Post-Game Talk: Canucks def. Stars - 3-1 (Joshua, Boeser, Rathbone)

[CanucksMJL]

I guess I'm just a black-and-white kind of guy then. You win, or don't win, and I will go about counting a shootout loss the same as a regulation, and an overtime win the same as a regulation win. If we're playing games to conclusion, I guess I have an problem with the entire OT/SO set up anyway. If it's good enough for playoff formats, it should be good enough for regular season.

I think you two are talking about 2 different stats. You're talking about winning % and he's talking about points %.

 

[mossey3535]

Myers has looked not just good in the last two games, but really good. The world is surely ending.
There is no chance he can keep it up, can he?

Even now he's still not $6M good. Time to move on. That money can go to a Hronek extension, or literally anything other than keeping Myers on this team.

 

[mossey3535]

This isn't meant for just you, but this is a terrible opinion. If the Canucks season had been the exact opposite you would be saying the same thing. If they started out well, then fell off a cliff you would be calling these games meaningless. In an 82 game season you will have your ups and downs.

This isn't to say I think we are a great team or anything like that. I am just saying you can't discount games as meaningless like this.

People acting like October games are meaningful when the whole league takes like 10 games to get going and shake off the training camp rust.

 

[CanucksMJL]

The Canucks hired Bruce Boudreau on around (taking a quick look) Dec 5th, after a 8-15-2 start to the season, meaning they went 32-15-5 under him that season. Is it that hard for people to remember these things? That wasn't "garbage time" like people are talking about now. And I think people here are really stretching that term, garbage time should be the last week or two of the season, not the entire final quarter+.

Rather what's missing is a good start to the season and more importantly consistency. I'm not going to take the time to compile the exact stretches but the Canucks year this season has basically been lost on two extended bad streaks, one to start the year and the other leading up to Boudreau's firing. On the other end, this is their second extended winning stretch on the season, with another one coming under Boudreau somewhere around the mid-season mark that got them close to a playoff spot. Two bad months + two great months + two average months = an 80-90 point season. Timing doesn't really matter, they just have to cut those big losing skids for a successful regular season.

To add to your point about "garbage time", 6 of the Canucks' last 10 wins were against teams in the playoff hunt or jockeying for position. Even Ottawa was only 4 points back of Pittsburgh and only 6 points back of NYI with 3 games in hand when we played them. If Dallas flipped the script on us during that stretch they'd be 2nd in the conference looking at a wildcard matchup instead of Colorado.

 

[Grip it N RYP it]

Missed the game. If someone has a moment, how did Rathbone look? I didn't see him mentioned through the thread.

 

[Cogburn]

I think you two are talking about 2 different stats. You're talking about winning % and he's talking about points %.

And which should constitute scoring a .500 team. I don't think he's wrong, I just have a hard time not notching something called a shootout loss, or overtime loss, as a loss. In spite of our disagreement here, I don't think either one of us is going to take our ball and go home with it though, it's petty semantics on my part.

 

[Play]

Canucks will defeat Chicago today.

Canucks win it with a shutout is my prediction

 

[Bitz and Bites]

The performance of the Canucks blueline in tonight's game re-ignites that old debate about the true state of the back end.

Were the d-men bad at the start of the season because they just weren't very good players? Or were they bad because the team was playing with zero structure or discipline, and the goaltending was terrible?

I think we're getting the answer. If the Canucks--with a blueline of Hughes, Myers, Bear, Hronek, Burroughs and Rathbone-- can shut down the Stars then it has to be system-related.

I mean seriously. This team was headed for the worst PK in NHL history. Now their PK rate is back over the 70 percent mark and they lead the league in shorthanded goals.

I think Allvin and Rutherford's biggest regret this season is that they didn't make a coaching change in the offseason, and bring in Tocchet to work with this group from training camp on. The season would likely have turned out a lot different.

Definitely the new system is a big part along with a number of other factors like a better mix of players on the PK and D and improvement and better integration of the young players.
First off, Hughes and Petey have taken huge steps forward in their overall game and especially in their defensive game, Miller has completely turned it around from being a liability on the ice, Joshua and Aman have improved massively and become PK staples, Bear has settled in and shown he can work with Hughes, and Hronek only two games in is a massive upgrade on OEL.
Also, having good goaltending again behind them likely helps the players relax somewhat and not have to worry that any mistake they might make will end up in the back of their net.

There were a number of things that contributed to the debacle at the start of the year but it seems like management has identified the main ones and addressed them which is a good sign.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I think Allvin and Rutherford's biggest regret this season is that they didn't make a coaching change in the offseason, and bring in Tocchet to work with this group from training camp on. The season would likely have turned out a lot different.

yup, and it obviously wasn’t their decision

 

[EpochLink]

yup, and it obviously wasn’t their decision

Yup, that f***ing idiot owner

 

[CanucksMJL]

And which should constitute scoring a .500 team. I don't think he's wrong, I just have a hard time not notching something called a shootout loss, or overtime loss, as a loss. In spite of our disagreement here, I don't think either one of us is going to take our ball and go home with it though, it's petty semantics on my part.

Being petty is my 2nd job.

 

[Vector]

Missed the game. If someone has a moment, how did Rathbone look? I didn't see him mentioned through the thread.

Weirdly much better than he's been playing in the AHL. A lot more controlled and confident.