Interesting article on the Sedin's Corsi Dominance in this series and our lack of depth

[spur1]

When we are down to playing Hansen on the first line we are in trouble.

That means this article is right on the money....lack of depth.

One of the reasons the defence does not score much is that we don't have enough players going to the net.

[wallstreetamigo]

Kassian would have probably made a difference since our Rw depth is brutal.

[goblix]

2nd line sucks. After watching Kesler just now, I am very sad.

Trade is still alright, Kesler is a butt head.

Bonino is 1.9m good bang for the buck for the next 2 years (he's not a 2nd line centre imo though)

Sbisa is young and his play can change, he had a good run in the middle of the season, I think a well suited d-partner would help.

but...

McCann is the deal breaker. If he turns out to be as good as he looks right now then Kesler who?

Also, Kenins on Sedin line ?

hits, forechecks, fast, good shot (usually accurate if he has space).

Not sure if that would translate to success on Sedin line but it would be a good try

[aGENT]

http://www.tsn.ca/sedins-need-help-from-supporting-cast-1.264333

Check out the link: I would have copy pasted it into this thread but the link has some really staggering statistical visualizations (i.e graphs, tables)

Basically what the article is saying is that the Canucks have absolutely no depth in this series and the Sedins have been quite dominant in terms of puck possession numbers. Supposedly the Flames have yet to score on the Sedin line 5 on 5 yet their depth is completely dominating ours, statistically speaking.

The article (or the advanced stat numbers) don't equate to "corsi doesn't mean anything" as so many on here are stating. Just because the Sedins corsi numbers are good doesn't mean a lot of the rest of the teams aren't. They are but two players of 19 playing any given game. They could have the best corsi numbers in the world and we'd still likely lose without the rest of the team pitching in.

As I've been saying in other threads and for years now. The Sedins are not the problem. Never have been and likely won't be until they retire and simply don't play anymore.

Depth, secondary scoring, our defense....these are the problems. We now have Burrows and Kassian out with injury that could/would be playing in our top 6 (or at least top 9) and Vrbata's been a no show. Our D at times is a Chinese fire drill and (particularly on the right side) lacks players for defined roles/pairing chemistry. It's an echo of the problems we faced last year with a lack of depth (thankfully to a smaller degree and without the abysmal coaching).

[Maniwaki Canuck]

Good article, way better than the stale anti-Sedin bs that floats around on this board. If our 2nd and 3rd lines and our D were doing anything at all, this series would be looking a whole lot better for us.

[wallstreetamigo]

Time for Benning to realize that being a "glue guy" (Higgins) or a vocal leader (Bieksa - who has been too vocal and arrogant this series) etc means nothing if those players cannot actually do anything but talk when push comes to shove.

We hear talk of the veteran leadership and glue guys but in reality the glue is not holding anything together and hasn't for a long time. Give me young guys who at least want to battle hard and earn their jobs. At least then there is an excuse to lose and we won't look like entitled, unmotivated sloths in doing so.

Desjardins needs to stop loving the vets even when they can't or won't do the job. His failures as a coach have never been more evident than in this series. Hopefully his self professed stubbornness gets the wake up call it needs after he has been badly out coached.

And I swear if I hear any player say "we need to trust our process" one more time I will snap. Is their process to play half ass until the final five minutes of every game? Is it to be so overconfident that they beak off in the media rather than actually show up on the ice? Is it that it is better to lose while coddling vets than attempt to win by giving them a kick in the ass and letting young players have a shot? That has been working for Calgary after all.

The process is the problem. The canucks have been the most arrogantly underprepared team in the playoffs. And all season against weak teams as we saw. This core group has nothing to be arrogant about.

[chickenman92]

http://www.tsn.ca/sedins-need-help-from-supporting-cast-1.264333

Check out the link: I would have copy pasted it into this thread but the link has some really staggering statistical visualizations (i.e graphs, tables)

Basically what the article is saying is that the Canucks have absolutely no depth in this series and the Sedins have been quite dominant in terms of puck possession numbers. Supposedly the Flames have yet to score on the Sedin line 5 on 5 yet their depth is completely dominating ours, statistically speaking.

So what you're saying is, the Sedins are twice as good as any of the other lines...tell us something we don't know.

The reason Vancouver is losing is there are about two players on the roster that will actually stand in front of the net and outwork guys. I don't care how long you hold on to the puck on the outside. If the goalie is seeing the shot and not one is there for rebounds, you're losing the game.

[wallstreetamigo]

So what you're saying is, the Sedins are twice as good as any of the other lines...tell us something we don't know.

The reason Vancouver is losing is there are about two players on the roster that will actually stand in front of the net and outwork guys. I don't care how long you hold on to the puck on the outside. If the goalie is seeing the shot and not one is there for rebounds, you're losing the game.

As I said before the series Calgary will give you the perimeter all day long and just clog up the middle and block shots. The canucks don't want to go to the front of the net and are playing right into what Calgary wants.

Look at the salaries on D. One of the needs to go because we desperately need a true offensive Dman that can be a threat. I vote Bieksa simply because his arrogant yapping woke up Calgary and he is the most overrated player in recent memory. All he can do is talk but it is no wonder no one buys his do as I say not as I do bs anymore.

I swear if Benning commits again to this core I will have a hard time watching next year. I will take passionate losing over scraping into the playoffs only to politely bend over any day.

[Westcoasting]

As I said before the series Calgary will give you the perimeter all day long and just clog up the middle and block shots. The canucks don't want to go to the front of the net and are playing right into what Calgary wants.

Look at the salaries on D. One of the needs to go because we desperately need a true offensive Dman that can be a threat. I vote Bieksa simply because his arrogant yapping woke up Calgary and he is the most overrated player in recent memory. All he can do is talk but it is no wonder no one buys his do as I say not as I do bs anymore.

I swear if Benning commits again to this core I will have a hard time watching next year. I will take passionate losing over scraping into the playoffs only to politely bend over any day.

This right here i believe is our biggest problem. Too much perimeter play and no one goes to the net hard and stays there and takes a beating waiting for a rebound or deflection chance. You watch players get close and then skate by or go behind the net or to a corner. When you watch Calgary players they all go to the net hard and then one or two stay close and cause commotion and screens. It's just a different attitude and one that is going to take a core change to change play.

[wallstreetamigo]

The Sedins are not the problem at all other than they play too perimeter at times. They need a net presence in this series. The closest thing they had was Burrows or Kassian.

[RUPERTKBD]

The Sedins are not the problem at all other than they play too perimeter at times. They need a net presence in this series. The closest thing they had was Burrows or Kassian.

It certainly isn't Vrbata.

People were critical of Willie's decision to play Hansen in that role, but he's probably the most suited without Burr or Kass being available.

[elvis15]

Speaking of shot attempts, here was the results from last game:

5v5

PP

So while we did get some shots down low and in front they were lower quality chances for the most part and the rest were from the outside or blocked. Even on the PP we had one goal that had an element of luck to it, and that was from the side of play. The rest were basically blocked in our two chances at PPs.

Imagine if we hadn't kept Calgary's shots down on their PP chances, 2 goals, 2 shots and 1 blocked in their 4 PPs.

[aGENT]

It certainly isn't Vrbata.

People were critical of Willie's decision to play Hansen in that role, but he's probably the most suited without Burr or Kass being available.

People wonder why Hansen gets put there and that's exactly why. Burrows has been by far their most successful line mate and Hansen is probably the closest player we have currently available to play that role.

It's far from ideal but it's the best we've got right now with Burr/Kassian out and Vrbata both not fitting that role (board battler, net presence etc) and being a playoff no-show.

[elvis15]

It certainly isn't Vrbata.

People were critical of Willie's decision to play Hansen in that role, but he's probably the most suited without Burr or Kass being available.

If there is something wrong with Vrbata (beyond just mentally) right now, then that'd explain his play, but otherwise he should be on the 1st line with Burrows out. If Kassian was back he could be an alternative if we wanted a style change, but Vrbata should be the finisher with the Twins and the second line should be relegated to spot duty if they can't improve their play.

[RUPERTKBD]

If there is something wrong with Vrbata (beyond just mentally) right now, then that'd explain his play, but otherwise he should be on the 1st line with Burrows out. If Kassian was back he could be an alternative if we wanted a style change, but Vrbata should be the finisher with the Twins and the second line should be relegated to spot duty if they can't improve their play.

I don't disagree with this. It was more a case of pointing out what I'd guess Willie's thinking was by putting Hansen on the line.

That being said, with the trouble the Canucks have had scoring, I think it makes sense to put Vrbata back with the twins and give Sven a shot at igniting the second line.

[aGENT]

If there is something wrong with Vrbata (beyond just mentally) right now, then that'd explain his play, but otherwise he should be on the 1st line with Burrows out. If Kassian was back he could be an alternative if we wanted a style change, but Vrbata should be the finisher with the Twins and the second line should be relegated to spot duty if they can't improve their play.

In 40 career playoff games Vrbata has a whopping ( ) 16 points and is a combined -16.

It's becoming clear he's a regular season player IMO.

I also think making us even more of a one line team is not the answer.

[RUPERTKBD]

In 40 career playoff games Vrbata has a whopping ( )16 points and is a combined -16.

It's becoming clear he's a regular season player IMO.

This could be case.

However, I think due diligence suggests that Willie at least try Vrby there, before the series is over and we spend the summer wondering what might have happened if our leading goal scorer had played at least one game with our two best passers....

[aGENT]

This could be case.

However, I think due diligence suggests that Willie at least try Vrby there, before the series is over and we spend the summer wondering what might have happened if our leading goal scorer had played at least one game with our two best passers....

It has been tried. He's had shifts with them that he did nothing with.

[hockeyfan90]

All that corsi from puck possession only mustered 1 shot in game 3 between them..

[RUPERTKBD]

It has been tried. He's had shifts with them that he did nothing with.

Meh. A shift here and there doesn't show us anything. We've seen tons of games over the years where the line has been invisible for 50 minutes, but finishes with 3 points each.