Warhippy Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=433427 VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks spent the pre-season learning new head coach John Tortorella's system. Now that the games count in the standings, they're taking part in some on-the-job training. Tortorella has implemented a more aggressive, puck-pressure style with Vancouver and he watched the Canucks succeed at it for stretches in Thursday's season-opening 4-1 loss to the Sharks in San Jose. "Our goal as coaches is that you want (the system) to be instinctive eventually. That will take some time," Tortorella said after Friday's brief practice at Rogers Arena. "(Against San Jose) I think we had some good minutes of how we wanted to play. So I think (the players) know how to play. "It's just a matter of doing it consistently." Canucks centre Ryan Kesler said the team needs to get a grasp on the system quickly, beginning with Saturday's home opener against the Edmonton Oilers, if it's going to compete in the realigned and more competitive Pacific Division. "We have to learn fast. We've got to get these points. These points are going to be important for us and the end of the year," Kesler said. "I thought we did a good job for a large part of the (San Jose) game." He added it's not simply understanding the system, but believing in it. "I think we've got to trust each other, that's the big thing. We've got to trust each other that we're going to work hard," Kesler said. "We can only be aggressive if that happens. "As a group we have (the system) locked down, it's just a game of mistakes. Sometimes you make the wrong read and it's an outnumbered rush. Things like that are going to happen." Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa said no one in the locker-room expected the change to Tortorella's style from that of former coach Alain Vigneault to be seamless. "You can't think that it's going to be perfected in the first game of the season. It'll take some time but we showed some good strides there," Bieksa said. "We're happy with how we played at times (against San Jose). Other times we'd like to maybe play a little different." Bieksa said there's going to be instances early in the season where the system breaks down, especially at the end of shifts or when players are hurt. "When you're not thinking clearly you kind of revert back to old habits," he said. "I think that's going to take a little bit of time to set in where it's just second nature, but right now I think everybody has a good grasp of how (Tortorella) wants us to play." Among the positives from the San Jose loss was goaltender Roberto Luongo, who is back as the undisputed No. 1 after Cory Schneider's off-season trade to the New Jersey Devils. Luongo finished with 31 saves on the night, including a stellar first period that saw him stop all 16 shots he faced. The penalty killing unit also had a good night, holding the Sharks' power play scoreless on eight chances. "I think we did a lot of good things," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. "I think we showed that if we play the right way for 60 minutes we're a tough team." The Canucks know the young Oilers will be hungry on Saturday after a 5-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in their opener Tuesday. "It's team that we've obviously developed a little bit of a rivalry with. They usually play us very tough at the beginning of the season," Bieksa said. "We know they'll be fast, they'll be skilled and we'll be looking to play in their face." Note: Canucks right-winger Alexandre Burrows missed practice with an undisclosed injury suffered against the Sharks. Tortorella said the forward is "banged up" but added he expects him to play against Edmonton. -------------------------------- Things take time people. Stop overreacting stop making endless posts about scoring secondary scoring 3rd line this 4th line that. How many season openers have we won in the last 5 years, what is our record again? Calm down enjoy the 82 game ride that is this marathon of a season. Remember, it's a process Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nux4lyfe Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 I don't think i'm 'over-reacting' but telling me what I wanna hear isn't gonna solve the problem we've had for the past few seasons, which is scoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowest common denominator Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 did this really need it's own thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 did this really need it's own thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tearloch7 Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Well, I for one appreciated the article .. thanks for posting, WH .. I saw some good signs last night .. penalties, giveaways and no bounces made the difference .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Standing_Tall#37 Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 I'm not worried about the Nucks, I'm more worried that Colorado looks way better, St. Louis looks way better, Edmonton looks way better & San Jose, LA and Chicago look just as good as last year. Doesn't leave much room to be complacent, hopefully Torts' system catches on quickly & hopefully it's effective in the western conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleJack Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Thanks for linking the article. I had not seen it yet and thought it was important to pass on to some `fair`weather fans who needed to be reminded that you stand by your team win or loss, and that you would have to accept some hiccups when they are changing the way they play the game. As for the opening game itself Perhaps instead of focusing on the negatives we should look at the positives from last nights game. Yes Vancouver lost but the penality kill was very good and I for one actually like that the Sedins were part of the kill. I think its about time they became more rounded players... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silfverberg Snipes Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Yeah well, I hope part of this process entails us acquiring legitamite second line wingers for Kesler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakyWalton Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Im not going to hit the panic button just yet, but this team has 15 games this month and a hellashish 7 game road trip against some pretty stiff opposition. At the end of October we should have a pretty good idea about this years edition of the Canucks, good or bad. But I will agree that we need some secondary scoring badly,, I just dont know where that is going to come from with this lineup. Hell, I will go as far to say we just need some scoring period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted October 5, 2013 Author Share Posted October 5, 2013 did this really need it's own thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Bunnies Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Canucks have never acquired a legitimate 2nd line scoring winger to play alongside Kesler. We have always been acquiring reclamation projects and all we could do is be hopeful he will turn into a good and solid 2nd liner. Higgins has been good but he doesn't provide the secondary scoring that we are really in need of. I really hope before this seasons trade deadline, we can add a legit top 6 scoring winger who can play with Kes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted October 5, 2013 Author Share Posted October 5, 2013 Well, I for one appreciated the article .. thanks for posting, WH .. I saw some good signs last night .. penalties, giveaways and no bounces made the difference .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 It'll take a month or so and possibly a Torts blowup before the team finally understands the new system. There's a lot of bad habits they have to unlean thanks to AV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Standing_Tall#37 Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 WH, I don't think Colorado Is dominate, but look at their speed...now they have a respectable amount of skill, but the speed is what makes me think they could surprise many people this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 It will take another three months to see if Kassian is a third liner ,Booth is a second liner and Torts to lose his mind for the public to fathom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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