In the context of the last ~15 games, I vehemently disagree.
I am not going to make the argument Pettersson has looked bad because, quite frankly, Petterson at 70% is still a fantastic player. However, I will make the argument that he has been underperforming relative to early in the season. As of late, he has been uncharacteristically sloppy in his own end, specifically with respect to weak clearing attempts and chasing the puck. Pettersson has always been a player who uses excellent positioning to thrive in the defensive zone but as of late I've noticed he has had moments where he looks lost. That being said, it's entirely possible this may have something to do with swapping Virtanen, Boeser, and most recently Toffoli, whom he may not have good chemistry with defensively, yet.
On the opposite end of the ice, he has missed a plethora of open shots, many of which were excellent scoring opportunities and likely goals. Furthermore, he has made several passes, most of which are blind passes, that are not emblematic of his natural playmaking ability. Again, this could be a result of lack of chemistry with the newly formed line. Lastly, I've noticed that the powerplay has not been utilizing Pettersson's one timer nearly as much as of late. I'm not sure if this is a coaching decision or whether Pettersson has simply defaulted to a pass first player down the stretch.
I'll agree that Pettersson's stick work, both defensively and offensively, continues to be very impressive.
I'm obviously being very hard on the guy but he's the caliber of player you tend notice the small mistakes because is it so uncharacteristic given his talent and intelligence on the ice.
All that being said, I think he's looking fantastic these past two games and I hope he continues tonight because I love watching the Canucks vs. Avalanche matchup.
