It comes down to six.

The bottom six, specifically. Tonight’s game was a frustrating one that saw the Canucks put forth a rather solid effort, but found themselves lacking a bit in the ‘puck luck’ department. Unfortunately, were it only that, the Canucks probably would’ve had something to show other than a regulation loss to the Bolts.

Offensively, the Canucks continue to slide. The Sedins continue to be silent and the offensive contributions from the second line are starting to dry up: outside of a lone marker from Ryan Kesler there wasn’t much going on in terms of secondary scoring. Even worse, the Canucks gave up a short handed goal.

While the problems with the top six is worrisome, I’d argue that the real issue lay with the bottom six. All eyes were on two players in particular tonight: Steve Bernier and Jannik Hansen, both players who were out of the lineup. I’ll be honest, I was hoping for a strong effort from both of them, as I figured both players would have something to prove: Bernier was scratched against Boston, while Hansen had been sent down on a conditioning stint. Neither particularly overwhelmed me: Bernier looked flat out there, while Hansen didn’t do much to really stand out. I wouldn’t necessarily blame them individually, though.

The reason? Well, the Canucks bottom six is a mess and that leads to problems on the road where Alain Vigneault doesn’t have the luxury of the last change. When you have half of your forwards being ineffectual or lost out there it makes it very easy for opposing coaches to match up against the players who are actually capable of doing something out there and shutting them down.

There’s more to it, but the Sedins slumping can at least be partially explained by our problems in the lower lines. On the plus side, Ryan Johnson being out of the lineup meant that the fourth line didn’t spend all their time in the defensive zone. They still looked disorganized and out of sorts, but hey, some progress. I will say that Hansen’s forechecking skills helped keep that line out of their own end.

Defensively, the Canucks blueline was pretty bad, too. Aaron Rome, who had been quietly playing some acceptable hockey as of late, mucked that all up with a terrible performance, looking very lost out there. Edler was shooting the puck early and often, but wasn’t realy noticeable beyond that.

Positives from tonight’s game? I liked the start the Canucks had and the fact that they were working hard. Hard work only amounts to so much if you can’t get results, but I liked the fact that this road game looked more like the Montreal game (where the Canucks were getting chances) and less like the Ottawa game (where the Canucks looked like they were unable to find the offensive zone without a map.) I’d rather the Canucks lose while putting forth a good effort than have them lose and look like crap. Kesler’s goal was a thing of beauty and I’m glad to see he’s learning how to be effective on the road. Other than that, Luongo looked good, but not great and Shane O’Brien was really the only other Canuck who I thought was looking good out there.

Canucks square off against the Panthers Thursday.