Despite a recent improvement in overall team play, there has been much discussion about how the Canucks remain outside the top eight in the conference.  I'd like to suggest that the team as a whole, and certain players in particular have turned a corner.  While they are presently on the outside looking in, recent trends suggest that we will begin to see them making up lost ground in the standings.

After a slow start to the campaign in which the team went .500 in October, they won 58% of their games in November.  While their overall road record is substandard, there has been marked improvement of late. During October they went 1 and 6.  Since then, they've been 3 and 3. 

In their division, the Canucks went 1 and 4 for their first 5 games (only besting the lowly Wild).  They have been undefeated (5-0) since.

The return to health of a number of players has certainly contributed to the overall improvement:

Daniel Sedin- His contribution to the scoring has been most welcome.  Having him on the cycle really does confound the opposition, resulting in more play in the offensive zone- and correspondingly less in the defensive zone.  This constant movement also generates a more fluid transition game and results in opponents taking more penalties as the attempt to keep up.

Jannik Hansen- While I liked the grit Pettenger brought to the fore-check, Hansen's speed means an annoying relentlessness in pursuit of the puck that often results in unforced giveaways by opposing d-men.  His willingness to carry the puck over the blueline has also led to more chances off the rush.

Alex Burrows- While he has not been absent from the ice, his nagging groin injury has left him absent from the play for much of the year.  The recent long spacing between games has finally permitted this to heal- with obvious results on the ice.  Better skating has resulted in a more aggressive forecheck and a decline in the instances where he's been knocked down or forced off the puck.  The added strength also means a more permanent (and irritating) presence in front of the opposition's net.  As a bonus, he's also being much more successful on the PK, and had a monster kill during a 5 on 3 in Jersey where he made a couple of shot blocks and clears.

These three add a lot of speed to the team, and have resulted in a better transition game, with 2 goals last night coming from the quick counterattack following a poor Devils line change.

During the 6-1 drubbing by the Blues, John Garrett commented that the Canucks weren't doing the little things very well, and it was costing them in games.  Over the recent losing skid, some of those little things have become more obvious.  Let's review.

Offensively:

1) breakouts.  Timing and accuracy have suffered.  Too often of late the Canucks have been content to simply clear the zone rather than attempting a break out.  While this is the safe play, lately it has been the norm, where a flip dump to center is given even in the absence of fore checking pressure.  When a breakout pass has been attempted, the result has often been a suicide pass in the skates, or in a crowd, a pass to the other team, or a pass too far ahead to be recovered.  I have to wonder how much the constant line juggling is affecting the player's timing and ability to anticipate each others on-ice positioning.


2)  On a team featuring some players with really good wheels (Kesler, Raymond, Burrows), the Canucks have been hitting the opposing blue line at sub light speed.  One annoying result of this has been the trend to crack the line, pull up, and attempt to hit the late man coming in.  This play, if successful, means that the opposition's backcheckers have a chance to catch up, and the late guy now has a crowd in front of the net.  If unsuccessful, it results in a fast break out and often a goal in the other direction (Samuelson, Sedin).  Once in deep, the Canucks fore checkers (with the notable exception of Kesler and Pettinger) are too often outworked or out muscled for the puck. 

Continue reading this post »

The last 5 games have seen a marked improvement in the Canucks team defensive play; especially when it comes to positioning.  While the first 6 games were marked by undisciplined play with defenders out of position and chasing either the man or the puck, recent games have seeen a return to the team defense typified by Alain's first year as coach.  Nowhere is this more apparent than with the PK.  Over the last 5 games it has been stellar.  This is not because they are allowing fewer shots, but because they are controlling where those shots come from.  In the Oilers game only one cross ice pass made it through the box.  The rest were low probability shots from outside, or in close.  Many more Canucks are making an effort to block shots or passes by sacrificing thier bodies.  Kesler has been a notable standout in this regard.  Even when there has been a breakdown allowing an odd man rush, there has been good communication between Luongo and the backcheckers, as they take away the pass and allow Lou to focus on the shooter.  Well done boys!

Watching the PK is painful.  Not for lack of effort, but for lack of an apparent system.  Apart from a few notable blocks by Johnson, this aspect of the pk is missing this year.  Also missing: the inability to set up an effective box.  Too often the Canucks (particularly the forwards) are out of position and chasing the opposition.  Hint:  you can't catch up to a pass.  Its a good thing that the number of stupid penalties is down this year, so the 5 on 5 play in more disciplined.  If only the same could be said for the PK