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Scenes from morning skate: Canucks put Alex Chiasson back on PP1, Pettersson talks early season struggles

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Photo credit:© Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
David Quadrelli
2 years ago
Losers of their last five, the Vancouver Canucks are back in action tonight and will take on former Canuck Nate Schmidt and the Winnipeg Jets at home.
Here’s what went down at morning skate today from Rogers Arena.

Lineups

The Canucks went back to having J.T. Miller at centre and Jason Dickinson riding shotgun on Elias Pettersson’s wing alongside Brock Boeser.
The bigger talking point however, came from the Canucks’ PP1 formation, which featured Alex Chiasson at the net-front spot once again.
The Canucks’ power play was dreadful to begin the new season, but after a meeting between the power play personnel and with Chiasson out of the lineup altogether, they began to look more dynamic.
They exploded for three goals against the Dallas Stars back on November 7th when they won 6-3, but haven’t looked nearly as dangerous since.
It seems as though the coaching staff feels the only option left for the power play and their lineup as a whole is to change things up until something works consistently.
And honestly, can you really blame them?
Thatcher Demko starts in goal tonight.

What was said

Elias Pettersson is certainly feeling the pressure, and for good reason. The Canucks rely on him to be a primary contributor for their team, and he hasn’t gotten the job done this season.
He currently looks like a shell of himself and the Canucks need him to get back to being the dynamic elite scoring threat he once was.
“I don’t know, maybe I tend to overthink, try to find the perfect play instead of making the play myself, finding open space for myself,” said Pettersson. “For sure some overthinking maybe when I get the puck, so I’ve said it before — just need to simplify, play with confidence, work hard, and compete.”
“Yeah, maybe,” said Pettersson when asked if he feels he’s putting too much pressure on himself. “I always put pressure on myself because I take pride on playing the best hockey and helping this team win. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself, but that’s who I am, that’s the way I compete, that’s the way I live as a hockey player. I want to be the best player I can be every game.”
Puck drop is at 7 PM from Rogers Arena tonight.

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