GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Meds »

Markstrom saved their bacon a few times. Kid looked pretty good for the most part. Brilliant on that final play to keep it going. The way he tossed the puck to Tanev and then told him to hit Sedin who was headed towards centre, great read by the kid to see that Dank was gonna stay on for the rush despite the uber long shift.

Horvat looks very good.

I am seeing Sutter's value.

Surprise player of the first few games though is Sbisa.

Larson needs to be more decisive with his shot. He's playing the point too much like Edler.....waiting until the lane is gone while hoping it opens up more. His ability is clear though.

Overall a good game. The Blues didn't actually deserve the point, and I was surprised by their effort level.
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by sk8er »

I know, I know, small sample size, yadda, yadda yadda, but that was damn entertaining! They get out of their zone so much crisper than last year, which hopefully sooner or later will bring more offense...
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Hockey Widow »

They still have a few too many shifts where they get stuck in a fire drill in their own zone. Mostly, it seems, to be in 2nd periods. But they are limiting shots during those times.

Markstrom was very good.

D pairings for the most part are good. Sbisa has been good so far too. Some nice hits these first three games. A pizza per game but they haven't cost us.

I'm liking Larsen's game. He appears more confident each game. But he does play it a little to safe on the PP. But that seems more because there is no traffic in front of the net. The PP is all the the perimeter. A lot of great passing but not enough shooting. They need to simplify it a bit and start getting shots. Even Burrows in front of the net would be better.

Skille had an ok first game but he needs to go after Steen. Not a heck of a lot of chemistry with Bo and Sven. But hey, Bo got the tying goal.

Gotta love this start. Last season we won three games when trailing after two. We've already reached three this year! All those points we pissed away to start last season killed us. It sure is nice to see this start. And wow, three wins in extra time. Two in OT and one on the SO. Nice!!!

We may not be scoring a lot but we are outscoring the opposition. This team will need strong goaltending and D if they want to compete. We all knew that. So far we are getting it.

Let's make Buffalo our bitch and win one in regulation!
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Mickey107 »

Louis Eriksson needs something to get him going.
It's not a big deal yet and he's still drawing players to him which opens things up.
Maybe just do something individual like an end to end rush. Make himself feel good.

Cross checking is a cheap shit move that could have been taken out of the game 40 or50 years ago.
Of all the stick related penalties there are, that one is just so obvious. If you raise your stick, put both hands on it and hold it up horizontally, pretty clear what the intent is.

Can't complain about giving up cheap points when we are the ones making the come-backs ;)

I'm hearing more people saying injury rather than tightness now ???
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Hockey Widow »

micky107 wrote:Louis Eriksson needs something to get him going.
It's not a big deal yet and he's still drawing players to him which opens things up.
Maybe just do something individual like an end to end rush. Make himself feel good.

Cross checking is a cheap shit move that could have been taken out of the game 40 or50 years ago.
Of all the stick related penalties there are, that one is just so obvious. If you raise your stick, put both hands on it and hold it up horizontally, pretty clear what the intent is.

Can't complain about giving up cheap points when we are the ones making the come-backs ;)

I'm hearing more people saying injury rather than tightness now ???
Gotta think WD has an even shorter leash now with the triplets. He didn't like their 5-5 play in the preseason and I doubt he is too pleased now. Can't imagine he will let it go too long before he puts Hansen back with the twins and drops Erickson to the Horvat line or even with Sutter and Granlund. They are getting shut down and thus far we are getting secondary scoring. So it's not hurting yet. But I can see him changing it up if they don't start producing.

Speaking of changing it up, love how Lidster changes up the D pairings when we need offence. Nice to see some creativity in the back end. It's gonna be hard, barring an injury, for Trymakin to get into the line up. He needs to play. Wonder if they will wait him out to see if he agrees to go to Utica. He is RFA at season's end so he needs to play. Not worried about Biega. He'll get his 19 games in.
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by SKYO »

micky107 wrote:Louis Eriksson needs something to get him going.
Scotty Bowman, Darryl Sutter and Joel Quenneville if any of those guys were coaching this Canucks team, they'd easily have Eriksson in front of net with the Sedins cycling and the most obvious move have BEN HUTTON on the point with Larsen or whoever.

Huts is easily our teams best QB, it's a no brainer he should be on our #1 powerplay unit by now.

https://www.wch2016.com/video/erikssons ... c-44651303

Searching Bruins powerplay goals by Eriksson, he's in front of the net, had Krug on left point, marchand-bergeron-____ cycling around the puck for setting up goals for Eriksson as he has the moves / height and reach to score in close around the net.
http://nesn.com/2016/03/bostons-excelle ... oal-video/
http://nesn.com/2015/10/loui-eriksson-s ... ing-video/

IF you really want Edler on the top powerplay unit still, you call up Stecher as he and Edler had some awesome chemistry with the puck. :D
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Tiger »

Hard on an old mans heart the way the Canucks are winning :)
Best game of the year so far.. All except Edler playing welll
Need to change the PP for sure .. and the 3 swede line isn't a good one
Possibly time to change #1 line and add LE to Sutter line .. Hansen to play with twins ?
Our defence is the best in years..
Markstrom was good tonight and Bo has a good start this year..
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Cousin Strawberry »

Boring game to watch for the most part... Very few hits and offense wasn't sustained as much as quick counter punch strikes.

Have the canucks decided on an identity finally? I may be mistaken but they seem to have been reinvented as a defense first club thats hard to score on. Considering how many teams around them have focused on becoming scoring teams it may end up being a good move. The back end moved the puck up the ice quick all night except for a few minutes after they tied it and were rattled...

The powerplay needs a boost somewhere
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Topper »

A few comments;

Interesting to see Vancouver play even with a good team and a top defensive unit. Peterangelo-Boumeister are one of the top pairings in the league. Both tall with good sticks. The prototypical defender that disrupts the Sedin cycle.

Vancouver defence was good and it will be a question for the Blues if the off season rehab projects acquisitions can fill the shoes of high price vets that left. They may well be a team sitting where Vancouver was four years ago.

The work ethic is growing, concerned about late comebacks and OT/SO wins but the fact the Canucks are not being outplayed for long stretches in regulation eases some of that concern.

Funny reading the concern about Loui. Probably just as many missed close chances as Granlund and Bo are being congratulated for. Watch the things Loui does defensively, with and without the puck, and the work in front of the net. I'm impressed.

Larsen impresses me more with each game. Consistently gets his shot off quickly and through to the net. tip ins will come. Recall the Garrison days of not shooting unless the set up pass was perfect and then more often than not, the he blasted it six feet wide.

Still not a fan of the 1st unit PP. Daniel is not a shooter. Move Sutter to that side and let Daniel and Henrik cycle the wall/high slot. It should overload that side of the ice and open up more space for Sutter to shoot from.

Markstrom played the way he needed to.

With the new look PP and the D pairings, how much of a hindrance was Gulutzan?

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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Cousin Strawberry »

The powerplay is a concern but i really like how Larsen is distributing the puck around. Its just missing something. Rodin looked fantastic in the preseason and I really would love to see him set up opposite the Sedins on the powerplay...maybe move Eriksson on the 2nd unit? Someone on here mentioned they watched vids of Loiu in Boston and he was more of a rebound scorer more suited to play with a quarterback with the big point shot. I cant recall who points the 2nd unit for us but i think i saw Gudbranson pounding shots through?

I cant complain at all about Erikssons game other than he's had shit luck around the net. He could easily be leading our team in goals with even a touch of puck luck.
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by UWSaint »

The good.

Markstrom. He played great last night, making a couple of big saves that many others would have let in, controlling the rebounds, and keeping poised. It was a far cry from his performance against the Canes. He would have been my first star. While the Canucks D played well as a unit keeping shots down, the Blues had their share of quality chances and Markstrom turned away all but one.

The Penalty Kill. Structured and patient, but not passive. There is no part of the game that is more a product of being committed to your responsibilities and a system than the penalty kill; 25% is coaching the right responsibilities, 40% is discipline, and 35% is winning battles (which is largely about personnel). This unit, healthy, has the potential to be a top 10 unit in the league, and for the Canucks to be a playoff team, they need some team stat to be above average to excellent. It isn't going to be team scoring or the power play.....

The Sutter Line. They were held off the score sheet tonight, but Sutter, Hansen, and Granlund played another good game. The work ethic is there (early in the season), and one of the principle reasons the Canucks aren't falling into long stretches of bad play is that these guys are hard to play against. For those that want to "shake up" the Sedin line, you should very well think of a way that doesn't break up the Sutter line. Having a 2010s-era speed and counter-attack line is what this team needs, and I am not sure another group of 3 forwards can provide it.

The new guy.

The difference between Jack Skille as a tweener veteran trying to keep a spot on a team and a prospect who is auditioning for a greater role was evident last night. No team can rely on their 13th forward to win games; but they 13th forwards can't lose games and keep their jobs long. Skille makes safe play after safe play, keeps moving, but responsibly moving. If there is a turnover or if he gets beaten in a puck battle, it is more likely a function of having a lower ceiling, not making a poor decision. I counted one bad decision all night -- a poorly timed line change. Skille's not a great fit on a "second" line (if that's what it is), but unless Virtanen or Rodin make a leap to become legitimate top 9 forwards, the team only has 8 top 9 forwards in the organization and someone will be the out of place. That's why avoiding injuries is so important. And that's why if the Canucks actually look like a playoff team, they will be able to improve their effectiveness considerably at the deadline with cap room.

The problem with trying to make an impact. Contrast Skille with Naill Yakupov, another first round disappointment. Skille is 29, his career bar is set and he is happy to be on an NHL team and not in the AHL waiting for a call up or playing in Switzerland. Yakupov is still young enough and thinks he can make an impact and has his first second chance. So what does he do? He spends all night carrying the puck too long, trying to make plays that aren't there, and killing possession where the Blues could have sustained pressure.

The not as bad as you think. Okay, Daniel and Henrik redeemed themselves with the game winner. If they hadn't, if this game had ended 1-0 Blues, I fully suspect that they would be the post-game whipping posts. They didn't sustain their normal pressure and their passing wasn't as crisp as we are used to seeing, but they had a number of high quality chances. Somewhat unfortunately, it was Henrik and not Eriksson or Daniel that was set to finish the plays. Henrik is the best center in the history of the Vancouver Canucks, but he is not a finisher. But the point I want to make is that the way they created chances should be encouraging. Because it wasn't how they normally create chances. The Sedins fall into patterns and tendencies that are more defensible; when they created new ways of playing is when they surpassed the Morrison line as the best on the team (the year with Carter) and when they developed a more urgent game is when they won scoring titles. In the past couple of seasons, though, they have fallen back into patterns (its a good pattern!, but not dynamic enough) and they are more pattern dependent than ever because they are no longer in their athletic prime. So get a few new patterns; find some new spaces; create mini-rushes, the puck will find the net.

Off with Steen's head?. It was my gut. I fully expected it. And yet, there was no retribution. Instead, the Canucks stayed focused in a tight game on scoring the next goal..... You can take your justice; at the end of the day I prefer 2 points and the restraint paid off.

The best game of the year by far. St. Louis isn't a perfect team, but they are really well coached, are strong from the net out, and have one of the best 10 players in the NHL (maybe a top 5 player) in Tarasenko, and other players who are plus players offensively (Stasny, Steen, Schwartz). I would be shocked if they weren't in the playoffs; I would think only a rash of injuries would keep this team from earning a top 3 spot in hockey's best division. If they had Schwartz and Lehtera last night, it would be a better team no question; regardless, it is still a very good group that the Canucks played against last night. And I thought the Blues played decently (as opposed to giving the game away, see Carolina); the Canucks did a great job neutralizing the Blues decent play and more than holding their own. It didn't look like a game of two deeply flawed teams playing, well, inconsistent and flawed (again, see Canes game); it looked a lot more like two playoff caliber teams playing pretty well against one another.

Except for one thing. The Canucks aren't a playoff team. Or are they?
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Hockey Widow »

UW excellent post!

Topper, don't ever lose your sense of humour :mrgreen:
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Re: GDT: Canucks vs Blue - 7:00PM PST on SNV

Post by Carl Yagro »

Damn UW, thanks for showing up. Really enjoy your well-thought out posts. Wish you do it more often.
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