Post-Game Talk: [GM45] Canucks defeat Coyotes | 2-1 (Pettersson & Joshua) | A Win is a Win

[Tables of Stats]

On the pp. Without Mikheyev. And we we're talking about whats wrong with him for weeks amd weeks dont pretend like that didn't happen.

Off that line and instantly the old EP looks likea top 1C again...

I wasn't saying that about Pettersson. Find a quote where I said anything negative about him over that span.

I thought he played well in a more defensively responsible role while still generating points.

Garland has 14pts in his last 19 games playing ~14 mins per night.

I mentioned that Garland in the GDT. He was as cold as anything to start the season and he still has more points in those 19 games than Kuzmenko has in his last 30.

 

[VanJack]

Canucks got a ton of help tonight on the out-of-town scoreboard. The Kraken Flames, Kings, Stars, Avalanche, Blues and Wild all lost in regulation. The only teams winning were the Oiler, Preds and Golden Knights.

Canucks with four games before the all-star break, including gimmies against Chicago and Columbus and St. Louis. Makes the HNIC game Saturday afternoon against the Leafs a huge one.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Garland has 14pts in his last 19 games playing ~14 mins per night.

On one of the hottest lines in the nhl with insane chemistry literally nobody would have or could have predicted, from a random third line.
I dont think anyone expects this line to produce like this consistently long term.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

they kept the right little guy…. I officially feel sorry for Kuzemenko now… and lastly, I see no chemistry with Kuzemenko, Suter, Mikehyev

Yup, he gets blamed but there's no skill on that line or at least no chemistry. He's got a great attitude and isn't playing bad just needs some confidence and a better centre.

 

[Tables of Stats]

On one of the hottest lines in the nhl with insane chemistry literally nobody would have or could have predicted, from a random third line.
I dont think anyone expects this line to produce like this consistently long term.

Garland last season > Kuzmenko this season. No crazy chemistry is required, just good hard-working play.

 

[God]

so as i was driving from work, a little before the game started, i saw someone walking by international village wearing a vrbata jersey

and i just thought, that poor bastard. the jersey is eight years old, because that’s how long ago vrbata played here, so this obviously isn’t the kind of guy who regularly buys jerseys. to decide, hey it’s time to invest a couple hundred bucks on a customized canucks jersey, right when the team was about to nosedive into the absolute shitter… man can you imagine? i hope his ticket to tonight’s game was comped because the team owes him one.

i distinctly remember a place doing cheap/free kesler to vrbata nameplate switches because of how hated kesler was for asking for a trade

 

[VanillaCoke]

Garland last season > Kuzmenko this season. No crazy chemistry is required, just good hard-working play.

And the most confidence garland has ever had in vancouver. No fear of the pressbox.

Kuzmenko last season > garland any other season of his career.

 

[RobsonStreet]

Hoglander is an excellent player coming into his own, he should be getting a promotion for awhile now.

So you’re saying play well, earn opportunities. I agree. That’s the same path forward for Kuzmenko, play well in his minutes, earn more minutes. Sure makes more sense than reversing cause and effect and rewarding a player before he’s earned it or in spite of his play.

 

[kanucks25]

Why don't they just play the Garland line as PP2 with Hronek and either Zadorov or Hoglander as the 5th guy?

Every other combination just looks completely disjointed.

 

[Tables of Stats]

And the most confidence garland has ever had in vancouver. No fear of the pressbox.

Kuzmenko last season > garland any other season of his career.

How about this? Myers has 1 less point than Kuzmenko does this season. Is he also on a crazy confidence bender?

 

[orcatown]

Could see the wear and tear of the schedule and the road trip on some of the players. Game were the team had to rely upon their systems play rather than on energy or talent.

Good

Hughes - outstandsing - carried so much of the play. Had the the power play cooking but lack, by some, just didn't allow much execution around rhe net. Hughes also did a great job of skating the puck out of his zone. His compete level is terrific.

Joshua - another very good game. Scored winner and was critical on the forecheck and board play. Looks at this point that if they moved him up to the top line, he would not look out of place. For a player supposedly out of shape at the beginning of the season he's showing very good stamina. Can't remember a game were he hasn't been good lately.

Blueger - game management and puck mangement very good. Had some chances and would really have helped to reduce the nail biting had he put one away. Fact he was getting some chances showed how good positioning was.

Pettersson - played both ways well. Looks better on the wing than at center. Difference maker in thie game.

Soucy - guy's use of his stick to break up plays at the blue line and around his net is uncanny. Makes things look simple and provided excellent support for Myers.

Hoglander - overall game continues to improve. Showing he can get back on defense after working the offensive end. Passing and stick work much quicker and puck movement smarter and more decisive. Looking like he did last season at the end of last year in AHL were he dominated. Becoming a factor in most of the recent games

Demko - Got a little lucky on some of the Yotes shots but he was strong when he needed to be. Remains very good on covering up the bottom of the net and forcing people to go high.

Not as Good

Myers - not a bad game but you could see from the start he didn't have the jump he's had over the last while. Wasn't pulling away as well from checkers as he has been and not controlling his stick leading to unnecessary penalties. Game where got back on his heels some. I'd say he was feeling effects of number of minutes he has played lately in high stress situations.

Boeser - goal should have counted and he's been cursed lately in that regard. Still he was very loggy at times and not moving off puck well enough to open up more chances. (especially on the PP to take advantage of openings thet where there). For example he needed to jump higher in the slot when Suter tried to get the puck to him on the late PP. Instead skated directly toward Suter making it impossible for Suter to get it pass through the defenseman to him. Thought this was the case throughout the game. Boeser's long suit is not stamina and he tends to wilt when over played. I think this is a result of him having to work that much harder due his skating not being as effortless for him as others. Too bad because just when it seems Boeser is getting his game completely together (making some hard and accurate shots, getting to where he needs to be) he falls back.

Micheyev - lack of purpoe in this game. Skates well enough to stay in the play but accomplishing nothing offensively and only medioce in coverage.

Very poor

Kuzmenko - looks like the game is too fast for him play. He getting tracked down immediately if he gets the puck and can get no separation to make a play. Often ends up trying to make plays standing still - just no flow. Made some terrible turnovers and looks totally out of place in the system Tocchet is using - especailly in transition. Rightfully benched. Maybe time to give Bains a look - he can't at this point be any worse.

Big game Saturday and only hope Toronto is dead tired. Canucks need to blanket Matthews. He doesn't score and they have a good chance to win. Always rankles me why they get a prefered start time. No one else does.

 

[Nucker101]

Why don't they just play the Garland line as PP2 with Hronek and either Zadorov or Hoglander as the 5th guy?

Every other combination just looks completely disjointed.

I don't get this either, seems like such an easy solution.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i distinctly remember a place doing cheap/free kesler to vrbata nameplate switches because of how hated kesler was for asking for a trade

maybe he’s still saving up for a hronek switch then

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Yeah it wasn't just the turnover. His effort on the goal against was bad. There were several other moments where he didn't have his legs and looked lost. The biggest problem is he has no identity. He's not contributing in any meaningful way. Him and Mikheyev are eating up over 10m in cap space and not doing anything. If there's any surgery that still needs to be done on the roster, it's creating a dependable 2nd line.

He IMO should be our first move. I just don’t get and never understood why people wanted Garland gone over so many other guys that can not hold a candle to him or his line since December.

You *have* to have a secondary area of excellence other than scoring, because if you aren’t scoring exactly what are you doing to contribute to the teams success? Not a whole lot.

E: Hronek looked like dog shit on the goal as well, but he provides something.

 

[Wry n Ginger]

I think the Canucks need to bring up Bains or Podz to replace Kuzzy on LW BUT not until after the All-star break. A big part of me thinks they should leave Podz down in the A so he can lead his team into the play-offs and take on a leadership role, plus build his confidence so I would lean towards Bains coming up. Plus I want Bains to go to the AHL All-star game like he deserves.

On the D side, man...seeing Myers do his Myers stuff against a team with a strong forecheck and playing a play-off style game made me really wonder if I want him on the roster come play-off time. Yah he has had a good season but I can see him costing us games with his penchant for untimely penalties and bad positioning.

 

[thekernel]

Didn't like the second period but loved the first and the third. Exceptional shutdown hockey in the third especially; short shifts, soft dumps, active sticks. Great win, very businesslike

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

On the pp. Without Mikheyev. And we we're talking about whats wrong with him for weeks amd weeks dont pretend like that didn't happen.

Off that line and instantly the old EP looks likea top 1C again...
"Ep is back" "would be top 5 in pts if the lotto line was together all year"

Kuz looked fine on the pp, even literally today until the last one. Multiple opportunities.
With more confidence he certainly would be better thats very frequently correlated.

40 9 43 6 are passing the puck around Kuz on pp1 btw

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

I don’t know why people are defending Kuz like they did with Boeser

Boeser has a much better track record + was never lazy (just slow)

 

[CanucksSayEh]

40 9 43 6 are passing the puck around Kuz on pp1 btw

That does tend to happen to the net front presence.

 

[Tables of Stats]

That does tend to happen to the net front presence.

If he's the net front presence why is it always anybody but him tipping the puck into the net?

 

[Vector]

I don’t know why people are defending Kuz like they did with Boeser

Boeser has a much better track record + was never lazy (just slow)

Boeser was absolutely lazy and was continuously called out on it the previous two seasons.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

If he's the net front presence why is it always anybody but him tipping the puck into the net?

It isn't. The PP has not been scoring at all lately, and the % is in freefall.

Only JT has more goals on the PP than Kuz over shared tenures.

 

[Tables of Stats]

It isn't. The PP has not been scoring at all lately, and the % is in freefall.

Only JT has more goals on the PP than Kuz over shared tenures.

I'm not sure where you're measuring from, but over the last 10 games, the team is 4/23 on the PP with 3 goals from Pettersson and 1 from Boeser. Kuzmenko has 2 goals, his only points over that span, in his last 15 games.

Edit: I went back 15 games and we're 7/40 over that span 4 from Pete, 2 from Brock, 1 from Kuz. It's safe to say that part of the PPs struggles are from Miller and Hughes not scoring, but Kuzmenko being ice-cold is also going to impact the PP as well.

 

[PG Canuck]

Kuzmenko and Mikheyev dead cap. And that’s our second line. That needs to be fixed if this team wants any hope in hell of going on a run.

Bring in Bains or Podkolzin. Or anyone that is willing to put in an effort.

 

[The Stig]

Was in the building for this one. Good teams win even when they're not on their game. Plenty to point out but they've been mentioned plenty already.

Lafferty is so good at the little things you need a guy in his position to be good at. He's a fantastic forechecker.

Garland was buzzing all night as well.