Fans have questions about the Vancouver Canucks’ power play, Nils Höglander and praise for Nikita Zadorov.
Article content
The Vancouver Canucks are the best team in the NHL. They keep finding ways to win.
Advertisement 2
Article content
But they’re far from perfect.
Article content
Here are a few thoughts and questions from fans, and some attempts at answers concerning both those ideas:
Two games with no short-handed goals allowed.
— Matt L. by BlueSky
After a bizarrely bad run, giving up four short-handed goals in three straight games, the Canucks have at least settled the back end of their power play.
Of course, the power play has looked out of sorts of late. They looked terrible on a four-minute man advantage on Thursday night.
The first power play unit hit the ice before Friday’s practice at Rogers Arena. And even before that, they had a power play meeting, head coach Rick Tocchet revealed — he does leave the players to coach themselves quite a bit, to talk about what they’re looking for, what’s effective.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
It’s a power play group — Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes — that have been together for five years. They know what works as well as anyone, he said.
That said, there’s still room for disagreement.
“I see a lot of more simple options, simple things. I think we’re a little too, ‘This guy does this, this guy does that.’ There’s not much shooting on this power play, it’s more looking for the one shot,” Tocchet said.
He thinks his group should err more toward shooting.
They watched video of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s power play, he said.
“You look at Tampa, I mean, they shoot and after they shoot it’s attack mode,” he said.
The Lightning have the league’s best power play at the moment, scoring on 30.4 per cent of their opportunities. The Canucks have the 10th-best power play, scoring 23.6 per cent of the time.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Is the weight room training regimen better in Abbotsford? It appears as though Nils Höglander packed on 10 pounds of muscle because he is now much harder to move off the puck. Did he mention that?
— Darryl M. by email
Höglander’s development is one of the true good-news stories this season. The Swede is stockily built and his game is built off of power.
Whether he’s stronger or more muscled is likely, but it’s actually not the biggest factor in his improvement this season, Tocchet said Friday. He didn’t know Höglander at all when he arrived last season and didn’t get to deal with him personally until training camp last fall, since Höglander had already been sent down to AHL Abbotsford weeks before Tocchet was hired last year.
Advertisement 5
Article content
The real story, he believes, is how much Höglander has improved his technique, and his hockey IQ, his ability to read the game, has improved as a result.
“Before, he was out of control. He’d spin out,” Tocchet said.
Tocchet said a big part of his focus as a coach is working on body positioning, using your angle of attack and your skating stride to both protect the puck and to win puck battles in the corner.
“When he goes in a corner, he’s over 50 per cent. He’s one of our guys that are (winning) over 50 per cent of 50/50 battles. And that’s why you know he deserves to get a little bit more of a taste.”
Gotta say it’s refreshing to hear a player own up to his mistake. Unlike players on other teams, ‘cough Toronto cough,’ Nikita Zadorov isn’t pretty out there but he gives an honest effort and plays up to his size, which not every big D-man does in this league. Another astute pickup by Patrik Allvin & Co.
Advertisement 6
Article content
— Reg S. by TheProvince.com
Reg isn’t alone in being impressed by Zadorov’s frankness in accepting his punishment last week. There were many fans and commentators who took note of Zadorov’s mea culpa.
The NHL pointed out in their excellent explainer video that Zadorov could have executed his hit with much more care than he did and, if he had, the implication was, he wouldn’t have been penalized, let alone suspended.
Zadorov agreed.
It was a big day for Zadorov and the Canucks in general, as Ian Cole was asked by Sportsnet to comment on opponents celebrating too much.
“Don’t get scored on if you don’t want to be embarrassed” was his message, give or take.
pjohnston@postmedia.com
@risingaction.bsky.social
Recommended from Editorial
-
Canucks Coffee: Is Pettersson/Lindholm/Hoglander the perfect trio?
-
Canucks 4, Red Wings 1: Sometimes the goalie just isn’t looking
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.
Article content