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In one sense I agree. Not at all about how the win was secure, because it wasn't, and scoring that ENG was vital. But I agree it was a mistake by Evans cutting in and going for the wraparound, like I stated above. He got greedy and paid dearly for that, or maybe he didn't see M.S. coming in hot? Should've turned back towards the boards again, keeping hold of the puck and most likely he'd have an open teammate to make a pass to anyway who'd probably score.

Dunno about this one. Bad hit for sure but Evans made the contact almost inevitable cutting in like that straight towards Sheifele who was coming in hot trying to protect his goal and stay in the game. Mark made a bad decision committing to the hit but Evans made a bad decision too exposing himself to it. Maybe he though he had more time? Most players, in that situation, would find it hard to veer off and poke check I think. That said, it was charging and a dangerous play, well deserving of a few games suspension.

Agreed. He and Panarin are just filthy atm. Poor team in general the Rangers, especially on D, but with these two they always have the chance of outgunning the opposition. Happy for Mika. Top bloke who didn't quite manage to put it together for some years.Now he's better that I ever would've thought.

William Nylander is finally starting to earn his big contract. 12 goals in the last 15 games and at his current production looks likely to break 80 pts for the season. He is an electrifying player at his best as us Swedes know well from his international play. Nice to see him show it more often in the NHL.

Loui is not the player he once was but don’t forget he used to consistently put up 30 goals and 70 points a season, without ever being a flashy play driver. He got all those goals mainly by being smart and at the right place at the right time. Buried on a gritty, blue collar 4th line getting 5-10 min a game he’s never gonna put up numbers, though he’ll still do a professional job. With Bo on the second line at least he’s got the opportunity and lo and behold, he’s not doing too bad. Don’t know why people on here have such a grudge against Loui. Seems like a nice fellow. Not his fault the Canucks gave him a big contract. And he’s a hockey player, he wants to play hockey,

30 + goals and 80 + points as a plus player would be a very respectable sophomore season for Elias and I think that’s reasonable to expect. Would be delighted with that. Year after this he can aim at 90+

Credit to Deb and Alf for being early in the EP love! 20 goals now in 42 games. Improvement!

11-20 Pastrnack (kinda regret not including him in the top ten) Ovechkin (see above) Mathews Pettersson Johnny Hockey Zibanejad Barkov O’Reilly Scheifele Bergeron

Yeah I’d value Malkin above Draisaitl too, my list wasn’t really numbered, though generally the players I thought of first were the biggest stars. Marchand is a dirty rat no doubt but in terms of impact at both ends, not least in the play offs, he belongs on the list imo. I included Panarin ahead of the likes of Pastrnak and Ovechkin also because of his massive impact in all parts of the game. Made CBJs into a contender almost single handedly and now at NYRs he’s made them at least relevant. Very smart, skilled and consistent player.

Not really. Only room for ten. They are near misses though.

Kinda curious who you guys consider to be the top ten forwards in the NHL right now (can be currently injured), all things considered. Off the top of my head here’s my list (in no particular order) McDavid Draisaitl MacKinnon Malkin Crosby Eichel Marchand Panarin Kutcherov Kane

Yes this has been my general impression while watching Elias as Vancouver. Apart from not wanting to say something. Either you see a pass or you dont. It seldom about not wanting it. But a few quality line mates and a bit more swagger is what Elias needs.

Situational awareness is something that is hard to develop. You can train to be stronger, faster, to shoot better, but that instant decision making that top players have is not really trainable, you either have it or you don’t. JV doesn’t and never will. EP does and can become as good as McKinnon, all he needs is a bit more swagger.

Maybe so. It just looked so deliberate, and the way he chipped gently in the air made it seem special. Ugly but beautiful play.

Bad game. But Petey scoring off J.T. Millers leg/hip was an incredibly creative play. Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.

I know he doesnt shoot that much. Partly because of his style of play, he doesn’t shoot unless he thinks he has a good chance of scoring. Nevertheless needs to shoot more. Especially on our PP. Petey’s probably the best sniper on the team and his one-timers are deadly. Yet it seems there’s no plan or effort to set him up for them. Weird I think...

I agree that he seems a little bit tight, a little within himself. He has the tools to do more if he could regain that almost arrogant confidence top players always have. But yes that seems somewhat lacking now. He doesn’t shoot enough and doesn’t take on his man enough at full speed. And he has to get more one-timers set up on the PP! Really don’t know why this isn’t getting done? With Brook on one side and Petey on the other our first unit we should be deadly.

Dude, enough with the hostility, alright? Becoming one of the leading players in this league is the expectations many here have of him, and it is also my hope. Its in relation to these lofty expectations I’m judging him. Don’t get me wrong though, he’s already quite brilliant and comfortably the best player on the roster. Love the kid!

My comment about Pettersson struggling is referring more to his NHL form after the AS break than the past few WC games. Where he’s got 6 pts in 4 but tbh, the opposition’s been very poor and the kid hasn’t really played that well. But again, that doesn’t really matter, the past three games have been stale and slow tempo blowouts. He (and Willie) should be judged for what they do against the likes of Canada, Russia and the US and not Norway or Austria. IMO Pettersson still has to up his game a few notches to reach superstardom. He’s had a great start in the NHL but next season he has to show that he can be consistently productive and dominant despite being targeted. And he still lacks a few things here imo. Has a great shot but doesn’t use it enough, his release has to be quicker (better team mates would help too). He’s quick with great hands but isn’t as effective as he could be 1 vs 1. He’s creative but also quite prone to the occasional bad give-away. Hope he he has it in him to make the needed improvements but I think Canucks fans would do well to somewhat temper their expectations. He’s nowhere near the level of McDavid, McKinnon or Crosby yet and I doubt he will ever reach it too. But I hope I’m wrong and he is a thing if beauty nevertheless.

Nylander has always played like a superstar in Europe and the national team. Think the larger rinks and (often) poor opposition suits him well. Pettersson on the other hand hasn`t really shone as of yet. Tbqh the boy`s been struggling since the allstar break. Looks hesitant and rather taken by the occasion too often. Hope its just an early sophmore slump and he`ll comeback out firning next season. Dont care about the WC tbh.

Good. Wish Gudbranson all the best at Pittsburgh. Doubt he’ll do well though. Seems a nice bloke. But awful awful hockey player.

Ah okay... Tbh I’m a bit of a noob with the NHL and NA pro sports. I figured that since he was traded to SJS he signed a new contract with them and that the Canucks would have to trade for him to play there. But with the trade SJS just took over his old contract with Ottawa? And he’s becoming an unrestricted free agent soon? Which means he can sign for anyone? But yeah, Edler/Karlsson behind the EP line. I can get behind that!

Jebus Christ that sound terrible, like the worst pairing ever! Don’t get me wrong, I’d love EK to sign for the Canucks, he’s an amazing player. But he also, quite often in fact, forgets about his defensive responsibilities and joins the rush leaving his partner alone defending if the puck is turned over. You our really want that lone defender to be Erik Gudbrandson?? And don’t you think EK could use a partner that actually can pass him the puck once in a while? As opposed to icing it... :/ An open question though: I’ve noticed that many here seems to think acquiring EK is possible. What’s the reasoning here?

Very impressive considering how most of these guys play with better line mates and have more TOI. If he can finish the season with above 1 PPG that’s excellent but I wouldn’t be surprised if he improves even further.

Unhealthy Pettersson adiction... It seems I’ve developed one. I’m Swedish and The Canucks usually play late night/early morning CET. But when there’s a game I lose so much sleep. I tend to sleep uneasily and I wake up regularly checking my phone for the latest score (watching the late mid week games are out of question). Remember when he got his hat trick. I had a stomach flu and felt terrible but when I saw he got the OT winner I still felt it was a great night. Dunno why this has happened, there are many Swedish players that do well in the NHL, fex Arvidsson of the Preds who is from my tiny hometown, and I’ve no real connection to the guy. In Sweden he destroyed my team Skellefteå in the SHL final so I should perhaps bear a grudge. But there is just something about this kid. It’s like it’s my own child out there playing, I want him to do well so badly. Though i wish I slept better.