Vancouver Canucks: 3 keys to victory over the Avalanche

The Vancouver Canucks tumble into the mile high city to face a high octane Colorado Avalanche squad in this trade deadline day showdown! Here are three keys to victory in the Mile High City.

First off, I’d like to wish everyone a very merry NHL trade deadline! I know last year Santa Benning brought us all nice prospects and picks, so here’s hoping he delivers the same this year!

While we all anxiously await what moves the Vancouver Canucks will make, its important to remember that they actually have a game to play tonight!

The Canucks face the Colorado Avanlanche tonight after putting up a solid effort in a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes last night. Jacob Markstrom was fantastic, stopping 41 of 42 shots in a game where he would have been the first star, if not for the multi-goal performance by Daniel Sedin.

Though they say it is important to have a short memory in hockey, the Canucks won’t soon forget how they blew a three goal lead to these same Avalanche just last week, which included surrendering a staggering five power play goals.

It’s embarrassing to allow five power play goals in a beer league game, but in the NHL it is even more embarrassing considering how much practice and preparation goes into penalty killing.

Lets just say the Canucks penalty killing unit will have a personal chip on their shoulder in this match to show that game was just anomaly.

The Avalanche are coming off a demoralizing loss of their own as they were thoroughly walloped by the Calgary Flames Saturday by a score of 5-1. With the Avalanche in the thick of the playoff hunt in the Central Division, look for them to come into tonight’s game as a desperate bunch.

Can the Canucks exact revenge on the Avalanche for last week? Will Markstrom get the start again after performing lights out last night? What will the Canucks do at the deadline?

You’ll have to watch the game to find out!

But before you do, here are your Canucks 3 keys to victory!

Penalty killing

As mentioned earlier, the last time these two teams met, the Avalanche pumped the Canucks for five power play goals.

At the centre of this assault were Avalanche leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon and local boy Tyson Barrie. They had four and five points respectively in that game.

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It is clear that the Avalanche power play runs mainly through these two players.

A successful penalty kill is where the penalty killers limit the time and space of the main puck distributors of a power play. We have seen other teams use this approach on the Canucks where they try to pressure the Sedins when they have the puck on the half wall.

A similar approach needs to be adopted when going after the Colorado power play. Players like Nathan MacKinnon need to be pressured into making a quick, low percentage decision when they have the puck. If you look at the power play goals, MacKinnon and Barrie had plenty of time to distribute or shoot the puck.

Another thing the Canucks need to do is clear the front of the net. Too many times this season we have seen the defenceman who is at the net front lose coverage of their man and in turn act as a screen on their own goalie. Its important to get back to the basics and box players out so your goalie can get a clear look.

Continued Sedinery

While our lord and saviour Brock Boeser has been on a bit of a cold streak (more on this in a bit), the former chosen one, Daniel Sedin, has been scoring more often as of late.

With 5 goals in his last five games, Daniel has turned back the clock a little bit. In particular, he has rediscovered his ability to score in a variety of fashions. In yesterday’s game he went to the front of the net and converted on a nice feed from Derrick Pouliot, and then tipped in a Boeser shot from the high slot for his next goal. In the game against the Vegas Golden Knights, he sniped an absolute beauty over the shoulder of Marc-Andre Fleury.

With 17 goals on the season, Daniel Sedin has passed his goal total from last year, and looks like a solid bet to break the 20+ goal barrier this season.

While Daniel has been lighting the lamp, Henrik has been lighting up the assist column. With 4 assists in his last 5 games, Henrik has 38 assists on the season, which surpasses his total from last season.

It seems that limited minutes and a strong dosage of power play time has brought the Sedins numbers up this season. While they have looked slow at times, the Sedins remain legitimate second liners who fill a very important void in the Canucks lineup.

If they can stay one more season with the likes of Elias Pettersson with them in the lineup, I think that would be a very smart and savvy move.

Where art Thou Boeser?

While the Sedins have been piling up the points, Boeser has gone extremely quiet. With just 3 goals in his last 10 games, it looks like Boeser’s injured wrist is really starting to take a toll on his game.

This is not only reflected in his stats, but by the eye test as well. He is not able to put the same amount of “zip” into his shot like he used too. Not only is the power lacking, but the quickness in the release has been lost too.

In the game against the Knights, Boeser received a beautiful cross ice pass from Henrik Sedin, which gave him an unimpeded view of the net. As we are accustomed to, one would expect for Boeser to instantly release the shot on net. However he cradled the puck for a couple of seconds, giving Fleury plenty of time to slide over and cut down the angle.

With the Canucks in no danger of making the playoffs anytime soon, it is truly baffling that the organization is allowing Boeser to play with a wonky wrist. Why risk Boeser getting hurt in mean nothing games? It is clear that Boeser is no longer the same player, and is also no longer in contention for the Calder rookie of the year trophy (the engraver is currently putting Mathew Barzal‘s name on the trophy as of this writing).

Next: Canucks: Analyzing a trade for Max Domi

There is in no way shape or form that the Canucks win on or off the ice with an injured Boeser. Its time to sit him out and get him the proper rehab he needs.

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