Alright, hands up, who had Teddy Blueger, Kiefer Sherwood, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/statsies-daniel-sprong-vancouver-canucks-cf-win-flyers">Daniel Sprong</a>, and Conor Garland outscoring Brock Boeser, JT Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Jake DeBrusk through the first five games of the Vancouver Canucks&#8217; season?
&nbsp;
The answer: nobody, that’s who. But do the math, and you&#8217;ll see that the first group has combined to outscore the others by a six to five margin.
Outside of the remarkable goaltending of Kevin Lankinen, the depth contributions might just be the biggest factor in the Canucks gaining some traction with two straight wins after an indifferent start as the team still awaits the arrival of its top guns and, in turn, something – anything – from the first power play unit.
Teddy Blueger is off to a fantastic start with two goals and an assist. This is a player that missed all of training camp and most of the preseason after an undisclosed late summer medical procedure, but despite that, has slipped back into a third line centre role albeit with completely different linemates from last season and found a way to leave his mark on a couple of games already. Blueger started last season on the injured list and didn’t score his second goal or register his third point until December 7th. So he’s well ahead of last year’s pace.
Kiefer Sherwood has come very much as advertised using his speed and tenacity to be a disruptive force. He had 10 hits in Thursday’s win in Florida and added nine more, led the team with five shots and scored his first goal as a Canuck in the team’s 3-0 win in Philadelphia on Saturday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
retroactively, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHL</a> added four hits for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> Kiefer Sherwood last night. So after registering 10 hits in Florida on Thursday, he finished with nine in Philly. Leads the league with 32 which is six more than any other forward
&mdash; Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) <a href="https://twitter.com/patersonjeff/status/1848012035855995145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Maybe no surprise, but Conor Garland has been at the top of his game since the first day of training camp in Penticton and has carried that through the team’s first five outings of the season scoring twice and adding a pair of assists. Outside of Lankinen, Garland has been the best Canuck in the early going.
And while Daniel Sprong very much remains a work in progress – and his place in the line-up on a nightly basis isn’t a certainty – he has at least found the net once in the three games he&#8217;s played.
All of this is to say that the depth of this team has held up its end of the bargain while front liners still try to find their games. Brock Boeser has been good and leads the team with three goals after netting one in Philadelphia and JT Miller has had his moments including the scoring the overtime winner in Sunrise, Florida on Thursday. Elias Pettersson’s struggles are well documented, although there have been some promising signs in the past two outings. Jake DeBrusk, who was signed to score, has yet to do that although he’s tied for second in team scoring with four points through five games.
Danton Heinen looked miscast as a top six winger and has lost that spot for the time being, although he has contributed on the penalty kill and has been on the ice for just one 5-on-5 goal against.
Even Quinn Hughes, while controlling play like he almost always does, hasn&#8217;t had a breakout game offensively yet chipping in here and there, but you know there is more there to give for the Canucks captain.
Perhaps the biggest area of concern for the Canucks right now is a power play that has gone one for its last 14 and on Saturday night failed to register a single shot on goal in four minutes with the man-advantage. For all the off-season talk of learning from playoff struggles, the power play looks like it is right back where it was down the stretch and through the post-season. The Canucks need to figure that out in a hurry.
The depth scoring has been a welcome sight through the first week and half of the season, but it’s depth scoring for a reason and it’s likely to fade for stretches. However, the hope now has to be that those lower in the line-up have done enough to buy the stars on this hockey team a little time to figure out how to take over games. Through five games, the Canucks have just 14 goals and 13 in regulation time. That puts the team 25th in overall offence and yet despite the struggles to score &#8212; outside the first period of the season opener against Calgary &#8212; the Canucks are 2-1-2 with points in four of five and just one outright loss and really should be no worse than 3-1-1 had they found a way to turn either of the first two games in their favour.
This is a team with top-end difference makers, at some point they&#8217;ll leave their mark and take over hockey games. But until that becomes a regular occurrence, the Canucks can thank those a little lower in the line-up for stabilzing things and allowing the club to start moving things in the right direction.
<h2>PRESENTED BY GREAT CLIPS</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-161242 alignnone" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/54669-002-GC-Logo-727x404-CA3.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="404" />
<a href="https://www.greatclips.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Clips</a>, the world’s largest hair salon brand, is a 100% franchised company with more than 150 hair salons across Canada that are owned and operated by Canadians. Great Clips prides itself on making it easy for customers to get a great haircut at a great price at a time and place that’s convenient for them. They’ve also made it easy for customers to make Great Clips their hair salon of choice with services like <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/online-check-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Online Check-In</a> and <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/clip-notes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clip Notes®</a>. From bobs and layers to kids’ haircuts, bald fades and more, Great Clips has a look that’s great for you.

Alright, hands up, who had Teddy Blueger, Kiefer Sherwood, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/statsies-daniel-sprong-vancouver-canucks-cf-win-flyers">Daniel Sprong</a>, and Conor Garland outscoring Brock Boeser, JT Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Jake DeBrusk through the first five games of the Vancouver Canucks' season?

&nbsp;

The answer: nobody, that’s who. But do the math, and you'll see that the first group has combined to outscore the others by a six to five margin.

Outside of the remarkable goaltending of Kevin Lankinen, the depth contributions might just be the biggest factor in the Canucks gaining some traction with two straight wins after an indifferent start as the team still awaits the arrival of its top guns and, in turn, something – anything – from the first power play unit.

Teddy Blueger is off to a fantastic start with two goals and an assist. This is a player that missed all of training camp and most of the preseason after an undisclosed late summer medical procedure, but despite that, has slipped back into a third line centre role albeit with completely different linemates from last season and found a way to leave his mark on a couple of games already. Blueger started last season on the injured list and didn’t score his second goal or register his third point until December 7th. So he’s well ahead of last year’s pace.

Kiefer Sherwood has come very much as advertised using his speed and tenacity to be a disruptive force. He had 10 hits in Thursday’s win in Florida and added nine more, led the team with five shots and scored his first goal as a Canuck in the team’s 3-0 win in Philadelphia on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/patersonjeff/status/1848012035855995145

Maybe no surprise, but Conor Garland has been at the top of his game since the first day of training camp in Penticton and has carried that through the team’s first five outings of the season scoring twice and adding a pair of assists. Outside of Lankinen, Garland has been the best Canuck in the early going.

And while Daniel Sprong very much remains a work in progress – and his place in the line-up on a nightly basis isn’t a certainty – he has at least found the net once in the three games he's played.

All of this is to say that the depth of this team has held up its end of the bargain while front liners still try to find their games. Brock Boeser has been good and leads the team with three goals after netting one in Philadelphia and JT Miller has had his moments including the scoring the overtime winner in Sunrise, Florida on Thursday. Elias Pettersson’s struggles are well documented, although there have been some promising signs in the past two outings. Jake DeBrusk, who was signed to score, has yet to do that although he’s tied for second in team scoring with four points through five games.

Danton Heinen looked miscast as a top six winger and has lost that spot for the time being, although he has contributed on the penalty kill and has been on the ice for just one 5-on-5 goal against.

Even Quinn Hughes, while controlling play like he almost always does, hasn't had a breakout game offensively yet chipping in here and there, but you know there is more there to give for the Canucks captain.

Perhaps the biggest area of concern for the Canucks right now is a power play that has gone one for its last 14 and on Saturday night failed to register a single shot on goal in four minutes with the man-advantage. For all the off-season talk of learning from playoff struggles, the power play looks like it is right back where it was down the stretch and through the post-season. The Canucks need to figure that out in a hurry.

The depth scoring has been a welcome sight through the first week and half of the season, but it’s depth scoring for a reason and it’s likely to fade for stretches. However, the hope now has to be that those lower in the line-up have done enough to buy the stars on this hockey team a little time to figure out how to take over games. Through five games, the Canucks have just 14 goals and 13 in regulation time. That puts the team 25th in overall offence and yet despite the struggles to score -- outside the first period of the season opener against Calgary -- the Canucks are 2-1-2 with points in four of five and just one outright loss and really should be no worse than 3-1-1 had they found a way to turn either of the first two games in their favour.

This is a team with top-end difference makers, at some point they'll leave their mark and take over hockey games. But until that becomes a regular occurrence, the Canucks can thank those a little lower in the line-up for stabilzing things and allowing the club to start moving things in the right direction.
<h2>PRESENTED BY GREAT CLIPS</h2>
<img class="size-full wp-image-161242 alignnone" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/54669-002-GC-Logo-727x404-CA3.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

<a href="https://www.greatclips.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Clips</a>, the world’s largest hair salon brand, is a 100% franchised company with more than 150 hair salons across Canada that are owned and operated by Canadians. Great Clips prides itself on making it easy for customers to get a great haircut at a great price at a time and place that’s convenient for them. They’ve also made it easy for customers to make Great Clips their hair salon of choice with services like <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/online-check-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Online Check-In</a> and <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/clip-notes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clip Notes®</a>. From bobs and layers to kids’ haircuts, bald fades and more, Great Clips has a look that’s great for you.

Paterson’s Point: Depth players key to getting Canucks headed in right direction

Friedman: Pettersson trade talks continue, Sabres have shown ‘a lot of interest’

NHL odds, betting preview (Jan 25): Capitals vs. Canucks predictions

Scenes from morning skate: Canucks dramatically shake up lines ahead of tilt vs. Capitals

Defenceman Elias Pettersson shoots the puck at the 2024 Young Stars Classic game between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers

Recent articles from Jeff Paterson

Breaking News