Canucks Army Post-Game: It Could’ve Been Worse?

Stats

Quick Hits

• Probably one of the easier games this team of refs has manned in a long while. It was fast, open hockey and whether the refs were casual observers or contributing factors, it was great hockey through, at least, the first two periods. Of course, you’d like it if Bo Horvat or Sven Baertschi were the Canucks going in on breakaways, but today it was Jack Skille and combinations involving Reid Boucher and other players generally reserved for the peripheries of the Canucks’ lineup. Perhaps that goes a ways towards explaining the final score…

• Speaking of Boucher, today marks the first time he’s not finished last in ice-time among Canucks’ skaters who finished the entire game. He edged out Alex Biega (a winger for today’s contest, thanks to multiple injuries) with 10:55 to the Bulldog’s 8:22. Boucher’s 10:55 is the highest mark he’s achieved as a Canuck. Continuing in this vein, Biega played more than Boucher had in every game prior to this one. Just throwing that out there. Enjoy that. 
• Three Canucks had an individual expected goal mark at or above .5 tonight. The trio included Boucher, Jannik Hansen and Jack Skille. Maybe Canucks general manager Jim Benning was onto something when he suggested the Canucks bottom six is going to outscore other teams’.
• That’s the problem, though. The problem isn’t the Canucks supporting cast. Benning is genuinely onto something when he cites the team’s depth as a strength — a relative strength, anyways. It’s the Sedins who’ve struggled most mightily this season, and they had another rough night tonight. They finished the night a sub-fifty percent Corsi for and didn’t look especially threatening at any point. In fact, the Penguins did a good job hemming them in their zone tonight. It’s not just Corsi, either. The Sedins are on pace for their first year in the red by Goals For% and Corsi For% for as long as the league has tracked either. I thought the Sedins were starting to turn a corner with Loui Eriksson on their wing, but injuries have forced the Canucks to move him elsewhere to try and maintain strength throughout their lineup. They’ve played Markus Granlund in his stead, and while I was curious about the move enough to let it play out, I think the Canucks have to reunite the Twins with Eriksson at this point. They’re a 54% Corsi For group when they play with Eriksson, so why not? Tonight, they left in the red.

• According to www.SportClubStats.com, the Canucks now have a 3.3% chance of making the playoffs. In case you’re curious about my enthusiasm regarding the way the Canucks lost tonight. The further they keep falling, the closer they get to selling off assets and starting this rebuild in earnest. That’s the best-case scenario. It’s been a fine season. I give full marks for the way the Canucks have kept themselves, well, relatively close to being in the hunt. It’s time for reality to dictate the future of this franchise, though. Playoffs aren’t happening.
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• Luca Sbisa is back. Tonight was another rough night for Sbisa. It’s a shame, really. Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins played Sbisa in a role that suited his aptitude or skill set at the beginning of the year, but they’ve returned him to the top four and are playing him a hair less than Alex Edler over the last little while. Tonight Sbisa was a -2 and had a -1 Corsi For. He looked especially poor on Malkin’s setup for the Phil Kessel goal in the third. Maybe the Canucks should do that thing where they use him as a third pair defenceman again. That wouldn’t be the worst idea.