The Canucks had a challenging outing against the Washington Capitals and their soon-to-be hall-of-fame captain Alexander Ovechkin. In a tightly disputed game, the Canucks managed to get the first goal, but they crumbled when they were dealt a questionable icing call that directly led to the Caps' first goal.
Everything appeared as if Phil Di Giuseppe had won the race to the puck, the linesman decided otherwise, and the Canucks were stuck in their zone. Tom Wilson capitalized just moments later:
Even though it seems as if the Canucks have been playing against the referee for the last little while, the team needs to be mentally stronger. With the playoffs just around the corner, referees are going to be making mistakes, and the Canucks will have to maintain their concentration and face adversity.
The good news about it, this breakdown occured in a regular season game where the Canucks can ''afford'' to lose it. Hopefully, the players can gather the experience and build off of that as we head into the Spring Dance.