On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed the Canucks’ strategy with captain <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-tocchet-says-hughes-pettersson-doubtful-kraken">Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson both doubtful to play tomorrow against the Kraken</a> and no timeline for their return. Pettersson left Monday’s game against the Sharks with an injury, and Hughes was already a game-time decision heading into that matchup after a knock against the Senators. To shore up their roster, the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-call-up-di-giuseppe-sasson-brisebois-ahl-abbotsford">Canucks recalled forwards</a> Phillip Di Giuseppe and Max Sasson, as well as defenceman Guillaume Brisebois from AHL Abbotsford.
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“After Pettersson scored two goals against the Sharks, you’re thinking he’s starting to come alive offensively, breaking out of that slump would be a positive sign going into the break,” said Harm. “To see him and Hughes both missing practice and being doubtful for tomorrow’s game is a massive blow to this team.
“I trust the Canucks can defend well without them. There’s a path if the forwards commit to their habits away from the puck in terms of defensive responsibilities—coming deeper in the zone to help the defencemen on breakouts, committing to wall-work, applying up-ice pressure, tight gaps, and good structure. I can see them holding the fort down if they get quality goaltending, which they have most of the season.
“The question is, how on earth are they going to generate offence? Even with Quinn and Pettersson in the lineup over the last 14 games, the Canucks have generated shots and scoring chances at five-on-five at the worst rate in the NHL in both categories. Now you remove Hughes and Pettersson from that equation, and it could get real ugly as far as the volume of shots and chances they’re creating in the offensive end.”
Now missing their two best defencemen in Hughes and Hronek, the Canucks’ defensive corps lacks both depth and offensive capability.
“They have three third pairs,” said Harm. “I don’t expect that they’re going to have one pair they lean more heavily on. They haven’t trusted Brännström a ton lately, and I don’t think he’ll eat as many minutes. The other four guys will get quite a few minutes and defensive zone starts, but ultimately, it’s three third pairs.
“You’re just looking to hold on for dear life. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on the goaltending, and the key in this discussion is the timeline. We don’t have clarity on that.
“Teams can go one, two, or maybe three games with a really weak lineup on paper and still sometimes put together a gritty, gutsy effort where guys are blocking shots and rallying for each other. Maybe a couple of bounces and good goaltending. Teams can surprise despite a lot of key absences. The issue is the seams will leak, and you can’t sustain that type of process for longer than about a week. That’s the big concern for the Canucks, especially because they don’t have any cushion or margin for error when it comes to this playoff race.”
The Canucks will need to adopt a grinding, low-event style of hockey to compensate for their missing stars.
“You’re trying to grind out low-event hockey where nothing is happening on either side of the rink,” said Harm. “They’re fortunate that the schedule isn’t too difficult as far as quality of opponents for the next bit; they’ve got Seattle, Calgary, Seattle again, Nashville, and Montreal—teams that aren’t really in the playoff hunt.
“It could have been a lot worse if this had been in mid-January, for example, when they’ve got games against the Capitals, Hurricanes, Leafs, Jets, and Kings. The silver lining is this is happening during the softer part of the schedule.
Previewing Seattle, Harm highlighted the Kraken’s offensive challenges. “Seattle struggles to generate offence with no real gamebreakers. They have depth, quality two-way guys, and a decent blueline, but no game-breakers who can penetrate the slot and break down defences.”
You can watch the full replay of today&#8217;s show below:
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On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed the Canucks’ strategy with captain <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-tocchet-says-hughes-pettersson-doubtful-kraken">Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson both doubtful to play tomorrow against the Kraken</a> and no timeline for their return. Pettersson left Monday’s game against the Sharks with an injury, and Hughes was already a game-time decision heading into that matchup after a knock against the Senators. To shore up their roster, the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-call-up-di-giuseppe-sasson-brisebois-ahl-abbotsford">Canucks recalled forwards</a> Phillip Di Giuseppe and Max Sasson, as well as defenceman Guillaume Brisebois from AHL Abbotsford.

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“After Pettersson scored two goals against the Sharks, you’re thinking he’s starting to come alive offensively, breaking out of that slump would be a positive sign going into the break,” said Harm. “To see him and Hughes both missing practice and being doubtful for tomorrow’s game is a massive blow to this team.

“I trust the Canucks can defend well without them. There’s a path if the forwards commit to their habits away from the puck in terms of defensive responsibilities—coming deeper in the zone to help the defencemen on breakouts, committing to wall-work, applying up-ice pressure, tight gaps, and good structure. I can see them holding the fort down if they get quality goaltending, which they have most of the season.

“The question is, how on earth are they going to generate offence? Even with Quinn and Pettersson in the lineup over the last 14 games, the Canucks have generated shots and scoring chances at five-on-five at the worst rate in the NHL in both categories. Now you remove Hughes and Pettersson from that equation, and it could get real ugly as far as the volume of shots and chances they’re creating in the offensive end.”

Now missing their two best defencemen in Hughes and Hronek, the Canucks’ defensive corps lacks both depth and offensive capability.

“They have three third pairs,” said Harm. “I don’t expect that they’re going to have one pair they lean more heavily on. They haven’t trusted Brännström a ton lately, and I don’t think he’ll eat as many minutes. The other four guys will get quite a few minutes and defensive zone starts, but ultimately, it’s three third pairs.

“You’re just looking to hold on for dear life. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on the goaltending, and the key in this discussion is the timeline. We don’t have clarity on that.

“Teams can go one, two, or maybe three games with a really weak lineup on paper and still sometimes put together a gritty, gutsy effort where guys are blocking shots and rallying for each other. Maybe a couple of bounces and good goaltending. Teams can surprise despite a lot of key absences. The issue is the seams will leak, and you can’t sustain that type of process for longer than about a week. That’s the big concern for the Canucks, especially because they don’t have any cushion or margin for error when it comes to this playoff race.”

The Canucks will need to adopt a grinding, low-event style of hockey to compensate for their missing stars.

“You’re trying to grind out low-event hockey where nothing is happening on either side of the rink,” said Harm. “They’re fortunate that the schedule isn’t too difficult as far as quality of opponents for the next bit; they’ve got Seattle, Calgary, Seattle again, Nashville, and Montreal—teams that aren’t really in the playoff hunt.

“It could have been a lot worse if this had been in mid-January, for example, when they’ve got games against the Capitals, Hurricanes, Leafs, Jets, and Kings. The silver lining is this is happening during the softer part of the schedule.

Previewing Seattle, Harm highlighted the Kraken’s offensive challenges. “Seattle struggles to generate offence with no real gamebreakers. They have depth, quality two-way guys, and a decent blueline, but no game-breakers who can penetrate the slot and break down defences.”

You can watch the full replay of today's show below:

https://www.youtube.com/live/IHWeVDaRyVo

Sponsored by bet365

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