“Since I’ve been here, we haven’t met a team like Florida,” says the newly hired head coach. “They want to change chance for chance and hopefully we don’t play like that”
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Bruce Boudreau will have to be in his motivational prime on Tuesday.
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The Vancouver Canucks head coach, who has a gift for eloquence and an uncanny ability to press the right performance buttons, was in good shape Monday. It had to be, as he knows what to expect on a five-game road trip that begins against the Florida Panthers, leaders of the Atlantic Division.
The Panthers are the second highest scoring team in the league and you don’t go into a track meet with a club that can bury you. Florida defeated the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay 9-3 on December 30.
“They can throw you four lines that they can score and they have superstars,” Boudreau said after practice Monday. “The line of (Aleksander) Barkov, (Jonathan) Huberdeau and (Antony) Duclair can fly and their defense jumps on the play with the amount of points they carry (103 combined). It’s crazy.
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“Since I’ve been here, we haven’t met a team like Florida. You just have to be suspicious. They want to trade chance for chance and hopefully that’s not the way we’re going to play, or anticipate playing. “
Boudreau said he expects Brock Boeser, Jason Dickinson and Elias Pettersson to return from the COVID-19 protocol to shore up his club, but Boeser has not played in 15 days and Dickinson in a dozen. Pettersson tested positive last Thursday so it shouldn’t show a lot of rust.
“There is not a player alive who does not say: ‘Hey, I feel very good coach. Put me inside, ‘”Boudreau added. “Obviously we are not that ready for the game and that will be the eye test. We will be mentally ready. Push yourself as hard as you can for as long as you can and we’ll see where the shifts go, probably shorter than normal. “
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Pettersson ready to play
The Swedish center said he did not show any symptoms of COVID-19 and, testing negative, was able to fly to Florida on Sunday to build a week in which he worked hard to improve his game.
“It definitely surprised me, but (the positive test) you just have to accept it,” he said. “I felt completely normal. The conditioning goes away quickly if you do nothing and kept it while staying home.
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“I did an extra skating after practice today, so I hope my legs feel good (Tuesday). We are very excited. Seattle (January 1 game) was a long time ago and it’s a good feeling in the group. “
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In nine games with Boudreau at the helm, the center has had different linemates and seems to be the front presence of the net in the first unit of power play and also penalty shootouts. What Pettersson hasn’t had are results with just four points (2-2), a dozen shots and an 8.0 shooting percentage despite ample ice time in that span.
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