[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks @ Calgary Ex-Canucks | January 16 2021 | 7 p.m. PT | CBC, SN, TVAS2, NHLN

[Alienhuggyflow]

On 1/15/2021 at 2:00 AM, King Heffy said:

4-1 Nucks.  MacEwen takes care of Tkachuk and puts that gutless coward in the emergency room where he belongs.  Not a single Flame lifts a finger to defend the turtle.

Gotta say Zac has been the worst Nuck with his linemates and Jake not far behind.

After watching the Flames game, I saw a lot of the habits that led me to being ok with his departure.

The dude is terrible at sealing of the posts and he looks slow laterally and the dude needs to stay in his net.

Maybe it's me but a lot of the nice saves he makes are off self-inflicted mistakes. The save on Thursday was a good example, completely blunders the puck behind the net then gets lucky when Sheif shoots it into his glove.

Looking forward to tonight, the only team that I hate playing on the road is the Oilers Mcdrai without last change on nights #97 is on, scares me.

[Alienhuggyflow]

10 hours ago, tas said:

what I mean is that pettersson and horvat and boeser have been consistent enough in their effort and productivity over a span of years that an off night or two to start a weird season without preseason games isn't going to invite criticism from me.

 

jake, on the other hand, has earned only criticism really to this point in his career. sure, he improve his numbers last year, but he still wasn't a difference maker and was still generally the weakest link on the team (not wearing #21).

Thing is tho while I do agree certain players get a longer leash if we assume the issue is lack of camp\pre-season games then to bash Jake but not the rest is a little disingenuous IMO. 

Game 1 the top line was decent, 2nd line was awesome,

game 2 the entire top 6 sucked. I think every team is seeing that inconsistency with the skilled players.

I'm more worried about our entire bottom six except Sutter and Beagle floating around being crap defensively.

I hope if that continues Sutter takes over for AG. Butter and Jake actually have played\looked we'll together. 

[Boudrias]

15 hours ago, Davathor said:

 

The point is the Oilers purposely tanked their team for a plethora of #1 picks forcing the NHL to completely change the draft and screw over teams that are/were actually bad and needed a top pick. We got screwed by the new lottery rules immediately, while Edmonton - YET AGAIN - wins another 1st overall. After all that, including the embarrassing mismanagement of the top talent they acquired, they are rewarded with the next Crosby/Gretzky. 

 

There is no God, and I can't cheer for McDavid. 

Easy to cheer for McDavid. After all he could be a Laffer. The none stop BS coming out of TO is comedic relief but tiring. 

[D.B Cooper]

So, I’m a big Jake fan..... most of the time.  
I always hold on to him maybe figuring it out.  
But he probably won’t if he hasn’t yet.  
 

He doesn’t keep his feet moving and he isn’t hard enough on the puck.   

There were a handful of times in game one where the Nucks were in the Ozone and Jake would casually stride towards the Oilers Dman, instead of full speed pressure and finishing his check.  
 

The guy has all the speed in the world, but is the laziest kid ive seen. 
How many chances can one kid get and not figure it out.  
 

Id bench him for 5 games.  
If he comes back with anything less that 110% every shift, another 5 games.  
Rinse and repeat. 
If he doesn’t get it by the end of the season he is gone.   
Shifts off mean games off.   
 

The kid is turning out to be a waste of talent.  
I’m rooting for him big time, but doubts are taking over

[T-Bo]

It is not like Markstrom had 3 to 5 years of elite goaltending behind him when he left, he really only started be excelling the last year and a half.  It was not that long ago his name and beachball were used in the same sentence. He matured later for his position.

 

My gut tells me his skin is thinner then it looks.  He was approaching a contract year, getting older, and this was his last shot at big money. The bar is not as high for him anymore now,  as he got his term and money.  Sure, he will come out swinging for his new team, they all do, but as soon as he settles in, he’ll drop off performance wise. He made that nice highlight reel glove save against the Jets the other night, which buried the fact that it was him that made the mistake that set up that opportunity in the first place.

 

But my gut has been off before, but I chalked it up to a bad batch of chicken wings.

 

Go Nucks!

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

9 hours ago, sxqhfeh said:

LE is back to the line up, 1st line with pete and browser, I hope he doin good

Wait....What...?

 

Petey may not show up for the game at all, if that is the case....he didn't really show up last game with Milsy out...he won't even be in the building if he has to play with LE....

[IBatch]

What’s the over under on Markstrom letting a weak shot in within the:

 

First shot on net 

First three minutes of the game

Last few minutes of the game 

 

What’s the over under on Tanev:

 

Breaking something important blocking an BB/EP blast

 

Sucks seeing them play with a different uniform on, but now that they are the enemy expose them weaknesses! 

[nuck-lifer]

Lots of talk about Jakes unimpressive starting the 1st line.

I don't really think its lack of effort rather then being lost in his role with 2 elite forwards. Jake can be a dominant forward  playing a simple game. Petey and Brock are not those players. Jake had a good camp, drove hard to the net and showed that he wants to shake his reputation of inconsistency but that needs to be in a role hat supports his game which at best on the 2nd line.

 

So what does that leave the team

 

Bo would be the best forward that we have to make this a real threat but that's loading up to much and making it an easy shutdown for opposing teams.

Hoglander has the skill level but would really hurt them overall defensively and he has gelled well on the 2nd line with 2 strong 200' forwards.

Pearson could be the best option bringing some size , decent board control and enough hockey IQ to help the line on both ends of the ice, but why breakup the 2nd line that has really connected and again been our best line so far.

Although I thought Gaudette would be a decent option that really hurts our offense on the 3rd line if Sutter has to slot in.

Sutter beagle an Motte make a great shutdown line most of the time and they all work their role pretty well albeit overpaid.

 

That leaves Roussel as the best 1st line option IMO

He has the energy , speed and defensive awareness to support the first line while keeping our other lines relatively intact. He also has shown a decent hockey IQ especially before he was injured early in his Canucks days.

 

Mac or Loui would slot in on the 3rd line. If Mac doesn't give us an aggressive forecheck, sticking up for his mates and some offense, then we are left with Loui who has probably played his best hockey for the Canucks on the 3rd line.

 

Flame away !

No pun intended considering who we're playing tonite 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Smashian Kassian]

1 minute ago, nuck-lifer said:

Lots of talk about Jakes unimpressive starting the 1st line.

I don't really think its lack of effort rather then being lost in his role with 2 elite forwards. Jake can be a dominant forward  playing a simple game. Petey and Brock are not those players. Jake had a good camp, drove hard to the net and showed that he wants to shake his reputation of inconsistency but that needs to be in a role hat supports his game which at best on the 2nd line.

 

So what does that leave the team

 

Bo would be the best forward that we have to make this a real threat but that's loading up to much and making it an easy shutdown for opposing teams.

Hoglander has the skill level but would really hurt them overall defensively and he has gelled well on the 2nd line with 2 strong 200' forwards.

Pearson could be the best option bringing some size , decent board control and enough hockey IQ to help the line on both ends of the ice, but why breakup the 2nd line that has really connected and again been our best line so far.

Although I thought Gaudette would be a decent option that really hurts our offense on the 3rd line if Sutter has to slot in.

Sutter beagle an Motte make a great shutdown line most of the time and they all work their role pretty well albeit overpaid.

 

That leaves Roussel as the best 1st line option IMO

He has the energy , speed and defensive awareness to support the first line while keeping our other lines relatively intact. He also has shown a decent hockey IQ especially before he was injured early in his Canucks days.

 

Mac or Loui would slot in on the 3rd line. If Mac doesn't give us an aggressive forecheck, sticking up for his mates and some offense, then we are left with Loui who has probably played his best hockey for the Canucks on the 3rd line.

 

Flame away !

No pun intended considering who we're playing tonite 

 

 

 

I agree on Roussel. No sense moving Hoglander and messing up both lines. 

 

Roussel can do the dirty work Miller does and his awareness isn't bad either.

 

Either that or keep Jake there.

[Lazurus]

17 hours ago, Davathor said:

 

The point is the Oilers purposely tanked their team for a plethora of #1 picks forcing the NHL to completely change the draft and screw over teams that are/were actually bad and needed a top pick. We got screwed by the new lottery rules immediately, while Edmonton - YET AGAIN - wins another 1st overall. After all that, including the embarrassing mismanagement of the top talent they acquired, they are rewarded with the next Crosby/Gretzky. 

 

There is no God, and I can't cheer for McDavid. 

It would have been smart for the Canuck to that too, Do what's good for the franchise. See what the team has in the system. Clean house for the next year. Move salary out. Collecting draft picks.

 

Two of their #1's were lottery selections, just luck. TO didn't do so bad either.

 

Edmonton did it on purpose Benning was trying to build the best team he could, I'd be more worried about the result from the best effort losing over 50 games a year, that is the best effort?

[RowdyCanuck]

8 minutes ago, IBatch said:

What’s the over under on Markstrom letting a weak shot in within the:

 

First shot on net 

First three minutes of the game

Last few minutes of the game 

 

What’s the over under on Tanev:

 

Breaking something important blocking an BB/EP blast

 

Sucks seeing them play with a different uniform on, but now that they are the enemy expose them weaknesses! 

Both of those depends if Petey breaks  two sticks again.....

So what's the over under on how many sticks Petey's breaks?

[Lazurus]

13 hours ago, J-23 said:

Everyone yapping about Virtanen last game.

 

Truth is our star players got badly outplayed by there star players.

Green will have to adapt. It is obvious now that the team lacks top six players, either by the coach's lack of confidence in a player or his reluctance to let them grow.

Fine, here is a suggestion then.

Stop trying to find a top line guy to play with Pettersson and Boeser.

Stack ONE line,

Boeser - Horvat - Pettersson and double shift them, get them 20+ minutes, they are all young and should be able to handle the grind.

2nd line

Pearson - Gaudette - Virtanen, put them out there and leave them.

And then the rest.

 

Run the lines in an odd sequence to upset line matching - 1 - 2, 1 - 3,  2 - 1, 4 - 1, 2 - 3, 1 - 2 set up a rotation like that and if one line catches fire or one match up then use it. It would require more than just watching the game though.

 

If the team can't have 2 scoring lines then make one real good one. A one line team isn't a great idea but it beats breaking player's confidence by yanking them on and off the top lines and making them believe, as well as the media, that they aren't good enough.

 

Depth was always going to be a challenge, this team, like all others, gets injuries and now there is Covid and this will expose just how shallow the depth is and how few young players can step up.

 

It was against Edmonton but Edler looked a lot slower than last year,

Edited January 16, 2021 by Lazurus

[WeneedLumme]

So let's see. Jake is playing left wing, a position he has not played at all in recent years, if ever. He is playing with linemates he has not played with before.

 

And while he was quite productive in the limited amount of time he played his normal RW position with Petey and JT, playing LW with Petey and Brock, trying to replace JT, he looked somewhat tentative and out of place.

 

So when bumped up two lines, playing in a different position, with new linemates, he did not look like an instant superstar. That clearly means he must be worthless. Trading, waiving, or buying him out is much too good for him. He should be drawn, quartered, burned, and the ashes spread over a garbage dump.

[Smashian Kassian]

Rick Ball & Cassie Campbell on the call tonight

[Ghostsof1915]

3 hours ago, Alienhuggyflow said:

Gotta say Zac has been the worst Nuck with his linemates and Jake not far behind.

After watching the Flames game, I saw a lot of the habits that led me to being ok with his departure.

The dude is terrible at sealing of the posts and he looks slow laterally and the dude needs to stay in his net.

Maybe it's me but a lot of the nice saves he makes are off self-inflicted mistakes. The save on Thursday was a good example, completely blunders the puck behind the net then gets lucky when Sheif shoots it into his glove.

Looking forward to tonight, the only team that I hate playing on the road is the Oilers Mcdrai without last change on nights #97 is on, scares me.

He's been a disappointment no doubt. He seemed way better last year. What I'm more concerned with is Petey. Now yes it's early, and yes he didn't have preseason. 

And it could be that the opposition is focusing on him very carefully now. But 1 point in 2 games is very unPetey like. The elements are there, its his timing and his shot is rusty.

More worrying is normally he as insanely good anticipation. I haven't seen that. Hopefully it's just rust, and he gets into the groove soon. He's still a phenomenal player.

 

One thing about Zack he's probably not going to be good against the faster teams. But in the more physical games he does shine. In the end maybe hold judgement until games 4 or 5? 

[Wayne Glensky]

33 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

Rick Ball & Cassie Campbell on the call tonight

[Sedinyoureyesontheprize]

We need an 8-0 game boys. The psyche of the Canucks fan base is at stake here!
 

 

 

 

[IBatch]

33 minutes ago, Lazurus said:

Green will have to adapt. It is obvious now that the team lacks top six players, either by the coach's lack of confidence in a player or his reluctance to let them grow.

Fine, here is a suggestion then.

Stop trying to find a top line guy to play with Pettersson and Boeser.

Stack ONE line,

Boeser - Horvat - Pettersson and double shift them, get them 20+ minutes, they are all young and should be able to handle the grind.

2nd line

Pearson - Gaudette - Virtanen, put them out there and leave them.

And then the rest.

 

Run the lines in an odd sequence to upset line matching - 1 - 2, 1 - 3,  2 - 1, 4 - 1, 2 - 3, 1 - 2 set up a rotation like that and if one line catches fire or one match up then use it. It would require more than just watching the game though.

 

If the team can't have 2 scoring lines then make one real good one. A one line team isn't a great idea but it beats breaking player's confidence by yanking them on and off the top lines and making them believe, as well as the media, that they aren't good enough.

 

Depth was always going to be a challenge, this team, like all others, gets injuries and now there is Covid and this will expose just how shallow the depth is and how few young players can step up.

 

It was against Edmonton but Edler looked a lot slower than last year,

Personally I think our teams depth is actually very good.   What we lack is exactly what you started with, as in a legitimate top six guy - in the same vein as Horvat, EP, Miller and BB.  IF Hoglander is the real deal we should be just fine once Miller gets back.   Running with Pearson, JV and LE isn’t quite enough.   I suspect once Miller gets here the top six might be just fine.   
 

JB is supposedly looking for another top six forward these days - who knows what he’s willing to give up - but if he hits a cap strapped team up one more time like he did with Miller and Schmidt it would for sure push this group over the top.

 

Playing two games against McDavid - and the possession show in Draisaitl is a small sample size.   
 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with our middle six - bottom six.   It matches up well with most teams in our division and all but the elite teams in the league. Will say it now - we might miss guys like Sutter, Beagle, Roussel etc in a year or two.     Ferland was a gamble, if it worked out maybe we wouldn’t even be talking about this.

 

 

As far as our D goes, it’s approaching top ten territory.   Room for improvement, but for sure headed in the right direction.

 

The team already surpassed the best the WCE era managed.   First crack at it.   Nobody is expecting us to win a cup this year .... well except one THN writer who picked us to beat TB in the final.   Glass isn’t half full right now ... it’s 3/4 full. 

[EdgarM]

1 hour ago, T-Bo said:

It is not like Markstrom had 3 to 5 years of elite goaltending behind him when he left, he really only started be excelling the last year and a half.  It was not that long ago his name and beachball were used in the same sentence. He matured later for his position.

 

My gut tells me his skin is thinner then it looks.  He was approaching a contract year, getting older, and this was his last shot at big money. The bar is not as high for him anymore now,  as he got his term and money.  Sure, he will come out swinging for his new team, they all do, but as soon as he settles in, he’ll drop off performance wise. He made that nice highlight reel glove save against the Jets the other night, which buried the fact that it was him that made the mistake that set up that opportunity in the first place.

 

But my gut has been off before, but I chalked it up to a bad batch of chicken wings.

 

Go Nucks!

I agree, he peaked at the right time and I can see him fall back down to "Normal" after awhile. After watching Holtby and see refined his game is and how he has that calm demeanor about him, I believe we came out better off in the end. 

[IBatch]

3 hours ago, Alienhuggyflow said:

Thing is tho while I do agree certain players get a longer leash if we assume the issue is lack of camp\pre-season games then to bash Jake but not the rest is a little disingenuous IMO. 

Game 1 the top line was decent, 2nd line was awesome,

game 2 the entire top 6 sucked. I think every team is seeing that inconsistency with the skilled players.

I'm more worried about our entire bottom six except Sutter and Beagle floating around being crap defensively.

I hope if that continues Sutter takes over for AG. Butter and Jake actually have played\looked we'll together. 
 

 

Funny thing - once Miller is back the dominoes will fall and our middle/bottom six gets better.   The first game our fourth line had just as many quality chances as our top line did.   Didn’t Motte score a goal the second game?