Two hat tricks and winning on the road
The Vancouver Canucks as a whole, average about a hat trick a year give or take. In the month of October, the team managed to have two, both of them coming on the road. Something even more difficult to pull off. Who, you might ask? Horvat and Brock Boeser.
After a three-game homestand that saw the Canucks flip their losing record into a 3-2 start, all while outscoring their opponents 16-5, captain Horvat hit the road without a goal. He led his team to a comeback victory over the defending champions before scoring a hat trick in a game against the Detroit Red Wings. A couple of games later, the road trip is complete and at the time Horvat led the team in goals. He now has six. That’s one behind Boeser for the team lead.
Boeser, on the other hand, got clicking on the powerplay in the final game of the month against the Kings. He netted his first hat trick of the season in impressive fashion with absolutely absurd passing from Elias Pettersson. He now leads the team with seven goals in 12 games played. That’s 0.583 goals per game.
Clearly something is working well for the Canucks. They score 16 goals at home in three games, they hit the road and manage to get two hat tricks in one month. No doubt, that’s going to improve a team’s chances of winning hockey games.
The lotto line
Fans of the Canucks were torn on the approach of finding who was going to be the perfect line-mate for Pettersson and Boeser. Was it J.T. Miller or was it going to be Ferland? Management and coaching seemed set on giving Ferland all the chances he needed to get going on the top line. Why? Protection for Pettersson.
The three never got to play together in pre-season as Brock suffered a concussion scare and Micheal fell very ill, dropping nearly 10 pounds in the process. Ferland took his time getting back to full health and it was pretty clear he wasn’t ready for top line minutes. The chemistry never formed and Miller was playing lights out on the second line just waiting for his chance to play with the team’s elite.
Miller got his opportunity on the top line and cashed-in. He’s a staple to hold together the trio and it doesn’t look like things are going to change anytime soon. Why would they? He’s been an absolute beast on their wing, he can win faceoffs when called upon and he plays a very good 2-way style.
Some people thought he was suited for the second powerplay unit, but there was no chance he was getting pulled away from “Boesersson.” The chemistry was just too good, too quick. Instead, Horvat joined PP1 and then things really started going.
Pettersson, Boeser and Miller are one, two and three in team scoring and show no signs of slowing down. It appears the Canucks have won the lottery with this grand-slam acquisition. Number nine rounds out the 6-40-9 trio and hopefully the luck continues all the way to a Stanley Cup championship.