The Canucks’ engine gears keep spinning. What will come next?
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A good win over the Dallas Stars last Sunday, a loss in a game they deserved to win on Tuesday, and then a debacle in Denver on Thursday.
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The Canucks’ engine gears keep spinning. What will come next?
Here’s a look at next week:
The history
Thursday’s devastating loss has everyone reeling. Any bright light that people may think they saw on Sunday feels like a mirage. You think the team is better than their 5-7-2 record, but it’s also getting hard to say how. They cannot score and they cannot kill penalties. They have won just three times in regulation time.
They rank 26th in the NHL in goals per game. They have scored as many goals, five, in the first period as Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane has on his own.
NEXT GAME
Saturday
Vancouver Canucks vs. Vegas Golden Knights
7 pm, T-Mobile Arena. TV: CBC. Radio: AM650.
They will likely improve their offensive record, only in regression, as they are shooting just 7.8 percent on the season. But they aren’t losing a huge number of goals in shooting percentage – they’re just 1.5 percent below the league average.
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He is 19th in goals against per game.
Their goalkeepers have posted just a .903 save percentage, good for 22nd in the league. That is a number largely driven by its unfortunate PK. They have stopped only 62.9 percent of their opponents’ chances.
In contrast, with uniform strength, the Canucks’ goalkeepers have posted a .936 save percentage, good for eighth place in the league.
All of this inconsistency turns eyes on the coach, management, and ownership: can head coach Travis Green and his staff get the team to play at the level they think they should be at? Or even before that, is the list that General Manager Jim Benning has put together, following the influence of owner Francesco Aquilini, actually good enough to compete with Edmonton, Vegas and Calgary in the Pacific Division, let alone keep up with the three? Resurgent squads in California and the Seattle Kraken expansion?
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American Thanksgiving is two weeks away, a benchmark in the season that has long had predictive value in establishing which teams are likely to enter and exit the playoffs at the end of the season. There’s no question the Canucks need to pick up the pace.
According to HockeyViz.com, the Canucks are on track to finish the season with about 85 points, about seven points behind the 92-point playoff barrier.
To get there, the Canucks will need the equivalent of 40 wins out of the 68 games left to play. It is not an impossible pace, but it is clear that they need to start stringing together some victories together.
Opponents
Saturday the Canucks are at Vegas . They’ve only won in Sin City once, a 3-2 win in a shootout three years ago. Now, Vegas hasn’t been playing like the strong Pacific Division contenders they are considered to be – they are losing quality opportunities against them.
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But their offense is roaring too, so they can at least survive playing run and shoot.
On Sunday, the Canucks fly to Anaheim to face Ducks , who of course stole one last Tuesday at Rogers Arena. The Ducks beat the Seattle Kraken 7-4 in Seattle on Thursday, so they’re feeling confident anyway.
Tucker Poolman was suspended for the weekend’s two games on Friday after being given a penalty in Thursday’s game for hitting Avalanche forward Kiefer Sherwood over the head with his club. Even if he has not played well, he has played a lot, so playing his role will be a great challenge.
The Canucks called up Madison Bowey on Friday, giving them an option beyond Kyle Burroughs, and perhaps Brad Hunt, to play on the right side.
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Next Wednesday, the Canucks host the Colorado avalanche. Are the Canucks sure they can avoid a strangulation at home?
Increasing Stock
Nils Höglander : After starting the season goalless in 10 games, he has now scored two goals in four. One of the Canucks’ most dependable two-way strikers, he has been a constant light in their sea of chaos.
Stock falling
Poolman : He’s had some really stupid moments with the puck and then on Thursday he hit Avalanche forward Sherwood over the head with his club. For a player who is supposed to be stable, calm and quiet, that has not been the case at all.
Question of the week
“Bench Pettersson for a game. Would it be beneficial for him and the team? “- Emilia B., Vancouver
As badly as Elias Pettersson played overall, it’s hard to see how the old-school idea of putting him on the rafters to think about his game will really get him out of this funk. It’s weird to say, given how poor he was Thursday in Denver, but overall he has improved. Don’t forget that he scored the tying goal on Tuesday.
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What the Canucks need from their No. 1 center is consistency. Vancouver has been playing well with him on ice, but according to HockeyViz.com, his impact on the Canucks by finishing his chances has only been league average.
If the Canucks get their power play back on track, it stands to reason that Pettersson is a big factor in that.
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