With Filip Chytil dealing with migraine issues and Conor Garland excused for maintenance, the Vancouver Canucks conducted an all-hands on deck practice at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday. In fact, with the two forwards unavailable, defenceman Victor Mancini slotted into Garland’s spot on right wing on the team’s third forward line. What we saw
Between injuries and a poor team performance in Monday’s 6-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth, head coach Adam Foote tinkered with his line combinations at practice. Drew O’Connor moved to right wing with Elias Pettersson and Evander Kane while Max Sasson shifted to the wing making room for Aatu Räty to return to centre.
On Monday against the Mammoth, Jake DeBrusk started the game on the top line but failed to register a shot on goal in 17:56 of ice time. DeBrusk has gone cold with just one goal in 13 games. While he leads the Canucks with 11 power play goals on the season, the winger has not converted with the man-advantage since a game against the Detroit Red Wings on January 8th. O’Connor had 13 goals on the season and has scored three times in the last eight outings.
At practice, DeBrusk found himself on left wing with David Kämpf and Linus Karlsson. Karlsson held the hot hand for a while shortly after Christmas, but he too is struggling offensively with just one goal in 16 games. As a team, the Canucks have scored two goals in each of their last five games. With numbers like that, it’s clear a handful of players are struggling to put the puck in the net.
Meanwhile, the move of Sasson to the wing seems long overdue. While he has scored 10 goals, he has just two assists in the 49 games he’s played. He can use his speed and tenacity to hound pucks from the wing. But his faceoff struggles (42.2% this season) and lack of playmaking should probably bring an end to his attempt to carve out an NHL career at centre. The move at practice will allow Räty to return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in Utah. Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who failed to register a shot attempt in 12:03 of ice time on Monday, was the other winger with Sasson and Räty. On defence, the Canucks skated in the same pairs they used on Monday night. It’s hard to fully grasp how Victor Mancini can’t find an opportunity on the 32nd place team. But the fact he was used as a place-holding forward at practice seems like a good indication he will be scratched for a fourth straight game. He has not played since a 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks a week ago. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense for Mancini’s development to be a regular scratch at the NHL level when he could be playing games in the minors.
The Canucks will play their final game before the Olympic break on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Sponsored by bet365
