The Abbotsford Canucks are set to kick off their Pacific Division finals series against the Colorado Eagles, the furthest they have been in the franchise’s four-year history.
The club has gotten contributions from numerous players, most notably Sammy Blais, who sits in a tie for the lead across the entire American Hockey League in points (five goals, three assists for eight points) after two rounds of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Phil Di Giuseppe, Linus Karlsson, Nate Smith, Jujhar Khaira, Max Sasson and Arshdeep Bains are the other skaters with four or more points.
One of the star players the Canucks were hoping to get a lot out of this post season is Jonathan Lekkerimäki. But through four postseason games, he sits with just one assist and zero goals. Now, it is important to note he missed three games due to an injury. Lekkerimäki was seen sporting a bubble mask and missed games due to orbital soreness.
But once he recovered and re-joined the Canucks lineup, there’s been a lack of shooting from the young sniper. Tracking his shots since his return, Lekkerimäki has just six shot attempts, landing just one on net. This is a far fall from his regular season totals, where he averaged 3.4 shots on goal per game in Abbotsford.
While the lack of shot volume is concerning, Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra isn’t too concerned with the young forward’s recent performance:
“Well, playoff hockey is different,” Malhotra said. “The looks are few and far between. Obviously, the shot totals go down. So nothing needs to change for him. Obviously, trying to jump into spots and then find that open ice is one thing, but he’s doing a lot of other good things that will eventually generate those looks that we need.”
Lekkerimäki has been playing in the Canucks’ top six, as well as on the top power play. However, what is different is that the coaching staff has him playing the right side half-wall. As a right-shot winger, that’s the wrong side if you’re going to highlight the blistering shot he has.
Luckily for the Canucks faithful, Lekkerimäki has had great success against the Eagles. In five games against Colorado this season, Lekkerimäki has six goals and two assists for eight points. Not just the point totals, but his shot volume increases, averaging 4.4 shots per game – a full shot more than his season average.
The Abbotsford will need the Swedish forward to step up and in a big way if they get past the Eagles and move on to the Western Conference Finals. Lekkerimäki plays his best when he’s shooting. Hopefully he can find his shot volume again, against a team he has had no trouble with shooting and scoring on this season.
