VANCOUVER – Anyone who bet the Vancouver Canucks to be 2-2 — four games in six nights, three of them against projected Stanley Cup contenders — would have made money on the over.

The Canucks have looked overmatched at times, but not overwhelmed. And they’ve found ways to dig in and compete, like they did Sunday when they were pressing for a tying goal at the end but lost 3-2 to the formidable Vegas Golden Knights after being outshot 26-11 through two periods.

The game at Rogers Arena started less than 24 hours after the Canucks powered through a difficult first half and pulled away from the Calgary Flames for a 4-1 win.

Considering the Canucks were by far the worst team in the National Hockey League last season, you might think going 2-2 in a difficult opening week would have Vancouver players feeling pretty good. But Sunday, they weren’t.

“I think you nailed it,” centre Max Sasson said. “I think from the outside, yeah, people are probably saying that. But in here, as I've said, there's a lot of belief. We think we're a good NHL hockey team that isn't an easy out by any means. And obviously, our schedule, we're playing the best teams in the league. I think this was a very winnable game. You know, if we have probably a better start, don't take too many of these penalties, I think we're going to give ourselves a chance to win every night.”

“For us, it's not really about what anyone expects of us,” veteran winger Drew O’Connor said. “We go into every game and we want to win, and that's our expectation. That's our mentality going into every game. It was a close one tonight and we........

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