Post-Game Talk: GAME #5: Canucks 6, Habs 5 (S/O) (Boeser x2, Horvat x2, Motte)

[SeawaterOnIce]

Right now, it feels like our defense is going to be rough regardless of who dresses.

I'd probably do the following:

Hughes-Schmidt
Burkes Evil Spirit - Ozone
Mr. Canucklehead - MS

I think it would be a rough go with that bottom pairing but lightyears better than Benn-Myers.

 

[chaputonyou]

When the Canucks signed Hamonic to a PTO, I actually thought with two practices, putting Hamonic in that quickly on opening night for the Canucks was not a good idea. It would have been better for him to at least get a few more practices in before being thrown in. He's behind the play so often in the past few games and he's too slow to catch up.

As for Chatfield....I was surprised he could look as solid as he did. His hockey IQ has improved since I saw him in some 2019 exhibition games. He doesn't panic, and he has a level of physicality that the Canucks need. I have a soft spot for guys like him and Macewen - two undrafted free agents out of CHL junior hockey who Benning signed in 2017.

I can see Green keeping him in the lineup after tonight's game. -1 today with 15 mins of ice time against a decent Montreal team, with the pressure on him with Edler going down. Not bad.

Hamonic is having a rough ride. You hope it’s rust, but man - he made a bad decision on Toffoli’s first goal.

I was actually quite impressed with Chatfield. He hustled, he hit everything in sight, and he actually made a lot of smart moves with the puck. Didn’t look terribly out of place when Edler had to leave the game, either. He definitely staked a claim to his spot with his effort here. Regardless of how people feel about his standing in the organization, it’s good to see an undrafted kid fulfill his dream and look solid doing it.

Thought Holtby had a tough night (probably the worst of his starts thus far), but he delivered in the shootout when we needed it.

Anyway - take what worked, throw out what didn’t, and let’s try and win the next one. This game was certainly entertaining.

 

[Ozone]

I'd probably do the following:

Hughes-Schmidt
Burkes Evil Spirit - Ozone
Mr. Canucklehead - MS

I think it would be a rough go with that bottom pairing but lightyears better than Benn-Myers.

haha! Before Goalie me; that was exactly my spot!!!!

You are a witch! lol

edit: I was actually a 3rd line right winger next, who hit people more than I scored...
good call!

Why do so many right handed people shot left? hmmm...let me ask my magic 8 ball...

 

[Canucks LB]

Honestly, the Juolevi experiment should be over.
While he is a good passer, He simply cannot defend at the NHL Level.
I would give Rathbone a look, or Chatfield a longer look.
Chatfield could be kind of like a Bieska if he keeps developing, Needs to get some snarl.

 

[VanJack]

I'd like nothing better than to have egg on my face when it comes to Chatfield, after Jimbo pumped his tires furiously since even before training camp.

But have to say, he had a pretty solid first outing. But it's mystifying to me how a guy can look decidedly ordinary in the AHL, yet somehow reinvent himself at the NHL level. But I guess it happens occasionally.

 

[David71]

Honestly, the Juolevi experiment should be over.
While he is a good passer, He simply cannot defend at the NHL Level.
I would give Rathbone a look, or Chatfield a longer look.
Chatfield could be kind of like a Bieska if he keeps developing, Needs to get some snarl.

kid's got bite to his game. tanev-lite but with added phyicality to his game. simple plays. hughes was a tirefire in his own defensive end... -4. hamonic slow. time to swtich the d pairings up. put rathbone in seee what hes got. sit roussel and sutter. slow and useless. put loui and bailey.

 

[sting101]

Powerplay broke out in a big way, Miller really just the straw that stirs the drink. He does it all, doesn't he? Happy to see things looking more normal on the front end. Thought Pettersson looked a lot more warmed up, Horvat engaged at both ends, Boeser just cooking with that shot right now and the confidence is bubbling.

Back end is still a mess. Hamonic still looking like he missed training camp. That pinch that left Toffoli alone was very, very low IQ. But his tools are much needed on our back end, gotta hope it all comes together as the season moves along. Myers was flat-footed in a couple spots but he was still crucial to simple transitions, which have been surprisingly elusive to us. Chatfield looked replaceable, played hard 1 on 1 but opted for safe clears instead of those transition passes; in that regard I would much prefer Juolevi in his spot, but I suspect we'll see lots of players get a look on that bottom pair throughout the year (particularly if Edler misses time). Thought Schmidt had good reads but his puckhandling is really explosive and not very precise so far, maybe he's just frustrated cuz he's taking too many pucks to the dome hahaha

Not ready to call the curtain on Virtanen yet but he's fading from importance quickly. I just need him to make one good play to make me believe, but his decision-making tonight was unbecoming of an NHL forward

We needed this win in a bad way, even if it was sloppy and ugly. The team knows it can score again. That's the most important aspect to this team's success

Agree 100p

 

[Canucks LB]

kid's got bite to his game. tanev-lite but with added phyicality to his game. simple plays. hughes was a tirefire in his own defensive end... -4. hamonic slow. time to swtich the d pairings up. put rathbone in seee what hes got. sit roussel and sutter. slow and useless. put loui and bailey.

I actually find those lineup changes interesting

 

[Ozone]

When the Canucks signed Hamonic to a PTO, I actually thought with two practices, putting Hamonic in that quickly on opening night for the Canucks was not a good idea. It would have been better for him to at least get a few more practices in before being thrown in. He's behind the play so often in the past few games and he's too slow to catch up.

As for Chatfield....I was surprised he could look as solid as he did. His hockey IQ has improved since I saw him in some 2019 exhibition games. He doesn't panic, and he has a level of physicality that the Canucks need. I have a soft spot for guys like him and Macewen - two undrafted free agents out of CHL junior hockey who Benning signed in 2017.

I can see Green keeping him in the lineup after tonight's game. -1 today with 15 mins of ice time against a decent Montreal team, with the pressure on him with Edler going down. Not bad.

Nice.

Let us all suspend our 'Hammer' chat until the right time.. Let's give him some time. We can always yell at him later..

Good post.

 

[Canucks LB]

Can we talk more about how good JT Miller is?
Seriously...How good is J.T Miller.
The guy is the heartbeat of this team, what a stupid trade that turned out to be.

 

[Ozone]

I have a fever....

 

[wonton15]

kid's got bite to his game. tanev-lite but with added phyicality to his game. simple plays. hughes was a tirefire in his own defensive end... -4. hamonic slow. time to swtich the d pairings up. put rathbone in seee what hes got. sit roussel and sutter. slow and useless. put loui and bailey.

Agree with everything but Eriksson. Bailey for Roussel and Rathbone in for Hamonic.

 

[Breakers]

Quite depressing considering we don't have anyone down the pipeline on defense

I could be wrong
But Hughes is the only regular defense on this roster from Benning's draft

 

[VanJack]

First, Marky with a shutout and back-to-back wins....then Tofoli with a hattrick. These departed Canuck UFA's are really sticking it to old Jethro.

 

[orcatown]

Manage to outscore some pretty awful defensive play. Still disorganized at times but pulled through by the real good efforts of some players.

Good

Boeser - one of his best games in last couple of years. Even before the goals was skating well which is the key with him. Looked back to the form of his rookie year. To me, the best player on the ice although Toffoli was giving him a run.. Like Benning's expression when Toffoli was rifling in goals. Boeser plays like this and he is top 3 material.

Miller - took him one game to get his legs. Making a huge difference.

Horvat - tons more mobile on the PP than earlier this season. Way teams are playing us, he must remain a big option in the middle and not just wait for Pettersson and others to bomb away. Good game throughout

Myers - far from elegant or perfect but he made enough good plays to be a positive in this game. Canuck defense continues to be an adventure and Myers contributing to that at times. Still he did a lot in this game to mop up for some the breakdowns. Gave the team some offensive push from the back

Motte - nice goal and good play in neutral zone. Don't really like his line but Motte is not the problem here.

Bad

Hughes - had a very tough game. Continuously banged around and knocked to the ice Many of his gaffes getting converted into wide open chances and -4 was indictive of his game. Played way too much even given Edler was out

Pettersson - play is dying on his stick and again physically out gunned. He's fighting it hard at this time.

Others

Chatfield - real good effort. Showed good mobility and moved the puck up from the back mostly good all game. Can see the difference b/w him and Joulevi. Chatfield can get around quick enough and anticipate well enough to give himself time and space to make a play. With Joulevi, he's always under pressure since he is too slow to get ahead of the play. Chatfield's should have sealed Joulevi's fate in this game but with Benning's ego and supposed acumen as a scout on the line, probably Joulevi will continue to get chances. Chatfield looked quite serviceable in this game and if Edler is out should get a good run of games. Probably see Benn back in the lineup as well. If it came down to Benn or Chatfield would, right now, go with Chatfield.

Hamonic - see improvement. Long ways to go but over the last while showing better.

Virtanen - thought he was tracking back defensively much better. Still goes into a brain freeze when he gets the puck at times but skating was generally strong and he did make a couple of hits.

 

[Ozone]

JT is the heart and the soul of this fragile team.

..I hope it is contagious..

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

With Edler out, opportunity knocks for Rathbone or Rafferty. Chatfield played solid.

Schmidt-Rafferty (Rathbone-Schmidt)
Hughes-Myers
Chatfield-Benn

Healthy Scratch: Hamonic

 

[Takumi3000]

Could you guys imagine if Schmidt didn’t land in Benning’s lap?

As for Petey, I’m totally not worried. Even McKinnon suffered some down years after his unbelievable rookie season. It takes time for young players.

 

[Ozone]

After the 'Bubble', other coaches are focused on Petey and Huggy, and they have a game plan.

Let's see how Green and the Team reply...


It's not just a coincidence.

 

[David71]

I actually find those lineup changes interesting

for all the flake that loui eriksson gets for his contract. he is defensively responsible.

 

[Deeds26]

Toffolis going to be leading the league in goals after three game series.
Benn probably suits up if Edler has to miss time. Travis probably won't put in two rookie d-men until he absolutely has to, like if Hamonic is injured too.

Edit: or new thought, may we see the beginning of Defender Loui???

 

[David71]

With Edler out, opportunity knocks for Rathbone or Rafferty. Chatfield played solid.

Schmidt-Rafferty (Rathbone-Schmidt)
Hughes-Myers
Chatfield-Benn

Healthy Scratch: Hamonic

rathbone before benn. it be nice if beiga was still on the team.

 

[Nazzlind]

After 2 games, JT Miller is already top 10 in the league for assists lol

and Boeser is tied for 1st in goals.

 

[The Iron Goalie]

If both Edler and Hamonic can't go...I'd probably go,

Schmidt, Myers
Hughes, Benn/Chatfield
Juolevi, Chatfield/Benn

Forwards stay the same for me, but maybe Green should try swapping Bo and Petey for a period.

 

[Shareefruck]

The great thing about how Boeser looks is that even though you can tell he's in the best physical and mental shape he's been in for a while and it's already paying dividends, you can also tell that he's still only starting to get into his groove and regain his confidence/assertiveness. It's a shame that the hopelessness of most of the team seems to be overshadowing that somewhat.