Antoine Roussel’s antics held him back in the playoffs, but his production was timely
By Bill Huan
3 years agoThe thing that many Canucks fans will remember about Antoine Roussel during the playoffs might be him getting a 10-minute misconduct for hugging Ryan Reaves.
All jokes aside, the Frenchman wasn’t very noticeable when he wasn’t getting under the opposition’s skin. In 17 games, Roussel averaged a grand total of 7:26 minutes of ice time per game.
Yes, you read that right. He averaged 7:26 minutes of ice time per game.
Roussel certainly made his presence felt during his brief playing time, as it seemed like he was a part of a scrum the moment his skates hit the ice. Unfortunately, his antics might’ve actually hurt the Canucks more than it helped, since Roussel was only able to draw two penalties while taking 11, which included three game misconducts.
When he wasn’t wrestling (or hugging) opposing players, Roussel was actually decent at controlling play, as the Canucks’ shot attempts and expected goal share were both just under 50% when Roussel was on the ice at 5 on 5.
However, he accomplished this while playing extremely sheltered minutes, as he spent a large amount of his ice time matched up against the bottom lines of both the Blues and Golden Knights. Considering he has a reputation for being a reliable two-way forward, Roussel’s underlying numbers are a bit lacklustre especially after taking into account the level of competition that he normally faced.
Offensively, Roussel was able to provide the Canucks with some timely production against Minnesota and St. Louis. He had a goal and an assist in both series, which is decent considering his diminutive ice time. Unfortunately, his offence dried up against Vegas, which might’ve had something to do with his budding feud with Reaves.
All in all, Roussel played adequately in the playoffs in the little time he was on the ice for. However, his antics often seemed to help the opposing team more than the Canucks, which is his postseason performance only grades out as a C. If Roussel can time his chirps better next season, he could provide a much more positive impact for Vancouver.
Grade: C.
All stats from Natural Stat Trick.
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