Canucks: Breaking down Nils Hoglander’s first NHL game
Second period: Hoglander scores his first career NHL goal
Hoglander’s line took the ice to start the period, where the young Swede began the frame battling with McDavid in the neutral zone, and, after an attempted dump, he got muscled out by Nurse.
The rookie made a nice dish to Edler for a one-timer from the right point which went wide. Later in the shift, Horvat tried a no-look pass to the Swede on the rush but didn’t connect, with not much more to report after that.
Hoglander’s next on-ice appearance began in the Oilers’ end, but in a 1-1 game after an ugly defensive sequence from the Canucks’ third pair. Off of the faceoff, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins overmatched the rookie’s smaller frame, but the Canucks maintained possession in the zone. Hoglander made a quick move to get around Nurse, where Horvat took the puck for another opportunity.
While Hoglander has shown his shiftiness in glimpses thus far, he’s looked great.
On his next shift, Hoglander delayed an offensive entry by going offside, leading to a break for the Oilers, forcing Braden Holtby to make an incredible toe save on Connor McDavid.
Due to a Hamonic penalty, Hoglander took a long break while the Canucks killed off the penalty and rolled their checking lines.
In his second encounter with Nugent-Hopkins, Hoglander went at it along the boards, fighting off both Koekkok and the former, which led to a Horvat chance on net.
This play shows off the scrappier side of Hoglander’s game. The Swede brings a diverse skillset to the lineup, with his crafty hands, solid skating, and bold two-way play.
Hoglander had another long stay on the bench after Pettersson’s line took some extended shifts. However, the added rest time on the bench clearly served him well. On his next shift, Hoglander scored his first career NHL goal, stuffing a Pearson rebound past Koskinen.
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This sequence is mostly in part due to Horvat and Pearson’s work. But, as mentioned previously, Hoglander is always in the right spots, always keeping active. He did a great job to follow the play, tracking the play through the slot to pounce on the rebound.
After the goal, the ‘shutdown line’ was back at it for the Canucks, where Hoglander made a great pickup in the defensive zone, then turned around and made a near-perfect saucer pass to Horvat, who got a grade-A chance that was blocked by Koskinen.
So much for the first game jitters, eh?
Through two periods, Hoglander’s line was the most productive on the ice by far. Being tasked to stop McDavid in the same hand is no small feat either, and the trio reaped the rewards of the Oilers’ defensive deficiencies.
While it may seem obvious, it bears mentioning that inserting Hoglander alongside the Canucks captain has made his line so much more dangerous. Horvat and Pearson facilitated much of their play between each other, but they are doing so with a higher volume of opportunity.
In turn, they look much more lethal. The trio dominated at even-strength, outshooting the Oilers 11-2 while on the ice.