L-GDT: Canucks @ FLA - Nov 17, 4pm SNP, ESPN+

[Cousin Strawberry]

That goalie licks pipe. We can't ever see that dude in our net ever again

[Tciso]

Canucks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Kiefer Sherwood
Brock Boeser -- Max Sasson -- Jake DeBrusk
Drew O'Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Arshdeep Bains
Mackenzie MacEachern -- David Kampf-- Lukas Reichel


Scratched: P.O. Joseph, Linus Karlsson

Explain this to me. Please!

Arshdeep is the Bains of our existence.

D.E.I. Lineup

Defensively Expletive Incompetent?

[UWSaint]

A few thoughts:

* What a great effort to score three goals and tie the game after giving up 5 in a row. (Assist to Bob being way off). But you knew the Panthers would come, and you could kind of see the Canucks relax after tying the game which you can't do. Same thing happened after the Canucks went up 2-0. The shifts immediately after the big goal are the hardest, and the ability to keep up the intensity is an attribute this group hasn't developed. More pluck overall, but now that pluck needs to last a bit longer.

* EP40 still could shoot more, but the direction of his play is very positive. He is dangling more, he is shooting more, he is making plays more quickly (and thinking less) -- steps forward. And when combined with the two way play and more capable physical play, he might end up being the kind of all roles player that teams really benefit from down the middle -- the Bergerons, Datsyuks, O'Reillys, Barkovs, Kopitars, Ahos (though Carolina has yet to turn the corner...), Toews. I am not putting him in the top end of that camp, but I am starting to see that as his lane more than the perrennial 40 goal or 100 point guy he flashed hopes of early in his career and showed he could fulfill in 2022-23 and early 2023-24 but then lost.

* It's cool to have Quinn Hughes. Hot take: the Canucks should resign him.

* I was about to post after Patera made a couple stops right after the goal that tied it at five that "this goalie really can focus in after giving up five." Because he had a stretch where he was seeing the puck well after giving up the fifth goal. I didn't make the post because I didn't have time....

* Someone commented that didn't RoboSwede say something about the Canucks organizational goaltending depth when Silovs was traded? He did, but it was marketing speak. Young and the kid that went to Harvard aren't established at the AHL level and are pretty long shots for the NHL. Medvedev is a total pup in goalie years, but I suppose has the greatest potential. But we know what decent junor goalies look like in the NHL. Remember DiPietro's emergency recall? Swiss cheese. The potentially capable #3 in this organization for injury callups is Tolopio, but he has an orca on his sweater and therefore has a groin injury. Not sure if he's back in Abby yet, but if he is, he wouldn't have seen enough pucks this year to throw him into the NHL. And so there was Patera. Ouch.

* There are goals where the casual fan looks at it and says "the goalie has no chance." We've seen a lot of those this year -- but the thing is, the goalie would have had a chance if he had been reading the play correctly, executed better control the push previous, handled a rebound, etc. Even the goal where Patera and Petey got tangled I can't excuse Patera. One, you have to read what's in front of you, two, you can't open your leg there to get dragged away -- you go knee down (in which case you are stable), not leg out. But the thing about Patera I noticed most is that he would have different positioning for extremely similar plays -- some times deep in the net, sometimes challenging, sometimes cheating a push off and not square, sometimes stuck. To be sure, different situations call for different techniques and I am not seeing on TV what he sees. But what I can do it compare how goalies look in net from my TV vantage and compare them with the other 1000+ games I've watched....

That's too much about a goalie that hopefully we don't have to see again. Really, I think the Canucks will consider the next Spencer Martin before they effectively forfeit a game.

[Cornuck]

Nice post, UW - all valid points.

I have to look at this game as a learning experience: "Winners never stop" - the Panthers showed why they're 2 time Cup defenders.

I wasn't expecting much out of Patera, so I wasn't too disappointed in his play - but I count 3 goals that could be hung on him. Not ready for that role, and likely never will be. But still a better choice than putting Lankinen in last night.

[dangler]

The Panthers really seemed to wake up after the Canucks 2nd goal.
Patera made some nice saves but gave up some soft ones too.
Getting outshot that badly they probably wouldn't have won anyway, the score was closer than it should've been.
Great summary UW, 5 stars

[Meds]

My take.....

The Canucks actually showed good legs for a team on the 3rd in 4 nights in the geo of the league that is farthest from home. Their heads were rather elsewhere.

The shot totals are a major concern; on this road trip they were outshot 109-50. This is a rather unacceptable statistic when you consider that the defense of the team is supposed to be its strong point. The scores flatter the Canucks offense, they got very very lucky. There is a to of slack to be cut for this group right now though when you look at the IR list. There is honestly a degree of hope that this group is kindling by being 2 points out of the playoff race in the face of those injuries. With the way some of the forwards are stepping up, I'm starting to fear that our Achilles heel is actually going to be found in the fragility of the crease.

On the goaltending last night, I agree with most of what UW said. Patera is not NHL calibre, some of his very very good saves had to be very good because he loses the net too easily, particularly when over-committing with lateral movement, but last night was hardly on him, and I will take a moment to defend him here.....

Goal 1 - Through traffic, but I will say this was stoppable and that Demko probably gets that 80% of the time and Lanks 60%.

Goal 2 - Terrible defense letting Jones skate in that way, but that is one that even a legit NHL backup stops most of the time.

Goal 3 - This is where I disagree the most with UW, it wasn't just his movement that caused this, and it's hard to read that when Pettersson was getting pushed into his face for most of the play, not just the shot and rebound. Even if he hadn't opened up to come across, that likely goes in because Petey ends up completely on top of him if he stays more upright. Maybe there's an argument for goaltender interference in that event because Petey ends up getting more obviously pushed into him by the defender?

Goal 4 - That pass by Reinhart was fucking slick. Reinhart was completely across and outside the blocker side post when he sent that puck back past a pursuing Marcus Pettersson AND Kampf (enter Carl with some word play). The puck misses Pettersson's skates, then Kampf's, and somehow doesn't hit the back of the net, and lands perfectly on Rodrigues' blade. Patera had zero chance, and his positioning was sound enough that he almost got a glove on it.

Goal 5 - That was Lunogo-level garbage circa games 3,4, and 7, of the 2011 SCF. A perfect shot, but better positioning takes that shot away.

Goal 6 - Deflection right in front that sent the puck into the top corner. Full pass.

Goal 7 - Again, giving him a pass. Can critique his over commitment to the puck carrier on the wing, but bang-bang play.

Goal 8 - He shoulda had that one.

NHL-starter level rebound control probably eliminates a couple of those goals that came after very good saves but the Panthers recovered the puck and generated another full play in-zone.

On Pettersson.....

His game has improved markedly on this road trip. He is getting back to using the things that made him successful in his first 5 seasons, but I also note that he is getting pushed around again as he engages more. If the production is there, then this is a trade-off we should all be happy with provided that it does not result in him being too banged up to be productive come mid-February. Face-offs are improving too.

I didn't pay attention, but did Kampf's first game have the desired effect of getting Petey more O-zone starts?

[Cornuck]

The shot totals are a major concern; on this road trip they were outshot 109-50. This is a rather unacceptable statistic when you consider that the defense of the team is supposed to be its strong point.

Just saw this stat pop up (5 on 5):

With Hughes on the ice - shot differential is +11
With Hughes OFF the ice - shot differential is -109

So we just need Hughes to play 60 minutes a night.

[Meds]

The shot totals are a major concern; on this road trip they were outshot 109-50. This is a rather unacceptable statistic when you consider that the defense of the team is supposed to be its strong point.

Just saw this stat pop up (5 on 5):

With Hughes on the ice - shot differential is +11
With Hughes OFF the ice - shot differential is -109

So we just need Hughes to play 60 minutes a night.

And considering that Hughes is not know for stalwart shot blocking and then physical containment…..it’s a puck possession stat. This is why the team is getting a bit of a pass right now due to injuries. 30% of the lineup belongs in the AHL and the team is just hanging in there.

[Carl Yagro]

^ There it is.

So much made about the 1C, but once again it's the straw driving the bus, running the show, commanding the PP... he's the leader, the man, the guy who deserves the $$ and the corner office.

The praise should be lavished in his direction way more.