal gamesmanship going on between players.

Ben Kuzma: Like ‘a dog on a bone’, versatile Richardson has given the Canucks added bite
“Darryl Sutter was tossing bouquets Friday. It’s a rarity because his Jolly Rancher moniker is about seldom being jolly in those monotonous media scrums. But he is a rancher and he does have a dry sense of humour. And he will praise when warranted.

Sutter lauded the rival Vancouver Canucks on how they’ve thrived under John Tortorella, but saved his biggest plaudits for Brad Richardson because he never wanted to lose the versatile forward to unrestricted free agency last summer.”

Wyatt Arndt: From the Rafters: Canucks at Kings (5-1 Kings)
“Luongo was chased from the nets in this game but this game wasn’t his fault. The LA Kings pretty much set up shop in front of the net all game long (much like they did when they beat Vancouver in the playoffs in 2012) with Vancouver offering up token resistance at the best of times. I believe at one point Dan Hamhuis was offering up some butter rolls to several of the LA Kings, such was the nice mood they were in tonight.”

Tony Gallagher: Radical treatment saves Willie Mitchell’s career
“For a while it looked as though Port McNeill’s Willie Mitchell might not make it back to playing hockey again, and his career would actually end almost retroactively in a Stanley Cup win. But, fortunately, through hard work, good management and a new anti-inflammation therapy using a person’s own blood pioneered in Germany called Regenokine, he’s back playing over 22 minutes a game for a team that’s going to have a chance to win again if Jonathan Quick plays the way he did in 2012.”

CANUCKS ARMY

Dimitri Filipovic: Canucks Army Postgame: [Insert Linden Vey Wordplay]
“Overall though, I’d say that things weren’t really as bad as the scoreboard might lead you to believe. The Canucks actually had more unblocked shot attempts than the Kings (17-16) in score close situations, and ultimately a few defensive lapses strung together were their undoing. I wouldn’t panic about this one, personally. With that being said though I can also understand why you’d be unhappy with the performance the Canucks put forth, especially if you had devoted 3 hours of your Saturday night to what ultimately amounted to a whole lot of garbage time.”