[PGT] Canucks at Kraken, Battle of the I-5, Nov. 24th, 2023

[Alflives]

2 hours ago, JayDangles said:

There seems to be two types of fans right now. Ones that are able to enjoy this year's success but can constructively criticize players or problem areas... and ones that are able to enjoy this year's success and get very upset and take it personal if they see someone constructively criticize. 

 

[RomanPer]

3 hours ago, IBatch said:

Plus we get to play LA 4 times, and haven't and won't for awhile.   Those 8 points should make it awfully important as to home ice advantage ... quite possibly playing LA in the first round too.   Either them, Vegas  or COL.    No easy first round opponent.  Unlikely anyways, home ice for sure would be great. 

  All later in he season, circle Feb 29, Mar 5, 25 and April 6th  dates on the calendar. 

Seeing LA record at home and away, I would say - let them finish ahead of us in the standings lol.

[Gurn]

39 minutes ago, Locke Lamora said:

 

I’m going to agree with this. The overall level of mature discussion on this board lags behind the old place somewhat in my opinion. Reminds me of elementary schoolyard back and forth…maybe Junior High if I’m being generous. Place could benefit from a little firmer hand in terms of moderation I think. Also, there are some obvious trolls that seem to have free rein in here. 

 

 

Funny thing is the amount of people, trying to troll; other posters, that they call trolls.

[JeremyCuddles]

11 hours ago, ManbeastMARK said:

Hogs as been getting rewarded quite often lately, including tonight. What are you watching?

Guy is still averaging less ice time than Beau and Garland. Two guys he has more goals than, combined. His icetime also hasn't gone up at all, it's been 10-11 minutes the last few games, and has been 10-11 all season. Sooooo, yeah. Those are the games I am watching.

[Locke Lamora]

5 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

tbh I think there was for a bit. Under Bruce he almost seemed to take a step back. 

 

Tocc & Co. have been such a development home run for this team. 

 

 

Sometimes it doesn’t feel good to criticize Boudreau because he was such a beloved personality. But with the passage of some time it is clear that outside of the “Bruce Bump” he just was not a very good coach in his time here. Initially I found it very strange, even overly harsh, that Rutherford and Allvin were so open in their criticisms of their own coach….but they obviously saw the flaws and couldn’t remain silent on the matter.

 

I was not overly whelmed by the Tocchet hire but the guy has won me over. Even his “tough love” treatment of Hoglander, which I have had some issues with, seems to be bearing significant fruit now. I mean, Bruce parked Hoglander in the press box too, but Tocchet actually seems personally invested in moulding Hog into a good NHL player. And yeah, gotta give his cadre of assistants some love too.

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, Locke Lamora said:

 

Sometimes it doesn’t feel good to criticize Boudreau because he was such a beloved personality. But with the passage of some time it is clear that outside of the “Bruce Bump” he just was not a very good coach in his time here. Initially I found it very strange, even overly harsh, that Rutherford and Allvin were so open in their criticisms of their own coach….but they obviously saw the flaws and couldn’t remain silent on the matter.

 

I was not overly whelmed by the Tocchet hire but the guy has won me over. Even his “tough love” treatment of Hoglander, which I have had some issues with, seems to be bearing significant fruit now. I mean, Bruce parked Hoglander in the press box too, but Tocchet actually seems personally invested in moulding Hog into a good NHL player. And yeah, gotta give his cadre of assistants some love too.

 

that initial Bruce run was such a big dopamine hit, it could never last. 

 

 

[NucksIn50]

23 minutes ago, Silent Man said:

I think that RT does not give a flying you know what about our opinion here and he'll do what is the best for the team and he'll take all the heat from public opinion on himself.

lol I wasn’t implying he would read our boards and the eruption of Kuzy benching drama… Kuzy will play because it’s SJ tonight and someone will take a seat not because anyone deserves to come out or in. We have a luxury right now but it doesn’t mean you sit 5.5 million Kuzy again. He’s needed in our lineup long term or management will move him. 
 

Go Canucks 

[Gurn]

Thank You Thatcher Demko, for the win.

Every time the team needed him, he was there, and at multiple times he was outstanding.

Those 8 minutes of penalty kill could well have cost the Nucks the game, but he was very, very good then-when he had to be.

And the start of the second period, he was a wall.

 

As well as the others are playing ;imo Demko is the biggest difference between the beginning of this year and last.

[Ghostsof1915]

8 minutes ago, RomanPer said:

Seeing LA record at home and away, I would say - let them finish ahead of us in the standings lol.

You win the Devious award for the day.

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, Gurn said:

Thank You Thatcher Demko, for the win.

Every time the team needed him, he was there, and at multiple times he was outstanding.

Those 8 minutes of penalty kill could well have cost the Nucks the game, but he was very, very good then-when he had to be.

And the start of the second period, he was a wall.

 

As well as the others are playing ;imo Demko is the biggest difference between the beginning of this year and last.

 

I think he'd credit the more predictable play in front of him too. 

[EdgarM]

41 minutes ago, AmyTheGma said:

I truly am amazed how in one year we went from a team that got made fun of for being easy to play against and not easy to push around to playing like this and being one of the top hitting teams.  Then all the goal scoring and winning to top it off.  All our years of pain are starting to pay off.

Yes I don't think we can give RT enough credit, he has taken this "one dimensional" team and made us a more complete team.  Just watching how Boeser plays now shows just how far we have come. We back check , we forecheck , and we now even FINISH our checks, Love the way they are playing now.

They regress here and there still, but for the most part, they are seeing that they need to play hard every game and every shift, to be successful.

[DeNiro]

5 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

I think he'd credit the more predictable play in front of him too. 

That’s why there’s a distinction between “high danger chances”.

 

What the stats nerds say are high danger chances might differ from what a goalie might say they are.

 

Any puck that a goalie can see they believe they can stop. It’s the cross ice one timers and tap ins and the slot shots with screens in front we want to keep limiting.

 

I think they’ve been quite good at limiting these “extremely” high danger chances.

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by DeNiro

[Barn Burner]

2 hours ago, JayDangles said:

Lol,

Most childish response of the night right here. 

Mind your own business, you friggin' punk, said "mighty mouth." 

 

You just can't keep your fat ass, stupid mouth shut, can ya? 

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

That’s why there’s a distinction between “high danger chances”.

 

What the stats nerds say are high danger chances might differ from what a goalie might say they are.

 

Any puck that a goalie can see they believe they can stop. It’s the cross ice one timers and tap ins and the slot shots with bodies traffic in front we want to keep limiting.

 

I think they’ve been quite good at limiting these “extremely” high danger chances.

 

I think thats true: https://www.naturalstattrick.com/teamreport.php?team=VAN

 

interesting that we've bled more HDCA vs our division, we're pretty much even HDCF/HDCA for everyone else. Seems to be mostly an Edmonton thing. 

 

 

[EdgarM]

14 minutes ago, NucksIn50 said:

lol I wasn’t implying he would read our boards and the eruption of Kuzy benching drama… Kuzy will play because it’s SJ tonight and someone will take a seat not because anyone deserves to come out or in. We have a luxury right now but it doesn’t mean you sit 5.5 million Kuzy again. He’s needed in our lineup long term or management will move him. 
 

Go Canucks 

I think we are past PLAYERS dictating what happens to this team. Management and Coaches look at whats best for the TEAM, the way it should be. 

[BC_Hawk]

21 minutes ago, Locke Lamora said:

 

Sometimes it doesn’t feel good to criticize Boudreau because he was such a beloved personality. But with the passage of some time it is clear that outside of the “Bruce Bump” he just was not a very good coach in his time here. Initially I found it very strange, even overly harsh, that Rutherford and Allvin were so open in their criticisms of their own coach….but they obviously saw the flaws and couldn’t remain silent on the matter.

 

I was not overly whelmed by the Tocchet hire but the guy has won me over. Even his “tough love” treatment of Hoglander, which I have had some issues with, seems to be bearing significant fruit now. I mean, Bruce parked Hoglander in the press box too, but Tocchet actually seems personally invested in moulding Hog into a good NHL player. And yeah, gotta give his cadre of assistants some love too.

It’s not that they were wrong about Bruce’s style, but his departure could have been done with some class in their first offseason. Who cares if he has a 2 year contract…just pay him out! And if Aqua is insisting, grab some balls if your JR and say you’ll leave if you can’t implement the changes. 
 

once again, it not the change that’s the issues, it’s how it’s handled. Ditto the whole Pearson fiasco.

[BC_Hawk]

1 hour ago, NucksIn50 said:

Unfortunately Aman will be taken out and sent back to Abby or PDG is scratched. If Coach T sits Kuzy again these boards are going to erupt. It’s a tough decision anyway you slice it up but 5.5 million Kuzy needs to play and someone else can take a seat. 
 

Go Canucks 

PDG sits for me. He’s lost some of his drive from early on.

[Silent Man]

29 minutes ago, NucksIn50 said:

lol I wasn’t implying he would read our boards and the eruption of Kuzy benching drama… Kuzy will play because it’s SJ tonight and someone will take a seat not because anyone deserves to come out or in. We have a luxury right now but it doesn’t mean you sit 5.5 million Kuzy again. He’s needed in our lineup long term or management will move him. 
 

Go Canucks 

Absolutely, GCG!

[IBatch]

30 minutes ago, Gurn said:

Thank You Thatcher Demko, for the win.

Every time the team needed him, he was there, and at multiple times he was outstanding.

Those 8 minutes of penalty kill could well have cost the Nucks the game, but he was very, very good then-when he had to be.

And the start of the second period, he was a wall.

 

As well as the others are playing ;imo Demko is the biggest difference between the beginning of this year and last.

Not so sure he's the biggest at all.   He's facing a lot less high danger shots.   To me it's Tochett and buy in.   He's actually teaching them and showing them what he wants to see (as far as systems go).    And well, what a difference it makes coming into camp ripped and "juiced" and ready to go.   That's also on Tochett.   For sure Demko is one of the differences.    Our great start had a lot to do with his coaching.   In his expectations coming to camp.  

Edited November 25, 2023 by IBatch

[JamesB]

5 hours ago, Attila Umbrus said:

 

...

 

Florida Panthers just put Mike Reilly on waivers yesterday and he's a perfect waiver pick up for our team while Soucy is out. Veteran left handed D. We need that right now. And he's done his expensive 3 year contract. He is just signed for this year at 1 Mil...kinda perfect...I think we put a claim on him to stabilize things while Soucy is out. This will help balance our D pairing again. I bet we do put a claim on him, just unsure if he makes it to us. 

 

https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-place-mike-reilly-on-waivers/

Agreed. It would mean sending Hirose back to Abby, which would be a good thing as he can help Abby and actually play. And it would give the Canucks a chance to go back to "natural" pairing (one left shot and one right shot).  This makes sense if Reilly on his natural side is better having someone play on the off side. I agree that is worth a try and his cap hit of 1 million is no problem with Soucy on LTIR. And he can always be waived to Abby if necessary.

[Gawdzukes]

14 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

I think thats true: https://www.naturalstattrick.com/teamreport.php?team=VAN

 

interesting that we've bled more HDCA vs our division, we're pretty much even HDCF/HDCA for everyone else. Seems to be mostly an Edmonton thing. 

 

 

 

To be honest the stats are kind of rubbish. They consider every thing from in close high danger in these stats. NHL teams actually have their own high danger chance statistics they gather themselves  based on more complete criteria. 

[Bob Long]

Just now, Gawdzukes said:

 

To be honest the stats are kind of rubbish. They consider every thing from in close high danger in these stats. NHL teams actually have their own high danger chance statistics they gather themselves  based on more complete criteria. 

 

I wouldn't bet the farm on them, but they do help show which way the arrow is pointing imo. Good for big trends, etc. 

 

I mean you can just watch the games too 

[JamesB]

1 hour ago, Silent Man said:

Thank you, James! Petey is my biggest concern now. 

Completely agree. Not sure if it is "lower body" affecting his speed and mobility or "upper body (wrist?)" affecting his shot, or maybe both. Hard to believe he is 100% healthy. Hoping we see a bounceback soon, or maybe he should be rested for a few days.

[Gawdzukes]

10 minutes ago, BC_Hawk said:

PDG sits for me. He’s lost some of his drive from early on.

 

I'm not saying one way or the other but I was impressed with how he kept winning the forecheck consistently on the fourth line. He definitely is one of our best at that trait.

[Jess]

2 hours ago, JayDangles said:

What?

Canucks have earned 2nd and are Cleary in 2nd. For sure LA has 3 games in hand, but they need at least 3/6 pts to move ahead of us. We are the ones putting that pressure on them.

Until LA officially wins those and moves past us, we are 2nd and they are 3rd. Enjoy it!

 

Sure, but odds are very high that LA will win even more than 3/6 points. At this rate, they're on pace to get 4 or 5 out of those six points.

 

The same rationale was used at the end of the 2019-20 season that was cut short. Teams were ranked by point percentage instead of placement, as it's a more fair representation of where teams rank.

 

If I tell myself that the Canucks are 2nd, I feel like I'm lying to myself and will only be disappointed when LA passes us eventually (which is not guaranteed, but likely at this point). I'd rather just be real about the situation instead of trying to paint as rosy a picture as possible.