Pokecheque wrote:
I think the depth issues of this team are starting to show. Despite the fact that he made a monster defensive play in the 3rd to preserve the tie on the PK, Sutter and his line looked like they got pinned in their own zone by the Blues all game long.
Yeah, I think that third line is finally getting exposed; I'd like them to drop Jake and insert Gaudette, and slide Sutter to the right with Roussel.
Pokecheque wrote:
That said, the times the Canucks were using their top six, they were, at times, dominant.
That's being generous... ROR and Perron have been winning their 5-on-5 matchups easily.
Pokecheque wrote:
Petterson is a beast, I've never seen a guy able to do the things a guy three times his size does, but not with brute force. He can snipe, he can maneuver the puck through traffic, he can muck it up in front of the net and score off rebounds and deflections, and he has an uncanny knack for winning puck battles because, despite his lack of speed, he can maneuver around guys in tight spaces better than anyone.
I've been a little disappointed with Boeser on that line. He's done the minimum to help out Petterson and Miller. I'm looking forward to the next five years when Petterson can pack on a few more kilos and be tougher to move off the puck. The hockey IQ and compete is there, and few more years of experience can only help.
Pokecheque wrote:
I'll say it again--Shotgun Jake is a fucking moron. .
Can't say this enough. I'm done with JV. If they can package him up with someone else with a big ticket price (Sutter comes to mind), then great. He's had plenty of opportunities to contribute and Jake just keeps doing Jake things. I hope Jake's career picks up wherever he lands bc he's certainly not going to do it in Vancouver.
Wyatt Arndt from the Athletic wrote:
Pearson passing the puck to Jake Virtanen only to have him skate through the two Blues and no longer give him an outlet was amusing. Seeing Tanner just stand there and look around and literally just start walking on the ice made me laugh out loud because it was very relatable.
Pokecheque wrote:
Gord Miller got roasted on Twitter for suggesting that Canucks fans owe Jim Benning an apology. Nope. He's still largely a bad GM. Admittedly one huge gamble--J.T. Miller--paid off in spades. But this is still the same guy who overpaid for a bunch of talentless scrubs, thereby hampering all the good moves he's made in both acquisitions and drafting/development. The Canucks would be A FORCE if they didn't have to use up so much cap space in guys like Sutter, Roussel, Myers, Beagle, Eriksson, and Ferland. They're also paying Baertschi over $2 million to play in the minors if I'm not mistaken. Their highest paid forward and highest paid defenseman are probably two of their worst players.
Losing Myers has really exposed Stecher as a liability; I thought I was the only one seeing this. The Blues have been consistently hammering Stecher since Myers has been out, and it's paying off for them. Add to your list, Toffoli who hasn't returned since Game 1 of the play-in round; they're talking about re-signing him after giving up another Tyler (Madden) and then some. The third line really needs to be revamped as it hasn't done much other than take up cap and bench space. If GMJB can't work his way out of this cap mess, then the talents of Petterson, Hughes, Miller, Horvat, and Boeser will leave them in that awful middle-third of the league. Not bad enough to get decent picks and not really good enough to make it deep into the playoffs each year.
Sutter: Done some good things in the play in round but not much since
Roussel: Only one in the lineup to bring grit
Myers: Cannots have had to kill too many penalties with him in the lineup and have lost both games since he's been out; please get him back in...
Beagle: Sutter-clone, with less impact outside the faceoff dot
Eriksson: Has had his chances, but no finish. Been great defensively with Horvat and Pearson but not much more...
Ferland: Non-factor
Toffoli: Non-factor
Stecher: Not quick enough to get out of trouble when the other team keys on him
Edler: Starting to show his age - slow of foot, slow in decision-making, and no creativity whatsoever
Tanev: Love his dedication and tenacity but I can't justify resigning him when he can get more on the open market
Pearson: I have all day for this guy; he has great chemistry with Horvat and one of the few guys in the lineup who can play a heavy forechecking game with the Blues.
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Now the Canucks are down 2 top 4 D-men. Marky was a monster. Hughes logged almost 10 minutes of ice time in the 3rd. Green puts the lines in the blender and found some magic tonight in the form of Tyler Motte and Jake Virtanen. Sutter and Roussel get benched in the 3rd. Pettersson and JT strong as usual. Boeser, while scoreless was dangerous all night which is a good sign. 
