ELMONT, N.Y. — From the moment he arrived with the Vancouver Canucks, Zeev Buium said his plan was to write his own story and not try to be another version of the superstar player he was traded for.

But it seems at times like he can’t get out of Quinn Hughes’ shadow and just play like Zeev Buium.

Dropped to the third defence pairing on Tuesday — and from the power play entirely — as Canucks coach Manny Malhotra tried to ease some of the pressure and burden on the struggling 20-year-old, Buium still made a critical turnover on the New York Islanders’ second goal and was screening his goalie when Kyle Palmieri scored the winner in the third period of a 3-2 victory over Vancouver.

It was the Canucks’ fifth straight loss.

Buium finished minus-two over 16:32 of ice time that was a season-low by 3 ½ minutes. Through eight games, the fleet, talented blue-liner from San Diego has one assist and is minus-six, and his 38-per-cent shot share and expected goals-for at five on five are among the lowest on the Canucks.

“I think over the course of playing hockey since I was four, I've definitely been through stretches like this,” Buium said. “But I’ve just got to stay positive and stick with it. I mean, (losing) definitely makes it harder. 

“You know, you want to help the team win. And when you're on the receiving end of getting scored on or whatever, obviously it doesn't feel good. For me, it happened. You can't go back in time and change anything and just kind of have to move forward and hope for the next shift, the next........

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