Canuck Clay Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 The Vancouver Canucks are 46 games into their season and in the thick of the playoff race in the ho hum Western Conference. In this episode of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I explore 5 reasons why the Canucks are still in the playoff hunt. Do you agree with my 5 reasons? What other key factors did I miss? God Bless, Clay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I think you definitely hit on the main points for why the Canucks are currently in the playoff mix. And probably the first point (weakness of the Western Conference) is the main factor right now. It seems to be a bit of a "turtle derby" going on for those last few spots in the postseason. I'd expect some of the underachieving teams will pick things up in the second half and we'll see a little more separation. But that said, I also wouldn't count out the Canucks from "overachieving" (versus media expectations) and staying in the mix right until season's end, possibly even securing one of the final playoff berths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV. Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 The state of the Western conference is basically the only reason why we're here. But I mean once Hansen and Hutton return, maybe even Gudbranson, this team could mount a challenge for the wildcard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yes we can nucks Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 That pretty well sums it up. But you forgot very astute coaching and line deployment by WD! Where would we be without Megna and the Sedins?! But seriously... it really is amazing that Canucks are in the playoff hunt. This despite the constant stream of injuries to key members of our defense corps... Edler, Tanev, Gudbranson, Hutton... as well as to Hansen and Dorsett. And imagine if our power play was only average instead of one of the worst... that's worth a few more wins that would put us right up there at the top of the division with Anaheim and Edmonton (only 7 pts ahead now). Boggles the mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodycanuckleheads Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 The 5 reasons we are in the playoff hunt right now are: 1. Troy Stetcher 2. Troy Stetcher 3. Troy Stetcher 4. Troy Stetcher 5. Troy Stetcher Not that he's played like the best d-man on Earth - but he's done something far more important that no one has been able to get the Canucks to do for literally generations now. Not our coaching staff, and definitely not our players: SHOOT THE BLOODY PUCK! Before Stetcher showed up, getting the Canucks to shoot the puck was like pulling teeth. They just would not do it. Ever. Then, a tiny rookie showed up and started bombing away. He didn't get benched for it (surprisingly, given our coaching history), and the other players learned that they had to shoot too (if they ever wanted to touch the puck). So, all of a sudden, our culture changed. We became a team that shoots a lot more. And, not surprisingly, we've been scoring/winning a lot more too. All because of one little rookie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackcanuck Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 1. Miller 2. Miller 3. Miller 4. Miller 5. Miller 6. Megna Sportsnet StatsVerified account @SNstats 7m7 minutes ago #Canucks Ryan Miller has not lost in regulation in 8 straight starts, going 6-0-2 with a 1.58 GAA, .948 SV% & 2 Shutouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Good piece Clay. You make good points - you elaborate and get to the point. You'd be an upgrade on some of the intermission guests that SN props up between periods of Canucks broadcasts. I'd add a 6th point. Viable NHL depth. If you told almost any of us - even the glass half full Homers - that the team would lose all 4 of it's top 4 D for stretches by the half way point - and one of their two 20 goal scorers from last season for the bulk of the games (and arguably their best forward) - most people would have conceded what the 'experts' predicted - that the team would be in the hunt for a lottery pick and probably on pace to hit the 65pt mark. However, whether people thought much of them or not, the replacement forwards that have stepped in in place of Hansen, Dorsett and the assigned Virtanen, as well as the rookie D and Sbisa who have stepped up in the absence of Tanev, Edler, Gudbranson, Hutton - have done a great job. I'd also note that Sbisa's season last year was fine - it was the year before that he struggled, and primarily at the beginning, mostly with puck-movement that improved as he got more comfortable here and accustomed to new systems. I think the credit for the depth has to be shared - from Benning to Desjardins to Green and supporting cast. The team has identified and integrated some good, responsible players that are holding their own while enabling the secondary scoring group to win games. Chaput, Skille, and even Megna - who is widely hated but has played a support role maybe as well as can be expected from essentially a 16th man - have all been solid, consistent and reliable. Sutter, Granlund and Sbisa - all players whose acquisition resulted in Benning being widely ripped - have been excellent - with Granlund and Sbisa's improvement bordering outstanding. In the end, imo, the coach deserves a great deal of credit. He has not only worked with a revolving door of injury losses, but his systems have been steady, the players have bought in from top to bottom, and we're seeing the kind of day in day out effort it takes to compete consistently for a playoff spot. The viability of the depth is in part scouting - Green no doubt indicated some serviceable NHL depth in seeing players like Chaput, Megna perform in the A, but the team's success cannot be separated from what Desjardins is managing to get out of a group that clearly appears to believe in him and are willing to do the work necessary. As much as that all may pain tank nation and the Willie Watchers, the coach and the team are far better than the negative expectations of the majority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sbriggs Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 12 minutes ago, bloodycanuckleheads said: The 5 reasons we are in the playoff hunt right now are: 1. Troy Stetcher 2. Troy Stetcher 3. Troy Stetcher 4. Troy Stetcher 5. Troy Stetcher Not that he's played like the best d-man on Earth - but he's done something far more important that no one has been able to get the Canucks to do for literally generations now. Not our coaching staff, and definitely not our players: SHOOT THE BLOODY PUCK! Before Stetcher showed up, getting the Canucks to shoot the puck was like pulling teeth. They just would not do it. Ever. Then, a tiny rookie showed up and started bombing away. He didn't get benched for it (surprisingly, given our coaching history), and the other players learned that they had to shoot too (if they ever wanted to touch the puck). So, all of a sudden, our culture changed. We became a team that shoots a lot more. And, not surprisingly, we've been scoring/winning a lot more too. All because of one little rookie. Wrong. Theres more to the Canucks success then any one player. And if your going to give only one player the credit it has to be Miller first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastal.view Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 2 hours ago, Canuck Clay said: The Vancouver Canucks are 46 games into their season and in the thick of the playoff race in the ho hum Western Conference. In this episode of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I explore 5 reasons why the Canucks are still in the playoff hunt. Do you agree with my 5 reasons? What other key factors did I miss? God Bless, Clay i really appreciate your work the thought and quality is top shelf would it be too much trouble to provide the briefest written summary of your videos like for this 1 just 5 short bullets i cannot always actually watch your video work at the time i see your posting (work and being in public places without headphones is mostly why i sometimes cannot) but am still immediately curious to see your 5 points/reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Clay Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 1 minute ago, coastal.view said: i really appreciate your work the thought and quality is top shelf would it be too much trouble to provide the briefest written summary of your videos like for this 1 just 5 short bullets i cannot always actually watch your video work at the time i see your posting (work and being in public places without headphones is mostly why i sometimes cannot) but am still immediately curious to see your 5 points/reasons Thanks for your nice feedback. My 5 reasons are: 1. Western Conference in bad (many under-achieving middling teams) 2. Home record is good (16 wins in 25 games) 3. Secondary scoring (Horvat, Sutter, Baertschi, Granlund, Eriksson AND Sedins all with legit chance for 20 goals) 4. Solid goaltending...especially since Christmas 5. Decent defence...especially with emergence of Tryamkin and Stecher in absence of Hutton and Gudbranson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastal.view Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 3 minutes ago, Canuck Clay said: Thanks for your nice feedback. My 5 reasons are: 1. Western Conference in bad (many under-achieving middling teams) 2. Home record is good (16 wins in 25 games) 3. Secondary scoring (Horvat, Sutter, Baertschi, Granlund, Eriksson AND Sedins all with legit chance for 20 goals) 4. Solid goaltending...especially since Christmas 5. Decent defence...especially with emergence of Tryamkin and Stecher in absence of Hutton and Gudbranson i think you nailed it i might quibble about the order provided but perhaps you did not intend the ranking to matter i think goaltending is likely number 2 if you did rank the reasons but i'll watch the video first maybe .. cuz i might be an idiot posting without doing that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 1 hour ago, bloodycanuckleheads said: The 5 reasons we are in the playoff hunt right now are: 1. Troy Stetcher 2. Troy Stetcher 3. Troy Stetcher 4. Troy Stetcher 5. Troy Stetcher Not that he's played like the best d-man on Earth - but he's done something far more important that no one has been able to get the Canucks to do for literally generations now. Not our coaching staff, and definitely not our players: SHOOT THE BLOODY PUCK! Before Stetcher showed up, getting the Canucks to shoot the puck was like pulling teeth. They just would not do it. Ever. Then, a tiny rookie showed up and started bombing away. He didn't get benched for it (surprisingly, given our coaching history), and the other players learned that they had to shoot too (if they ever wanted to touch the puck). So, all of a sudden, our culture changed. We became a team that shoots a lot more. And, not surprisingly, we've been scoring/winning a lot more too. All because of one little rookie. What... he's got 1 goal? I know he's generated a lot more but he's not remotely close to being the only reason lol. Here's mine 1. By far the biggest reason: Goaltending. Miller followed by Marky 2. Bo Horvat 3. Sbeezus who leads the team in +/- ... loved how many pucks he threw at the net last night 4. Sven & Granlund contributing 5. Emergence for Troy, Tryamkin, and even solid play from Biega. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 great insight clay. do you think you could do one, one which coaches are responsible for what and how they as a group make decisions? cheers lad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Ryan Miller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Someone has been peeing in the Gatorade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMelvin Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Dont forget they need the money... all those empty seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleboy Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 How good could this team be with Hutton and Guddy healthy? A little more offense and we have a team. This team is not being built around a high octane offense. It is being built around goal tending and defense. The offense can be slowly added but the defense is making them competitive very quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herberts Vasiljevs Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 How long till Guddy is expected back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 For me,it would be the outstanding goaltending that we have gotten,especially from Ryan Miller (we've been spoilt with good goaltenders in Van..IMO)...Also,the ascent of the younger players,especially on D,which are taking the load off of the vets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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