Lot of good things to take from this game but the biggest one for me I think is Demko's performance. He's been struggling a bit lately - as have pretty much all the top goaltenders - and the team needs him to be better. When he is, it's a whole new ball game - this team won't lose much.
Post-Game Talk: [GM29] Canucks defeat Lightning | 4-1 (Kuzmenko & Boeser(3)) | Three Straight!
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Kind of the formula for present success - play a lot of sound rope a dope in your end and have Demko be outstanding. Also throw in a good pk.
Good
Boeser - right guy at the right spot. HIs defensive play is reamins average but it much better than it in the past. Much more complete player and more able to get to spots were he can score. Again his face looks so much thinner suggesting he has lost most of any fat.
Garland - accepts his role as a checker. Sacrifices offense for being a good all round defensive player. That includes keeping th epuck in the other zone better than anyone else on the team. Character player who gives you effort every second he is out.
Demko - was great. Getting back in that groove he showed in the playoffs a few years ago. Was better than Vasilevskiez in this game.
Miller - solid as usual.
Joshua - just dogged on the puck and very good on the pk. Might be the most improved player.
Hoglander - starting to show a more dynamic quality in going to the net. Still has his poor moments in his own end and got walked a couple of times but you have to like the trajectory in his play.
Others
Juulsen - has taken a lot of flak and I certainly was amongst those doing so. Have to start fessing up that I was too quick to be so decisive in my comments. He is giving the team some good minutes and does not look out of place. His development is important since it greatly improves the depth and size on defense. (was leader in hits again) Give credit to the coaches for sticking with him.
Myers - had a tough first period but then settled down and together with Zadora was effective. Can see what Zadorov brings with the way he can use his size and reach to break up plays. As the duo get more time together you can project how hard they will make it for opposing forwards to get to the net. Myers for all his clumsiness at times is good going forward with the puck.
Kuzmenko - much better game. Showed off the shot and worked his butt off both ways. Set up Aman for for a two way passing game a couple of times but Aman screwed it up.
Aman - apparently wrong about Aman providing as much as I thought he would. He looked so good in AHL that I felt he could contribute much more. He is showing no offensive touch and getting Suter back is surely an upgrade. Suter and Kuzmenko might work effectively together.
Hughes - gets 3 assists so he is doing something right. However, still think he is banged up since he was making long range passing from the back rather than rushing the puck as he usually does. Also Hronek quite often was covering both sides of the ice and Hughes was unloading the puck to Hronek when he got himself in trouble.
Mikheyev - hasn't been that good of late. Several times in this game he skated himself out of the play and came back too slow to provide any sort of back check. Think he is being carried by Pettersson who is being forced into mostly a defensive posture by having to cover for Mikheydev.
Great that team is taking advantage of the home games. Their schedule has been tough and will remain so. However, come late in the season other contending teams in their division will face a tougher go than us. If they have some points in hand over those team heading into March and April, this will put them in a good position as the schedule catches up with those other teams during that period.
Good
Boeser - right guy at the right spot. HIs defensive play is reamins average but it much better than it in the past. Much more complete player and more able to get to spots were he can score. Again his face looks so much thinner suggesting he has lost most of any fat.
Garland - accepts his role as a checker. Sacrifices offense for being a good all round defensive player. That includes keeping th epuck in the other zone better than anyone else on the team. Character player who gives you effort every second he is out.
Demko - was great. Getting back in that groove he showed in the playoffs a few years ago. Was better than Vasilevskiez in this game.
Miller - solid as usual.
Joshua - just dogged on the puck and very good on the pk. Might be the most improved player.
Hoglander - starting to show a more dynamic quality in going to the net. Still has his poor moments in his own end and got walked a couple of times but you have to like the trajectory in his play.
Others
Juulsen - has taken a lot of flak and I certainly was amongst those doing so. Have to start fessing up that I was too quick to be so decisive in my comments. He is giving the team some good minutes and does not look out of place. His development is important since it greatly improves the depth and size on defense. (was leader in hits again) Give credit to the coaches for sticking with him.
Myers - had a tough first period but then settled down and together with Zadora was effective. Can see what Zadorov brings with the way he can use his size and reach to break up plays. As the duo get more time together you can project how hard they will make it for opposing forwards to get to the net. Myers for all his clumsiness at times is good going forward with the puck.
Kuzmenko - much better game. Showed off the shot and worked his butt off both ways. Set up Aman for for a two way passing game a couple of times but Aman screwed it up.
Aman - apparently wrong about Aman providing as much as I thought he would. He looked so good in AHL that I felt he could contribute much more. He is showing no offensive touch and getting Suter back is surely an upgrade. Suter and Kuzmenko might work effectively together.
Hughes - gets 3 assists so he is doing something right. However, still think he is banged up since he was making long range passing from the back rather than rushing the puck as he usually does. Also Hronek quite often was covering both sides of the ice and Hughes was unloading the puck to Hronek when he got himself in trouble.
Mikheyev - hasn't been that good of late. Several times in this game he skated himself out of the play and came back too slow to provide any sort of back check. Think he is being carried by Pettersson who is being forced into mostly a defensive posture by having to cover for Mikheydev.
Great that team is taking advantage of the home games. Their schedule has been tough and will remain so. However, come late in the season other contending teams in their division will face a tougher go than us. If they have some points in hand over those team heading into March and April, this will put them in a good position as the schedule catches up with those other teams during that period.
First stretch of uninterrupted home games. Those 1 off road games break it up and make it feel like another road game cause you're basically traveling for the next game.
Canucks LB
My Favourite, Gone too soon, RIP Luc, We miss you
- Oct 12, 2008
- 77,117
- 30,322
Zadorov is getting better every game, such a great player
That one YouTuber who insists that Flames won the trade because they cleared cap space...
Still makes me laugh. Hard.
Mr. Canucklehead
Kitimat Canuck
First game against Bedard. Love the kid, but I hope we prevent him from becoming the latest BC boy to feast on his home team.
This is probably going to be an unpopular comment but we have a lot of guys rocking high shooting percentages. I'm not necessarily down on the team but I do have this nagging feeling that they're going to hit a huge wall of regression at some point, Not regression overall as a team but in scoring goals, definitely. That's why I'm so glad the team's defensive game is coming along and Demko is finding his form again. They'll need to be able to play those tight games if and when the scoring goes dry.
Yeah we have like 8 guys shooting at x1.5-2 their career averages but only Garland and Kuz shooting below their par. We're going to get PDO'd for a stretch for sure.
82Ninety42011
Registered User
Never got to watch tonight because of work but reading this thread makes me happy. Looks like we played a great game and most of the team played very well. Thanks for posting everyone nice to read here to catch up when missing a game.
I politely told a Tampa fun to suck it after the first goal and it all worked out in the end
Aphid Attraction
Registered User
- Jan 17, 2013
- 5,067
- 1,702
It hope you gave a big Kevin Nash hand gesture after every Canucks goal after that.
Consecutive impressive performances. This is how they have to play: Professional, competent, and execute on the details. Get a lead, then play boring, low-event, hockey the rest of the way. Demko will cover the rest.
The Garland-Blueger-Joshua line was excellent again. Fantastic defensive performance. Forechecking to get possession, eating clock in the OZ on the walls, running the right routes on the backcheck, and in the right spots to clear the zone. They've been extremely effective for the better part of a month.
The Garland-Blueger-Joshua line was excellent again. Fantastic defensive performance. Forechecking to get possession, eating clock in the OZ on the walls, running the right routes on the backcheck, and in the right spots to clear the zone. They've been extremely effective for the better part of a month.
Back to playing no passenger hockey. Love to see it.
A lot of that is residual from the crazy games to start the year. The team’s PDO since the Toronto game on Nov 11th is 1.011. Pettersson and Demko haven’t been at their best for a long stretch of games. Granted the team was mostly win one, lose one for a bit, but I actually think it’s a sign the team can withstand some mediocre play without losing too much ground and I think the way they’ve played the last couple is pretty sustainable.
Lot more comfortable with what Hoglander's doing for the match up line than what PDG of the last 15 games. Lot of anxiety there suddenly sucked out. Hope he can be consistent with it.
Hagel was only 55 games into his sophomore year after a 24 point rookie season when they traded for him
Sergei Shirokov
Registered User
Its incredible how far they've come from last year to this year. Doesn't feel real but it is. Rutherford, Allvin & Tocchet deserve a ton of credit.
Ruthervin made that Hronek trade at a time when most were calling for a rebuild, but they've always been consistent in their message that this team had the potential to be a great team with the right moves/buy-in, despite the criticism that they took along the way.
They aren't a top contender quite yet but that belief is being proven correct. As of now .500 hockey has been their big slump. Imagine that.
Ruthervin made that Hronek trade at a time when most were calling for a rebuild, but they've always been consistent in their message that this team had the potential to be a great team with the right moves/buy-in, despite the criticism that they took along the way.
They aren't a top contender quite yet but that belief is being proven correct. As of now .500 hockey has been their big slump. Imagine that.
Sergei Shirokov
Registered User
Agreed they need to keep him around, his sheer size/mobility allows him to make important small area defensive plays, stuff that might fly under the radar but things that are likely big plays in the eyes of coaches.
Still adjusting, and not a perfect player, but he's been good so far & can get significantly better as he adjusts IMO.
Plus being such a threat to lower the boom adds a needed element to our backend.
mossey3535
Registered User
- Feb 7, 2011
- 13,532
- 10,174
I feel bad for PDG but somehow he absolutely dropped off a cliff in all aspects. Thing is he was never super quick on the Miller line even when it was going well. Hoglander has recently brought just as much jam and much more speed. Considering Boeser is probably going at his absolute max speed these days they need a mucker with speed more than just a normal guy to do the dirty work.
Sergei Shirokov
Registered User
Hronek was great tonight too, its great having another creative guy that can move & make things happen. Just so many smart reads offensively that create chances, that 1st Brock goal is prime example. And he's strong defensively too for the most part, not perfect but often very strong.
What a great trade that was.
What a great trade that was.
Hansen
tyler motte simp
It is okay to say that Juulsen is playing passable hockey right now while also playing some of the most disastrous hockey in recent memory prior to this stretch
Reverend Mayhem
Lowly Serf/Reluctant Cuckold
Basically what's held him back is the way he needs to be successful is not sustainable over 82 games. He will over-think himself and his legs won't keep up. If he could play the way he did the first 10 games over 82, he'd be a stud.
Hoglander on the other hand...Can we talk about THAT? I mean, that was and has been the Hoglander we all fell in love with in his rookie season. Shit, he probably moves way too much in the D-zone but he's just not a deliberate player. I still can't get over how he's 5'9 175 but I think when he's got it in his groove I can think of only one better forechecker I've seen wear our colours....and it's not Rypien, but he's got Rypien-like tenacity. The better forechecker is Burrows. Yes, I'm including Kesler, Hansen, Higgins, etc. I really think that's how good Hoglander's forechecking is.
Joshua had a really interesting game...he made two plays where I 100% believe he would be and ought to be benched early. One was a drop-pass during a breakout to nobody save for 2 Bolts directly behind him. He made a similar play entering the zone on attack, which I probably wouldn't have cared about if the first one didn't happen, and this one was 50-50 cause I believe a Canuck skated into it, so no possession-change but it's not a viable scoring chance if the goalie can have two breaths before the recipient gets it.
Reverend Mayhem
Lowly Serf/Reluctant Cuckold
I was in section 316, me and me mum figure that was probably the best spot we've sat in. Most of the goals I could see happening before they happened.
I can't believe Boeser skied that one, I genuinely thought there was a hole in the net because who shoots it high? Looked like he had a good chuckle at that.
I would've worn my Kesler jersey...feels old wearing someone's name younger than me, but mum bought me a Sprite Petey jersey that I'm quite fond of. Love that sprite jersey...don't even think about talking shit lol.
David Bruce Banner
Nude Cabdriver Ban
If Pod hadn't been injured, I think PDG would have been sent down by now. Probably coming, though.
