Got the Babych Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Provocative enough first post title? Don't see this team going anywhere without a power play. Long time fan (40 years) and long time lurker here. Been jonesing for positive Canucks vibes so hard over the last few years that I've been hitting this site like a rented mule. Haven't really felt the need to post, but this PP has already forced (yes forced) me to break 2 pieces of furniture this year. I dread when we get a call. I literally just hope we don't get scored on. The team looks so much worse on PP than in 5 v 5 or even on the PK. I think we gain the zone more on the PK. Any momentum the team has dies once we go on the PP. Not a recipe for success. And it's sucked all year. Well, many years but this one should be different. What's led me to break my lurker status is that in the face of a horrible PP, I still hear most people saying it's no big deal! The team (I guess that's to be expected), fans, even the media and analysts constantly saying that our PP is still ranked whatever in the league and all PPs have slumps, blah, blah, blah. No, No, No. We have scored PP goals in batches against horrible teams. Great. Where is our PP ranked against not bottom feeders? I don't actually know. I'm more of a tequila and breaking furniture kind of guy, but I've watched every game this year and would wager it's sub par. It's been an exciting year and I'm liking a lot of things, but we are not going anywhere with our current strategy of giving out shots like a teen mom shooter girl working for tips, and having a PP that prefers to play in the neutral zone. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Agreed. Our coaching is not good. Get Babs here, and NOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Got the Babych Posted February 9, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 9, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Alflives said: Agreed. Our coaching is not good. Get Babs here, and NOW! You're right!! Babs would fix this right quick. Edit: I thought we were talking about Dave Babych, the best player the Canucks, nay the NHL, has ever seen. Edited February 10, 2020 by Got the Babych 2 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/team-stats?season=2019&category=SPECIAL+TEAMS&group=1&time=0&pos=0&team=1&page=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 46 minutes ago, Got the Babych said: You're right!! Babs would fix this right quick. Babs would at least get the support/role players posing the right way. Right now our role players are soft as Charmin. They are just too easy to play against. No way should Green be allowing this soft play from the support/role players. Maybe the veterans on the team don’t respect (or fear) Green enough? Maybe Green just coaches a soft game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'NucK™ Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 49 minutes ago, 6string said: https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/team-stats?season=2019&category=SPECIAL+TEAMS&group=1&time=0&pos=0&team=1&page=1 8th in PP%, 15th in PK%, currently sitting 13th in the league standings. So if anything this reinforces what the OP is saying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got the Babych Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 57 minutes ago, 6string said: https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/team-stats?season=2019&category=SPECIAL+TEAMS&group=1&time=0&pos=0&team=1&page=1 Good stats, but we know they've scored PP goals. I want to know how our PP has done against good teams. When the PP matters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got the Babych Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 25 minutes ago, Alflives said: Babs would at least get the support/role players posing the right way. Right now our role players are soft as Charmin. They are just too easy to play against. No way should Green be allowing this soft play from the support/role players. Maybe the veterans on the team don’t respect (or fear) Green enough? Maybe Green just coaches a soft game? Haha, I see youre talking about Babcock? Babs is Babych to me! I don't necessarily disagree, though. Not my first choice, but probably still an improvement. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 1 minute ago, Got the Babych said: Haha, I see youre talking about Babcock? Babs is Babych to me! I don't necessarily disagree, though. Not my first choice, but probably still an improvement. Our older players just seem to playing out the string. It’s like they are looking forward to summer vacation, and don’t want to risk an injury getting in the way of their plans. They need a wake up, or to be replaced with younger more hungry guys. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyCuddles Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 PP and penalty kill have been in a steady decline since Nov/December, PK less so. Has stagnated at 15-18 since November. PP numbers were inflated by all those 5/5 PP nights we had against bad teams early. Against good teams we see the PP either do nothing or in some cases give up numerous chances for the other team. I don't think we should fire Green, also not against it, but something needs to change. The playoffs are only gonna have good teams. If we can't score on them with any regularity on the PP we are gonna be in for a short playoff run. PK's passivity has been a major talking point for me all season. The Tampa Bay game is giving me PTSD in that regard. Every announcer mentions how passive our defensive zone coverage is. Something needs to change. And I am thinking we need to get exposed in the playoffs then have a coaching/GM meeting for meaningful change to happen. I don't see Jim firing the coaching staff, especially after extending them in October. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silky mitts Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Our terrible powerplay also doesn't scare teams from gooning it up with us. A lethal powerplay can be a great deterrent at times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got the Babych Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 @N7Nucks @Silky mitts Agreed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awalk Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 We won't see a good powerplay against good teams consistently with the formation we have. We just can't move the puck well enough when you only have 1 option to pass to half of the time. Our best play on our powerplay is to literally set a 1 man screen. That's the only way we've been scoring on it lately. Otherwise you need a 100 mile an hour one-timer that just blows by a goaltender to score. It's too reliant on individual skill to be really effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolboarder Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, MikeyD said: We won't see a good powerplay against good teams consistently with the formation we have. We just can't move the puck well enough when you only have 1 option to pass to half of the time. Our best play on our powerplay is to literally set a 1 man screen. That's the only way we've been scoring on it lately. Otherwise you need a 100 mile an hour one-timer that just blows by a goaltender to score. It's too reliant on individual skill to be really effective. The problem with PP is that Boeser doesn't shoot that much and even his shot is not effective when compared to his rookie season. Even if he get the puck, he opts to pass and when he does get to shoot, he hesitated for a second then by the time he is shooitng, the opponent is easily stop him by blocking the shot or goalie is set. That is the issue of the PP and the opponents is keying on Petterson's one timer. Lack of puck movement and too stationary are easy to stop them. They tend to score when it's broken play, lucky bounce, tipping or line rushing. They rarely score on a good set-up. If you take a close look on their 5 on 3 PP opportunities, they don't score at a reasonable rate and is easily stopped. They play like it's 5 on 4 when it's 5 on 3. This falls on Newell Brown and his philosophy on PP has passed him by. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puckster Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Yes, our PP sucks at Zone entry, then when we get it, everyone passes it around looking for the Cute Gimme, highlight reel stuff. SHOOT THE DANG PUCK !!! Good things can happen when u throw the puck at the net!!! its been this way for 50 years ( i've been watching the Nucks longer than that btw) Oh wait ....lets perfect the back pass on the rush.... it may fool someone.... 60 years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dats hockey Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 It’s a great thing we got a MASTERMIND like Newell Brown running this Powerplays to utilize these talented players we got what a Powerplay Brain Child bet he goes to sleep thinking of ways to pick apart PK units. Wait Never mind he just dreams of a continuous loop of drop passes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickly Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 hours ago, Silky mitts said: Our terrible powerplay also doesn't scare teams from gooning it up with us. A lethal powerplay can be a great deterrent at times Didn’t work so well in 2011. Even the best power plays in the league are susceptible to droughts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got the Babych Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 hour ago, MikeyD said: We won't see a good powerplay against good teams consistently with the formation we have. We just can't move the puck well enough when you only have 1 option to pass to half of the time. Our best play on our powerplay is to literally set a 1 man screen. That's the only way we've been scoring on it lately. Otherwise you need a 100 mile an hour one-timer that just blows by a goaltender to score. It's too reliant on individual skill to be really effective. I agree, but I don't think the players on the ice are the problem. The same players actually look pretty good when not on the PP, which is maddening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 23 minutes ago, Got the Babych said: I agree, but I don't think the players on the ice are the problem. The same players actually look pretty good when not on the PP, which is maddening. That's because it's too structured, and not in a good way. We have these amazing high talent thinkers and we're getting them to to play in a predictable manner. And not even in a subtle way, in a way that's been around for years. In a way the Sedins played on the powerplay ten years ago, lol. I firmly believe we haven't even been able to see what Quinn Hughes is capable of. The guy can go end to end on a whim, yet rarely ever displays his ability to do so because he's a team guy. On the contrary, you have guys like Miller which understand what they need to do in order to win so he'll make these solo dashes and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't, but he doesn't box himself into a program like Petey, Brock, Hughes and Horvat do. These guys are very dynamic thinkers but when you get them to start behind the net, then go out and then hit a drop pass and then streak up the middle and if a play is cut off then dish to the wall and then if the winger is cut off along the wall then send it back to the point and then if that play is cut off then ring it around the boards and hopes the opposite winger is flying by to pick it up. I literally just called out 95% of our breakouts and zone entries on our powerplay, and it's been that way for close to ten years. What's changed? The talent level. When we were lighting it up, it had nothing to do with a great system, because it's a meh system that a lot of teams use ever since it was introduced by the Canucks around 2010 with the Sedins. We just had guys with great hands getting away with making predictable moves because they could phonebooth their way out of situations. When you get it to a point where they send two guys to commit to the predictable play, good luck. Play is going the other way every time. But when you get somebody who breaks away from that ala JT Miller, then you get a highlight reel snipe off the rush because you have 4 guys thinking, "Hey, he's going to dish it here, don't commit to him too much" and don't get a stick on anything. Everybody was saying, "Hey, if our powerplay sucks so bad then why are we at the top of the league in PP goals?" Because all it takes is for somebody to understand the game to see it was gonna crash once teams started tightening up. Same thing with on our streak, we weren't playing the right way but getting great bounces and stellar goaltending. "You're clearly a troll, bud. The team's rolling right now and here you are saying they're bound to hit a slide. What kind of a fan are you?" Sorry, bud. I'm a student of the game and the game of hockey has a lot of trends and patterns, and this pattern of winning while being outshot by 12 shots every game isn't going to last. Nothing is more annoying than trying to have a hockey discussion with somebody who is so blinded by their love for their team that they can't admit to certain aspects of the sport, on a hockey forum no less. Once we uncage the players on the powerplay like the second unit is more similar to doing, then we will start seeing true consistent success of the first unit. When you give highly creative players the creative freedom they deserve to adapt to what they see in front of them and to make plays off of that, then we will be a constant top tier powerplay. The talent is top 5 in the league for powerplay unit 1's, and you can see it 5 on 5, but playing ABC hockey is gonna get you killed when the players on the other end of the ice are smart enough to make it and to be good in the NHL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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