Canucks Reponse to the Media Reports of Indifferent Play
Written by: Larry “The Nucks IceMan” Johnson
The following quotes from Canucks Captain, Henrik Sedin, came from the content in the body of an article by Sports writer Brad Ziemer, of the Vancouver Sun.
“I thought we played our best game in three or four weeks.” We had everyone playing our game, we didn’t give up much and we had a lot of scoring chances.”
Henrik went on to say, “We haven’t played well enough. We’re a .500 team when we’re not playing close to good enough. But if we can play like this 95 per cent of the time we are going to get on a roll here like we did back around Christmas there. It was a big step in the right direction, I thought.”
Big step in the right direction? The Canucks got shutout 3-0, just how is that a big step in the right direction? This team has been exactly what Henrik stated, a .500 team over the last 10 games. The Canucks are now going out on the road, where they will play five very physical teams in eight days.
They are: LA Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames. San Jose is third in the Western Conference, 8-2-0 in their last 10, seven points behind the Canucks and has them dead in their sights to overtake them. This team is on a big time roll and is focused on the number one spot in the West.
The other four teams are all in a tight race for the playoffs. Like I said in an earlier article, this is their playoffs! So if the Canucks think they will get by playing just .500 hockey, then they’re fooling themselves.
Is it just me, or have the Canucks fallen into this .500 hockey trap since Kevin Bieksa went down?
If you think back from the 2006-07 up to this season when the Canucks have gone on winning rolls, it’s because they played that tight defensive system that Coach Vigneault installed. It’s not as trap-like as it once was and from that system the offense is generated.
Why? Well for one, puck possession – the players are not chasing after it since they have possession for the majority of the time. Second, the defensive system causes turnovers in the neutral zone and creates the transition game, usually in an out-manned situation heading into the attacking zone (think 3 on 2). Third, when you have the puck, that means you are the aggressor and are usually drawing the penalties, rather than taking them.
The Canucks have gotten away from this system because of their lack of intensity, drive, effort, whatever you want to call it. Way too many forwards including the Sedins, are out there for a skate, and with they’re poor effort, they’re back-checking and one on one play is too weak. Besides that, the fore-check and puck support is a step behind.
This must be the first time in three seasons where I haven’t been sounding off on the poor play of Roberto Luongo. That’s because, he has been playing as steady as the first season we all witnessed. With the poor play of the team in the last month, Luongo has been the steady rudder on the Ship of Complacency.
There are 17 games left in the schedule, 11 on the road, six at home and every one of those opponents except the Edmonton Oilers, are fighting for a playoff spot.
The Canucks need to come home after this road trip with at least four wins and two losses and cannot, I repeat CANNOT, be content any longer with being a .500 team if they are serious about a long playoff run.
As Captain of this team, it’s about time that Henrik Sedin led by example on the ice!
Footnote: Rookie Eddie Lack of the Manitoba Moose, is currently fifth amongst AHL goaltenders, with 21W, 15L, 3SOL, 5 SO, 2.08GAA and a .926 Sv% in 39 games. What a great find!
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