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[PGT] Vancouver Canucks at Montreal Canadiens | Feb. 25, 2020

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-Vintage Canuck-

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3 hours ago, Westcoasting said:

Sometimes you don't play well enough to win but it happens anyways through hard work  and not giving up. Character win this one.

 

3 hours ago, Alflives said:

Credit Green with a wise Time out, when we were down 2-0. 

 

6 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

The most impressive part of that win was the fact that we won despite Marky being injured and Elias and Quinn having subpar games.  

Our first line had moments of brilliance but wasn't that effective throughout the night.  

 

Horvat's line played pretty good.  

 

Gaudette's line played fairly even and didn't get hemmed in their own zone for too long. 

 

Our fourth line was pretty bad today, Sutter couldn't complete a pass.  

Our D was just okay...  we really had no business winning this game! 

Saw the game in real time on TV but could not make comments until now. It is a bit late, but there are a few things I would like to add. It was far from a perfect game but there were quite a few positives.

 

1. Yes, a gritty character come-from-behind win for an important 2 pts after the long trip east and with Marky injured.

 

2. Demko was good. He gave the team a chance to win and the guys came through with the OT victory.

 

3. Toffoli coming up big since being acquired (at high cost) with the OT winner tonight and 5 pts in 3 games. I am feeling better about that trade now. 

 

4. Although Montreal outshot the Canucks, the teams were basically even in high danger chances. Natural Stat Trick has it at 13-12 for Montreal. VancouverHabitant has a good commentary but I disagree with the statement that we had no business winning the game. This game could have gone either way. Obviously the Canucks started badly for about the first half of the first period. But Green made a good move to take the timeout and the Canucks were a lot better after that. I wonder what Green said. 

 

5. Nice to see Gaudette and Virtanen come up big. They both had good games at a crucial time.

 

6. Horvat is showing a lot of leadership in my view and had another good game (after a poor start).

 

But there are some not-so-great aspects to the game. 

 

 

7. Yes, Hughes did have a subpar game. He was still good and still got on the board but struggled more defensively than he has recently. On the first Montreal goal, Domi passed the puck through Hughes for a goal-mouth chance that Byron put in the net. Hughes has great hand-eye coordination and normally picks off that pass or deflects it out of danger. That is just one example, He had a number of mis-step tonight in my view. In terms of high danger chances at 5-on-5 he was 3 for and 7 against. He is almost always ahead on that stat. He was definitely not at his best but, like a lot of great players, still managed to get on the board and help the team.

 

8. Opinion seems to mixed on EP. He had some good chances but couldn't bury anything. This year looks a bit like last year as he is slowing down in the last third of the season. (Although he has improved over last season overall and he was excellent last year.) Part of the problem is that the referees basically stop calling cross-checking and interference penalties in the final third of the season. I don't think it is bias, the do the same for both teams, but I am really getting p****d off about the amount of abuse EP takes -- crosschecks and interference all the time. I would like the NHL to figure out what rules they want and actually enforce them.  

 

9. I would still like to see more team toughness. Montreal took some liberties tonight, There was some pushback but I would like to see more. I have suggested  a couple of times that MacEwen should play in place of Roussel but Green keeps ignoring me. (i don't feel bad; he also ignored Benning's hint to play Big Mac.) Roussel had a reputation for being "tough to play against" but we have not seen much of that this year and not much scoring either.  A lot of people would favor replacing Eriksson instead, but he still provides good defence and is good on the PK. 

 

10. Bottom line: great to get the 2 pts and move on. Every point is huge at this stage. Hope Demko can keep it up. 

 

 

 

Edited by JamesB
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5 hours ago, TGT68 said:

Remind me why Toffoli is not on Horvat's line.  Lol

Toffoli has very high hockey IQ and thinks the game at a level with Petey and Miller. Jake is much better this year, but he still doesn't think the game at their level. I wouldn't mind Jake on Bo's line as they are more of a transition line where Petey and Miller tend to be more of a cycle, play-making line. Toffoli might be the perfect match for Petey and Miller, higher hockey IQ than even Brock, who is pretty much only a finisher where Toffoli is a great finisher, but he can distribute too.

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1 hour ago, theo5789 said:

4 points in 2 games prior to tonight on Petey's line would suggest he was doing just fine. They were dangerous tonight too, just didn't bury their chances.

 

You can see why Toffoli stands out as a top 6 forward as he has swift hands, good vision and knows how to bury a puck.

It seems like Toffoli plays well with everybody. Jake and Gaud getting pushed down to the 3rd line makes a dangerous line there with some spunk to it too. Especially when Boes comes back ,and then goodbye ericson, the top 6 will be sick with youth and skill throughout followed by mad depth.

 

Playoffs should be fun !:canucks:

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4 minutes ago, Chicken. said:

It seems like Toffoli plays well with everybody. Jake and Gaud getting pushed down to the 3rd line makes a dangerous line there with some spunk to it too. Especially when Boes comes back ,and then goodbye ericson, the top 6 will be sick with youth and skill throughout followed by mad depth.

 

Playoffs should be fun !:canucks:

When Brock gets back, he'll be either second or third line, I'm pretty sure Toffoli is stuck to Petey and Miller for the duration. Even though Petey was fighting the puck tonight, that line was still dangerous because of Miller and Toffoli's play. Petey should have had two tonight. Also keeping Toffoli with Miller and Petey increases the chances he signs with us after the season, because he can see the potential of winning a scoring title and another cup.

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5 hours ago, bad alice french said:

I guess you don't like making the playoffs then.

Could you imagine Gaudette, Macewan and Bailey out there hanging on to the lead or scrambling for a tie with a minute left in the game?

Sutter and Beagle and even Louie are our primary penalty killers.

Just nuts when I read posts like this. Yeah these guys are cap challenging but we would be in a black hole without the core leaders on this team.

This exactly, it seems sometimes people don't understand if you have a team full of talented offensive guys you are not going to go anywhere. It's a team game you need the grinders and penalty killers.

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5 hours ago, Dumb Nuck said:

That’s a rookie coaching move he should have used many many times in the past. Your praise of that just proves how bad a coach he is.

:bored: Um, How many tv time outs are there each period? :bored: Might be using those as time outs, so that he can save the called time for when it might be needed late in the game. Juuuuuust satin.

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My thoughts on the game

 

 Demko -  looked nervous at times but when he needed to make a save he did. Especially being down 2-0 . Only going to get more comfortable from here. Excited for him.

 

Roussel - tonight he was the Roussel of old. Dragging the team in the fight and sticking up for Hughes and Gaud.

 

Sutter - soft as hell and needs to sit. Loui is skating hard and grinding out the game. Sutter man alive hate him as much as I did Tim Schaller. MacEwen would be way better.

 

Hughes/Petey - Didn't have great games but thats okay. Didn't hurt us. Mostly unlucky plays

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, stawns said:

They should have had 3 more.  Hughes and Petey looked intimidated for two periods, but both played well in the third and OT.  They both need to stop looking to the refs everytime something happens.......it's the stretch drive, you're not going to draw the calls you did in December.

Spot on Stawns...

From here on in it will be tougher on the ice... and this will be a steep learning curve for our younger players.... 

As our best players Petersson and Hughes have marks on their backs, but the addition of both Miller and Toffoli and their play off experience (together with Beagle) will be of immense value in that department... 

Somehow I'm actually happy about it as well... This gives them a chance to get accustomed to the lack of calls, while there is still room for manoeuvre,

 

This is what Benning wanted the younger part of the team to learn and understand, by playing play off hockey.

 

Getting two point yesterday was a great start.

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8 hours ago, ilduce39 said:

Not only was he a great fit as a player - guy who scores and plays a grittier game - but he’s bringing that “cup winner” swagger and leadership that young teams like ours often covet.  Just an all around great pickup. 

This... So exactly how I feel about Toffoli... Pearson is the same... Never too up, never too down. We got this attitude... I am officially sold on Toffoli.

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Quick thoughts:

 

- Not our best game but still two points. Pure gold.

 

- Great game by Demko. He is strong minded, love the fact he was able to stay confident after two early goals.

 

- Captain Bo is the leader and shows up when we need  confidence to start the comeback.

 

- Look at Canucks’ record with Motte on the ice. He brings so much to the team.

 

- OT was impressive. We are so skilled.

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I’ve been streaming majority of the game’s as of late and I’ve notice toffoli and horvat have some proper chemistry between the two. Whenever they play together they click.  Add Pearson to the mix and that line will be something to watch.  I hope they are together when boeser gets back.  
 

hughes is just so unreal to watch. When he has the puck it’s just amazing how he gets around everyone or How quickly he can loose the man covering him. 
 

I don’t mind giving up madden at all for toffey!  He’s good, but I don’t think he would’ve signed here. Look at the center depth... no way he strives for 4th line.  
 

I love this team!   

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