-Buzzsaw-

Joshua trying hard to maintain energy... but that was not smart.

Big Z has brought it all series.... best player tonight.

Shot totals are just not good enough. Current Canuck lines are just not getting it done.

Canucks have been generally outplaying the Preds, but they need to bear down on their chances. Still think its time for a line shuffle.

Isn't it obvious that Suter and Mikheyev should not be playing on the top six? They miss and miss and miss and miss. Put Lindholm on one of the top lines... either Miller's or Pettersson's.

You are so full of shit its coming out your mouth.

Chickenshit call

Hoglander can't pass... easy breakaway pass... flubbed it.

Who is that masked man flashing the leather ?????

Yes, but the guys on his line have missed three passes and one chance in on net alone.

Garland is feeling a little feisty tonight... goes after McCarron who is about a foot taller.

Wrong... Ian Clark gives Tocchet advice... Tocchet makes the decision. He's the head coach.

You have included both offensive and defensive... since forecheck is both offense and defense. What others besides myself have noted is the 2-1-2 forecheck is getting burnt because Nashville is clearing the D-Zone so fast with direct up passing... Josi in particular is a master of the long first pass, MacDonagh is pretty good too. That has left the two Canucks in on forecheck marooned and resulted in out manned Canuck defenders in the NZ and DZ. The 2-1-2 is not working. Neither is the regular season go-to Canuck offensive puck movement system working... which has heavily relied on Hughes and the other Canuck D having the time to skate out of the DZ, through the NZ and carry it into the OZ. Tocchet should have adapted to these realities by a) focusing on supporting puck retrieval by the D in the DZ with low forwards and passes out of the DZ to generate Offense... catching the Nashville forecheck out of position, and b) a Canuck forecheck which puts a single forechecker in and leaves two guys high to break up the long passes from the Nashville D in the NZ. Re. what the other posters say: The facts are there in black and white on the stats page... Early season Pettersson thrived with a playmaker on his line, and since Kuz was removed and not replaced, has only had decent success when he was on the Lotto line. And re. Kuzmenko... he's been traded, its a done deal and now the team has to focus on using the guy they got in return... Lindholm. As it stands now, looking at the regular season stats, its a toss up between Lindholm and Kuzmenko. Kuz was 8g/13a/-1 with the Canucks in 43 games, and 14g/11a/-8 with Calgary in 29 games. Lindy was 9g/23a/-8 in 49 games with Calgary and 6g/6a/-6 in 26 games with Canucks. Lindholm has played better in the playoffs... but despite the three points is +0. He is having some impact, but that is negated by the fact the team overall is not going. As I said, it would be better if he was in the top six where he can get either Pettersson going or make the Miller line even more potent.

A lot of people are picking Rick Tocchet for Coach of the Year. And certainly based on the improvement in the point total for the Canucks, you'd have to say he is a definite candidate to win. Although you would also need to say, that without the changes management made, replacing 4 of 6 starting defensemen, and bringing in players like Blueger and Lafferty, Tocchet wouldn't have nearly as much success. And there are two sides to his coaching style. The Good: Structure Tocchet's focus on structure and defensive responsibility is definitely a factor in the team's improvement. Whether or not he was responsible for Foote and Gonchar being brought in, or whether they were an Alvin/Rutherford decision, these two guys fit well with Tocchet's ideas on defensive structure and play. Together the three coaches have transformed the defensive play of the Canucks. Miller Tocchet's biggest success of the year has been in his effect on JT Miller. He has forged personal relationship with him, given him confidence, and turned him from a forward who was inconsistent to one who is the mainstay of the team. Miller is Tocchet's kind of player, a power forward, who plays physical and direct. The two guys like each other. Tocchet has expressed his confidence in Miller multiple times and that confidence has rubbed off... Miller has put his emotional weaknesses behind him. Boeser It may be that Brock Boeser's success this year would have happened without Tocchet. Brock is finally coming out from under the huge weight of his father's long illness and death... with him finally at rest, Brock finally was able to move ahead without that weighing on his mind... and probably would have improved his play. But Tocchet decision to the partner Brock with Miller was a key factor, and keeping these two guys together was important for both of their successes. The Bad: Demko Thatcher Demko is a great goalie. He has been elite throughout his career. But he has also shown he is fragile. He suffered serious injuries both in Abbotsford, and in Vancouver. Last year he was out for the last part of the season, playing only 32 games and spent the summer recovering. It should have been obvious his playing time needed to be carefully watched, and his number of games needed to be kept reasonable. But Tocchet played him 51 games... and he was re-injured. Then after he came back, he was played in a meaningless game at the end of the season when other players were sat out. Now he is injured again... and the team's chances in the playoffs are dramatically less without him. Pettersson Unlike Miller, Tocchet does not seem to have created a personal connection to Pettersson. You rarely hear him talk about him with the same glowing terms that he uses for Miller. Petey is a completely different style of player from Tocchet... he is an elite passer, with excellent playmaking and shooting skills. But he is not physically dominant like either Miller or Tocchet... in fact the opposite. Tocchet does not seem to understand what is needed to allow Pettersson to succeed... which is that he needs a creative winger to play with. Lets look at the early part of the year. At the game 20 point, Pettersson was leading the league with 30 points, on a 120 point pace, he had the highest +/- on the team. His linemate Kuzmenko had 15 points, on a 60 point pace. Mikheyev had 11 points. All three were in positive +/- totals. Yet Tocchet took this line, which had allowed Pettersson to flourish and broke it up... assigning Kuzmenko to the 4th line. Kuzmenko was one of the two playmakers on Pettersson's line... he was replaced with various 4th liners. That started the long decline in Pettersson's offensive production... only temporarily halted when the Lotto line was re-united and Pettersson had a burst of scoring and won NHL Player of the Week. Eventually Kuzmenko was traded for Lindholm... who was supposed to be a defensively responsible winger who could play with Pettersson. But Lindholm only played a couple games with Pettersson... then Tocchet assigned him elsewhere, either to Miller's line or on the 3rd line. Pettersson was left with Hoglander, who can score, but who is not a passer or playmaker, and various 4th liners. Pettersson has done his best to play to Tocchet's style, you see him hit far more often this year... but it is clear he is at a loss without Kuzmenko or someone he can pass with. Gradually his confidence, which was his strongest asset, has completely disappeared. Pettersson is Tocchet's biggest failure. Lack of Flexibility Tocchet is clearly the kind of coach who doesn't allow a lot of deviation from his gameplan... "My way or the Highway" could be his byword. If you don't play his defensive structure, then you are gone. He has also shown an inability to modify his structure when its not working. The current series against Nashville is the perfect example. After the first game, which the Canucks dominated... Nashville changed up their structure and forechecking plan... to focus on three in deep, heavy forecheck pressure... and has completely dominated the Canucks since... despite the 'miracle' wins Vancouver has been able to pull out. Meanwhile Tocchet is still playing the same structure and lineup... no changes. His philosophy seems to be... if something isn't working... keep doing it again. From my perspective, he is being completely out-coached in this series. He tells the media... "...our guys need to move their feet." when talking about the forecheck pressure... meanwhile Hughes is a punching bag for every Nashville forward and the Canucks can't get out of their own end or generate offense. Conclusion Tocchet is an excellent defensive structure coach. But he does not seem to understand offense, other than what falls in the area of his own experience... i.e. up and down the wing, hit hard. The team has greatly improved this year. Maybe Tocchet deserves Coach of the Year just based on the regular season. But unless he recognizes he needs to adapt to the types of players he has as offensive assets on the team, as well as adapting to different circumstances in the playoffs, his playoff record may not be a positive one.

No it is not helpful.... the current forward lines are getting nothing done. They are not generating shots or goals and they are not keeping Nashville out of the Canucks zone... in fact the Canucks are being totally dominated in both O-Zone and D-Zone. The Canucks need to be playing in the Preds zone to win this series... they cannot continue to hope for miracles. Pettersson is at his best when he is in the O-Zone... but to get there, he needs help from someone on his line who can give and go, and dangle. Hoglander is overwhelmed with his first playoffs and lack of size... Mikheyev is invisible. Either re-unite the Lotto Line or put Lindholm with Pettersson.

He is playing with one inexperienced winger who really should be on the third line, (Hoglander) and another winger who should be on the 4th line. (Mikheyev) He needs to be given a top six player on his line.... that is Lindholm. (who for some strange reason known only to Tocchet, is playing on the third line ) Supposedly they traded Kuzmenko for Lindholm to give Pettersson a defensively responsible winger to play with... but Lindholm has played 2 games with Pettersson. Why is a top six player sitting on the third line? Makes no sense. Pettersson needs a player who he can pass and generate offense with... the same way Miller and Boeser generate offense. Miller has had Boeser on his line all season... Pettersson has had no one with any real offensive talent after Kuzmenko was yanked off his line, then traded.... and no coincidence, when Kuzmenko was pulled off Pettersson's line is when his offensive decline started. Put Lindholm with Pettersson and give them a chance to gel... they had great chemistry in the world championship so it can happen.

Really glad Dallas came back to tie the series. Vegas does not deserve to win with their LTIR cheats.

No it wasn't... it was a crap effort... except for the last 3 minutes of the 3rd and first minute OT.

Yes, this was a great win, and gutsy comeback... BUT... Tocchet really needs to think about juggling his forward lines... cause the ones that played the last two games are not working 5 on 5. The only line which is working, and it is only working at 50% is Miller's line... and only Miller/Boeser are doing anything... Suter is invisible. 12 shots and 20 shots are not enough when the other team is putting up 30+ Tocchet has a tendency to think too defensively and focus on what he thinks will protect his own zone... and not think about generating offense. Lindholm is a top six player... he should be played on the top six. Suter is not top six... good center, but not a goalscorer. Pettersson needs a top six player with him... he can't play with pluggers like Mikheyev or inexperienced players like Hoglander. He is being totally wasted right now on a line where he has to do everything creatively. Lindholm should be on a line with Pettersson to give him someone he can pass and finish plays with. Miller/Boeser should be tried with Di Giuseppe or Lafferty again. Put Blueger back with Garland and Joshua... that worked. Put Suter on the 4th line as a center. Need a changeup!

If the Canucks can finally put together a good game, they'll rip Nashville to shreds.

GARLAND IS A FIVE FOOT NINE INCH STUD!!!

Silovs is playing well... he actually has a higher ceiling than DeSmith... has the size, moves and hands. Only thing he doesn't have is experience, but sometimes that is a good thing... sometimes not knowing that what you are doing is so special is important to maintain it.

Don't think you can blame Hellebuyck for the Ave's goals... defensive breakdowns by Jets and good PP's by Aves on stupid penalties.

DeSmith's play this game is a REALLY GOOD SIGN. I think he can pull it off as a sub for Demko the rest of this series.

Bullshit... bounces were not going Canucks way... in fact the Preds got a couple lucky bounces which were nearly goals, but were stopped by good Canuck plays. What Pred shooters are doing is choking.... especially O'Reilly.... he has shot wide so many times I can't count them.