[PGT] Vancouver Canucks at Dallas Stars // December 21, 2023

[Attila Umbrus]

2 minutes ago, Tusk said:

We want the cup, we have been at the top of the League before. Fuck that, its still a fight till june

I never want to win a presidents trophy again...it's a curse!

 

It happened to Florida and it happened to Boston last year. Being the best team in the league during the regular season means squat.

 

I don't care what place we finish this season, I just want to make some noise in the play offs and not rest on our laurels.

 

Until we win some of these bigger games against playoff tested Vet teams then it's best to just keep working hard and improving because we ain't won nothing yet...and to be fair to our guys, they actually believe that statement this year. They come back better next game most nights.

 

Toc said it best at the start, who are we to think we are anybody? Wise words!

 

They are a hungry team, but staying hungry is hard. It's all a learning curve. Hopefully we keep the trend going in the right direction.

[WHL rocks]

I'm leaving this here for @King Heffy

 

I talked to you earlier about power of negative/positive thinking or verbalizing. 

 

It really has a bad impact on a person..

 

Check out this video.  I watched it last year around this time of year, found it just for you...

 

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by WHL rocks

[Tusk]

12 minutes ago, stawns said:

 

He's not?  Scored against Nashville, scored against Chicago

OK. but didnt Joshua score 3 in last 4

[WHL rocks]

1 minute ago, Tusk said:

OK. but didnt Joshua score 3 in last 4

4 in last 5

 

2 against FLD 1 NSH 1 DAL

[Tusk]

2 minutes ago, WHL rocks said:

4 in last 5

 

2 against FLD 1 NSH 1 DAL

The best thing about the canucks this year is not our "super stars" its the guys digging  pucks out and doing shit and guys like Boeser doing Demko shit. I think this is the year, people. Its JT taking the lead when the media is saying Petey. Its Garlund on the 3rd line when he knows he is better. Its DeSmith being comfortable to be the backup, and Demers knowing he has a backup.

[Smashian Kassian]

1 hour ago, stawns said:

I actually thought he had a pretty good game.  He was skating confidently with the puck all night.

 

He just doesn't read the play/process the game quick enough imo. Since Zadorov came he's been better, as Zadorov had been really effective imo, but tonight while there wasn't glaring mistakes it was just a few things that (fortunately) didn't cost us. 

 

For a guy in a top 4 role I think we need to do better to reach contender status tho imo.

[CanucksJay]

20 minutes ago, sxqhfeh said:

Entertaining game, too bad about the OT loss. Petey hit the post, wouldn’t shoot for the rest of the game until OT, then pinched a log on a 2 on 0 breakaway and let the other team bring the puck down and score very reminiscent of the NYR game. He was really not looking like a 10mil a year player on that breakaway (which of course the homie Dakota Joshua, who’s basically making nhl minimum wage, made happen)

That entire sequence in OT really pissed me off while I was watching. I wanted to see if my annoyance with Petey was justified so I rewatched it. 

Here are the screen caps. 

 

 

Here he is ready to come on at 1:13

 

He then gets a great set up from Boeser but doesn't have a shooting lane. 

 

Instead of turning back and regrouping, he forces the issue and goes into the corner and then behind the net 1 v 2 and loses possession which is super selfish (Esp in OT when keeping puck possession is so important) 

 

 

He then goes for an ill advised check and leaves his linemates screwed defending a 3v2 while he is completely out of the play

 

 

Joshua makes a miraculous play and gets the puck to Petey on a 2v0. Surely he'll make amends for his series of errors right? He'll prove why he deserves 11-12m right???

Nope. There he is caught after missing in tight. 

 

 

He does ok defending for a little bit and the heads off after over a minute shift and leaves Miller screwed in trying to get back into the play. 

 

That's how we lost the game and that's why I'm annoyed. 

This is classic Miller from 2 years ago under TG and BB. 

 

Maybe it's contract year and that's why Petey is playing this was but it's unacceptable. If anything, do what Miller did and sign an 8x8 and start playing like Millsy is now because as of now, Miller is the top centre here. 

[JamesB]

Comments.

 

1. With the OT loss tonight, the Canucks pull into a tie with Vegas for first place in points in the entire NHL (although tied for 3rd in points percentage). I doubt if anyone on CFF seriously expected the Canucks to be anywhere near the top of the overall NHL standings at this point in the season. Great time to be a Canuck fan.

 

2. Tonight, the Canucks were fortunate to get a point, being outshot 36-20. However, the scoring chances were closer (31-22) and obviously the Canucks had a good chance to win, up by goal late in the third period and then with a 2 on 0 breakaway in OT (and two goalposts earlier). But Dallas did deserve to win.

 

3. As Tocchet said, at the end of a 4-game road against a very good team it was never going to be easy, and some guys are obviously worn out.

 

4. Turning to individual performances, obviously the headline tonight is the Garland-Joshua-Blueger line. They got two great goals on similar plays. Both plays started with excellent back-checking, followed by a quick rush the other way, and a great cross seam pass to set up the finish. That is quintessential Tocchet hockey. All three guys have completely bought in.  Those three guys led the "Statcards" advanced stats and were among the leaders in the Natural Stat Trick expected goals percentage. Nice to see all three guys get a couple of points tonight. They all now have very respectable counting stats for third-liners and excellent plus/minus numbers.

 

5. The Miller line was also pretty good and it was great to see Brock get another goal on a very nice play by Miller and Boeser. And Hogz also played pretty well, although he needs to avoid bad penalties. He deserves to keep his spot on that line.

 

6. Petey had an off-night. Obviously he did not look good on the missed OT breakaway. It looked like all he had to do is raise the puck but slightly misplayed it and just slid the puck into the goalie's pads. And he got the breakaway because he was behind the play after losing the puck in the O-zone. He had a lot of slight misplays tonight -- puck bouncing off his stick, fanning on a pass or shot, double-clutching on a pass or shot, etc.  Those "little things" really hurt the PP and the 5-on-5 play of his line.  His statcard and expected goals percentage numbers were both close to the bottom of the team. 

 

7. But the guys who were at the bottom of the advanced stat numbers were PDG and Lafferty. PDG's corsi line was 2-12 against, which is pretty bad when you are mostly playing against the other team's bottom six and play less than 8 minutes. I am guessing that PDG sits and Kuzy comes back next game against the Sharks. Let's try to get Kuzy feeling good as we head into the Christmas break. 

 

8. As for the D, Zadorov and Hughes were both good and that comes through in the advanced stats. Cole struggled. But the guy i focused on was Myers. He was on the ice for all 3 Dallas regulation goals. On the first, he did not exactly make a "mistake" but he was not quick enough to check Duchene or block the passing lane.  On the second goal he was late checking the player behind the net. By the time he got there, "finishing his check," all he did was take himself out of the play. The announcer said that the two D's not sure of who should go behind the net. Maybe. But the way I saw it, Myers was just slow. I cannot fault him on the third goal. He was boxing out his check and the shot just beat Demko. I think Myers made the right play-preventing the tip, screen, or rebound chance, rather than going for the block. I am not saying Myers is terrible and he is trying hard, but his abilities are limited and I found him frustrating tonight.

 

9. Demmer was solid, giving the Canucks a chance to win and I am giving him quite a lot of credit for the point the Canucks did get.

 

Overall, the road trip was a big success with 6 points out of a possible 8 against some pretty good teams.  Now we just need to beat San Jose to go into the Christmas break on a high.

Edited December 22, 2023 by JamesB

[Kragar]

Wild game, bummer the way it ended.

 

So happy for Garly, I started to tear up. What an awesome, hard-work goal that was for the line.

 

Disappointed in Miller blowing out of the zone there leading up to the tying goal. Woulda been nice if he got a breakaway, but shoulda played it safer. And, I was thinking that before the goal was even scored.  Sad, Dallas was doing a bunch of cherry-picking, and we're the ones who got burnt doing it.

 

I'd be furious with the refs if our PP was doing better. Some awful misses for them. Some missed against us, too, but two of the more glaring ones (our requisite too many men, and IIRC Hogs high stick on the dbag Seguin) happened right after the Stars shoulda been penalized for something else, so those barely count.

 

Oh well, great road trip results, once we forget about the ending here.

[Smashian Kassian]

Listening back to the 650 postgame & there's alot of heat for EP... I don't agree at all.

 

I think the last handful of games hes been playing well, defensively he's been very strong reading the play & making good plays. Offensively his production has been there. Tonight he his a post on the PP, that's a bad break. The 2 on 1 isn't ideal but it happens.

 

And he's doing this without a great running-mate, no offense to Mikheyev & Suter (whom I love) but it's not what Matthews / McDavid / MacKinnon exc have to work with.

[Rip The Mesh]

2023-24 Pacific Division Standings

Go back to September; Would you have predicted this? Personally, I'm pleasantly surprised. 

 

TEAM	W	L	OTL	PTS
Vancouver	22	9	3	47
Vegas	21	8	5	47
LA Kings	18	7	4	40
Calgary	14	14	5	33
Seattle	11	14	9	31
Edmonton	14	15	1	29
Anaheim	12	20	0	24
San Jose	9	21	3	21

[Mordekai]

1 hour ago, HKSR said:

He went from a 120+ point pace to now a 98 point pace in a span of a few weeks.  Let's revisit in a couple weeks.  I will be more than happy to eat crow if he is still where he is come late January.  I just don't see any signs of him turning it on.

I agree with that petey isn’t driving his line in the past 15+ games

probqbly due to injury and fatigue. I think he needs to continue to work on his strength and stamina as a primary objective in the offseason. 
I think the holiday break will help him. 
start of the year when he was full of energy he was a completely different player. I haven’t seen him body check hard on anyone recently

[Ghostsof1915]

[Smashian Kassian]

The Petey hate is maddening to me.

 

The Canucks are #1 in the league, he's producing & he's playing strong defensively without good linemates. I don't know what people are expecting...

 

The Canucks are playing great, and the thing is other teams notice that. Good teams see how good we've been & are giving up their best game. You can want an easy Picasso performance all you want but the other team is trying to win too, and these contending teams are taking us seriously now.

 

It's ridiculous.

[cusm]

I couldn't watch the game, so I looked it up as soon as I woke up. Ok, got a point, Vegas lost.... we are...can it be...yeah, first in the league!

 

Then I look in here and it appears as if the Nucks lost 6-0 to the Sharks.

 

A bit disturbing. I'd rather be happy.

[CanucksJay]

3 minutes ago, JamesB said:

Comments.

 

1. With the OT loss tonight, the Canucks pull into a tie with Vegas for first place in points in the entire NHL (although tied for 3rd in points percentage). I doubt if anyone on CFF seriously expected the Canucks to be anywhere near the top of the overall NHL standings at this point in the season. Great time to be a Canuck fan.

 

2. Tonight, the Canucks were fortunate to get a point, being outshot 36-22. However, the scoring chances were closer (31-22) and obviously the Canucks had a good chance to win, up by goal late in the third period and then with a 2 on 0 breakaway in OT (and two goalposts earlier). But Dallas did deserve to win.

 

3. As Tocchet said, at the end of a 4-game road against a very good team it was never going to be easy, and some guys are obviously worn out.

 

4. Turning to individual performances, obviously the headline tonight is the Garland-Joshua-Blueger line. They got two great goals on similar plays. Both plays started with excellent back-checking, followed by a quick rush the other way, and a great cross seam pass to set up the finish. That is quintessential Tocchet hockey. All three guys have completely bought in.  Those three guys led the "Statcards" advanced stats and were among the leaders in the Natural Stat Trick expected goals percentage. Nice to see all three guys get a couple of points tonight. Those guys all now have very respectable counting stats for third-liners and excellent plus/minus numbers.

 

5. The Miller line was also pretty good and it was great to see Brock get another goal on a very nice play by Miller and Boeser. And Hogz also played well. He deserves to keep his spot on that line.

 

6. Petey had an off-night. Obviously he did not look good on the missed OT breakaway. It looked like all he had to do is raise the puck but slightly misplayed it and just slid the puck into the goalie's pads. He had a lot of slight misplays tonight -- puck bouncing off his stick, fanning on a pass or shot, double-clutching on a pass or shot, etc.  Those "little things" really hurt the PP and the 5-on-5 play of his line.  His statcard and expected goals percentage numbers were both close to the bottom of the team. 

 

7. But the guys who were at the bottom of the advanced stat numbers were PDG and Lafferty. PDG's corsi line was 2-12 against, which is pretty bad when you are mostly playing against the other team's bottom six and play less than 8 minutes. I am guessing that PDG sits and Kuzy comes back next game against the Sharks. Let's try to get Kuzy feeling good as we head into the Christmas break. 

 

8. As for the D, Zadorov and Hughes were both good and that comes through in the advanced stats. Cole struggled. But the guy i focused on was Myers. He was on the ice for all 3 Dallas regulation goals. On the first, he did not exactly make a "mistake" but he was not quick enough to check Duchene or block the passing lane.  On the second goal he was late checking the player behind the net. By the time he got there, "finishing his check," all he did was take himself out of the play. The announcer said that the two D's not sure of who should go behind the net. Maybe. But the way I saw it, Myers was just slow. I cannot fault him on the third goal. He was boxing out his check and the shot just beat Demko. I think Myers made the right play-preventing the tip, screen, or rebound chance, rather than going for the block. I am not saying Myers is terrible and he is trying hard, but his abilities are limited and I found him frustrating tonight.

 

9. Demmer was solid, giving the Canucks a chance to win and I am giving him quite a lot of credit for the point the Canucks did get.

 

Overall, the road trip was a big success with 6 points out of a possible 8 against some pretty good teams.  Now we just need to beat San Jose to go into the Christmas break on a high.

Jeez man. You are always so bang on. 

Agreed on all your points except maybe one. 

 

I think its ok to say Petey had a rough night. Some here get eaten alive for it though but glad you can objectively say it. 

I also agree that PDG did not really do anything accept occupy a spot tonight. I'd like to see Kuz back into the mix. 

I thought Hogz was ok. Not good and not bad. He's lucky he didn't get called for another penalty on the high stick. I like Hogz but he better watch his pims. 

I dunno what happened to Myers tonight but he was not fully there mentally. Does the guy have ADHD? Did he forget his meds? 

Cole was ok... Didn't like what he did on that 3rd goal against. He had time to make a play. There was no forecheck pressure but he just got rid of it and turned it over. 

But my question is, why would Cole and Myers be out there together on a crucial defensive zone draw? They were the ones struggling the most tonight but to pair them together seems risky. 

Hell I would have even taken z and Myers or Hughes and Hronek or some sort of combination of those 4.

I would have taken anyone else except maybe Juulsen. There was a tv timeout, everyone was fresh... This one is also on RT as well. 

 

[Devron]

2 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

The Petey hate is maddening to me.

 

The Canucks are #1 in the league, he's producing & he's playing strong defensively without good linemates. I don't know what people are expecting...

 

The Canucks are playing great, and the thing is other teams notice that. Good teams see how good we've been & are giving up their best game. You can want an easy Picasso performance all you want but the other team is trying to win too, and these contending teams are taking us seriously now.

 

It's ridiculous.

People thrive on the negative. They need to find ways to be upset. There always needs to be something or someone to jump on. It doesn’t matter how good things are or how good this team is, people will find ways to bitch and moan 

[CanucksJay]

1 minute ago, Devron said:

People thrive on the negative. They need to find ways to be upset. There always needs to be something or someone to jump on. It doesn’t matter how good things are or how good this team is, people will find ways to bitch and moan 

I said it before but I'll say it again. It's the way we lost which is maddening. 

When it was 2-2, I would have been ok with an OTL. that changed though when Garland scored with less than 5 min left. 

We had to lock it down for 5 min and to our credit, we've been great at locking games down but today, there were too many errors. 

Error 1- RT for putting Myers and Cole out together on a defensive zone draw. 

Error 2- Cole panicking with the puck and ringing it around the boards when Joshua didn't have time to get there

Error 3- Miller also blowing the zone as the puck is getting rung around

Error 4- Petey losing possession in OT deciding to go 1 v 2 behind their net

 

Error 5- Petey making a bad decision to force a turnover and getting caught on a 3v2

Error 6- missing a 2on 0

Error 7- long shift followed by a bad change giving stars a partial breakaway to end it in OT with 15 seconds left. 

 

All of that happened in a short period of time and we lost the game as a result. 

It feels crappy because we competed hard all game

 

[Canuckleheads Fan]

3 hours ago, Jaimito said:

 

Dakota been hot, should have shot it.  

 

It's ok.  Move on.  Long road trip, got results in every game 

A low shot would have likely given Petey a shot at a rebound. Peter was in too close to either return the pass of get a good chance.

[Barn Burner]

1 hour ago, HKSR said:

Well, the Miller line is still the top offensive unit followed closely by the Garland line.  Where does that leave Petey?

10th overall in league scoring?

Edited December 22, 2023 by Barn Burner

[iinatcc]

So is it time to

 

 

?

[PeteyBOI]

25 minutes ago, CanucksJay said:

Jeez man. You are always so bang on. 

Agreed on all your points except maybe one. 

 

I think its ok to say Petey had a rough night. Some here get eaten alive for it though but glad you can objectively say it. 

I also agree that PDG did not really do anything accept occupy a spot tonight. I'd like to see Kuz back into the mix. 

I thought Hogz was ok. Not good and not bad. He's lucky he didn't get called for another penalty on the high stick. I like Hogz but he better watch his pims. 

I dunno what happened to Myers tonight but he was not fully there mentally. Does the guy have ADHD? Did he forget his meds? 

Cole was ok... Didn't like what he did on that 3rd goal against. He had time to make a play. There was no forecheck pressure but he just got rid of it and turned it over. 

But my question is, why would Cole and Myers be out there together on a crucial defensive zone draw? They were the ones struggling the most tonight but to pair them together seems risky. 

Hell I would have even taken z and Myers or Hughes and Hronek or some sort of combination of those 4.

I would have taken anyone else except maybe Juulsen. There was a tv timeout, everyone was fresh... This one is also on RT as well. 

 

its cause the coach knows better 

[Devron]

8 minutes ago, CanucksJay said:

I said it before but I'll say it again. It's the way we lost which is maddening. 

When it was 2-2, I would have been ok with an OTL. that changed though when Garland scored with less than 5 min left. 

We had to lock it down for 5 min and to our credit, we've been great at locking games down but today, there were too many errors. 

Error 1- RT for putting Myers and Cole out together on a defensive zone draw. 

Error 2- Cole panicking with the puck and ringing it around the boards when Joshua didn't have time to get there

Error 3- Miller also blowing the zone as the puck is getting rung around

Error 4- Petey losing possession in OT deciding to go 1 v 2 behind their net

 

Error 5- Petey making a bad decision to force a turnover and getting caught on a 3v2

Error 6- missing a 2on 0

Error 7- long shift followed by a bad change giving stars a partial breakaway to end it in OT with 15 seconds left. 

 

All of that happened in a short period of time and we lost the game as a result. 

It feels crappy because we competed hard all game

 

Well we used to lose like every game. Blow leads every game. I saw a very enjoyable game. 2 great teams going head to head. It’s disappointing to lose the game. Sure I set that, but maddening I don’t know. Maddening to me was the New Jersey game. 
 

I have no problem losing a game here and there. End of a road trip, I don’t think anyone is perfect. I personally just don’t get it. I like being in first. 
 

Let’s win the last one before Christmas! 

[PistolPete13]

1 hour ago, tas said:

it's funny because if you slide that time window even a little bit in either direction your entire argument tanks. a little bit shorter window, ppg. a little bit longer window, ppg. for some reason, only the number 20 matters. 

In 2011  Sid Crosby went 12 games in a row without a goal and in 2017 he went 11 games in a row without a goal.

It happens to the best of them.

[CanucksJay]

3 minutes ago, Devron said:

Well we used to lose like every game. Blow leads every game. I saw a very enjoyable game. 2 great teams going head to head. It’s disappointing to lose the game. Sure I set that, but maddening I don’t know. Maddening to me was the New Jersey game. 
 

I have no problem losing a game here and there. End of a road trip, I don’t think anyone is perfect. I personally just don’t get it. I like being in first. 
 

Let’s win the last one before Christmas! 

Lol you are right. 

Maddening is too extreme. 

I ain't mad. The boys played a hard fought game and almost pulled it off. Great showing for their 4th game in 6 nights.