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What Is Wrong With The Canucks?


CanucksFanMike

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Hey guys, with the Canucks slumping as of late there has to be some cause for concern, but remember, there is still a month until the playoffs actually start so there is time to get things right.

The Canucks offence has been fine.... ya ya ya sure the twins are slumping but c'mon, if you have watched the past few games the team's offensive zone time has been at least equal if not more than the opposition. They are not finishing all their chances but they're getting enough chances to win.

The problem is their defence and most importantly bad neutral/offensive zone decisions that lead to breakdowns in their end. I like the fact that the D is very active jumping into the rush and pinching down to hold the puck in, but in the last while there have been faaaaaarrr too many horrible decisions to pinch in or join the rush.

The result: The puck is chipped up the boards and is a two on one, or there is a drop pass turned over and a two on one back the other way. I don't care how lui has been playing lately, you can't falt a goalie for letting in a goal on a two on one rush.

For example, the Doan goal last night. Too many players (not just defenceman but poor backchecking by the forwards) were caught behind the Phoenix net, a dman pinches down to hold it in, puck is chipped off the boards and there you have it, a three on one rush. Sure, Lui was flopping around more than a fish out of water but it is a fricken three on one rush and it was great patience by Doan to get him flopping.

Earlier on in the season the Canucks were making smart pinches in on the boards and knew the right times to jump into the rush. Now, there are far too many gambles and the puck deservingly ends up in our net. Again, I don't think it is fair to falt a goalie for letting in a goal on an odd man rush.

I am a big beleiver in that the key to success in the playoffs is a defence-first mentality. Look at the finals last year, three of the four games at Rogers Arena ended in one-goal, low scoring games. I can accept giving up one two on one per period, but right now their giving up one every five minutes. It is just unacceptable.

To recap, too many bad decisions and too many defensive breakdowns. The problem MUST be fixed between now and playoff time otherwise a good offensive team like Detroit will feast and feast and feast again.

Ok, my rant is over, what do you guys think?

Edit: I also thought that the new defensive pairing wer brutal last night. It is one thing to change up the forward lines but I didn't like the new pairings.... clearly they did not work at all

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While I support a 'tending tandem, Rest Lu for a couple (Back to back, on-off-on, w/e)

The effort of keeping his team in games since January's caught up with him, and I think the mental fatigue is what's lead to his GAA over the last 10 games. (yes, the D looks like they think it's October again too, but...) Tell him he's got a set amount of time 'off' to lock his schtuff down again.

(also, put Edler on a 27 hour clock, to get him an extra three hours sleep. :lol: )

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