Con #1: Canucks can’t score at even strength
The Canucks averaged a game every other night this month, but the high end scoring each game has dried out. For 15 games played in November, Vancouver only scored 37 times total with 23 of those goals coming at even strength. 23 goals in 15 games played isn’t going to cut it at even strength.
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The goals definitely kept coming at full speed for the Lotto line, but beyond arguably the league’s best line in hockey, the scoring at 5-on-5 for the Canucks has been low and disappointing. If it wasn’t for the Canucks core of players keeping the team afloat, who knows how bad this month could have really turned out.
Bo Horvat was forced into playing way too many minutes in the absence of Jay Beagle and Brandon Sutter. Gaudette was doing well on the third line, but his ice time remained low as the coach wasn’t fully able to trust him defensively. This appeared to weigh on the team’s 14th captain and he has struggled to score when not on the power play.
Once promised to be a consistent 20-goal scorer for the Canucks, Loui Eriksson remained pointless on the year up until the Nov. 30 showdown against the Edmonton Oilers. We all saw the struggles coming, but in a time of need, Eriksson did not step up and the goals were few and far between for the teams bottom nine.
Gaudette has six, Jake Virtanen has six too, but players like Josh Leivo, Tanner Pearson and Eriksson have struggled as the season has gone on. Horvat needs a consistent winger if this team wants a sniff of the playoffs, but it doesn’t look like these players have what it takes this season. Change is coming.
Pro #1: Power play is unstoppable
The power of the power play comes to life when the Canucks deploy their top unit of Horvat, Pettersson, Miller, Boeser and Hughes. It is something truly special to see, and the Canucks special teams haven’t been this deadly since the cup run of 2011. I previously wrote an article about how successful the team’s power play has been. You can read it here.
Each top unit player has contributed a minimum of ten points apiece on the man advantage. Pettersson has 16, and Hughes leads all NHL defenders in points. Yes, you read that correctly. Hughes has more power play points than any NHL defender, and he didn’t see top unit time until the eighth game of the season.
The Canucks group of five are all under the age of 27, and the core four are between the ages of 19 and 23. That’s a young core that is going to be here for a long time coming. I don’t know about you, but I am over the moon that we are going to have the pleasure of witnessing Hughes quarterback power play while feeding Pettersson and Boeser one-timers for the next decade.
If this month was any indication, the power play is well taken care of for the next decade.