Third period: A quiet, yet effective finish to Hoglander’s first NHL game
Hoglander was the odd man out on his line to start the third, where the Oilers potted a quick goal on the powerplay to tie the game at 2-2 as Hamonic’s penalty dwindled down.
Another aspect of Hoglander’s playstyle that was apparent throughout the game was his hand-eye coordination. He managed to get a piece of a couple of Edler point shots, along with his work on the powerplay.
At 5:19, Hoglander quickly collected a deflected shot, after a Holtby save exited the Canucks zone, and fed Pearson for the first shot of what was one of the line’s more dominant shifts. After Pearson’s shot, Hoglander bombarded Koskinen, chipping the puck out of the goalie’s grasp before he could cover it up.
The rookie then fought off pressure from Koekkoek in the corner, moving the puck to Edler with a pass vertically through the slot, which led to a Juolevi shot on net. This was another really impressive forechecking sequence from Hoglander.
Hoglander impressing viewers has become a bit of a theme, hasn’t it?
At 6:49, Hoglander does a superb job of stripping the puck from Nurse, getting in the way of the defenceman’s shot. He then sent a great pass out of the zone to Hughes, who tried to feed a spurting Pearson, but couldn’t connect.
On Hoglander’s next shift, he and rookie counterpart Juolevi worked together to evade Oilers forecheckers’ pressure, using a quick back-and-forth passing sequence before moving the puck up to the right side of the ice to Pearson for a shot on goal.
In particular, this play is interesting, considering that the rookie pair faces pressure from Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian, who are both big-bodied, physical players. Both showed a calm demeanour in this situation, evading what could’ve been a dangerous turnover.
As Hoglander’s hand-eye coordination has been apparent, the young Canucks did an excellent job to clear the puck out of danger on his next shift, batting the puck out of the slot after a sharp Holtby save.
Another one of Hoglander’s more lowkey eye-popping plays came at around 13:00 in the period.
Hoglander corralled Nate Schmidt’s stretch pass while skating backwards, uses a quick pivot to create space between himself and Nurse, screens for oncoming teammates, then threads a pass to a lagging Edler for a shot on goal.
The best part about these small plays is how effective they are and how effortless they look. It was another excellent display of the Swede’s skating abilities and vision. It was also a sign that Hoglander got more comfortable as the game went on.
As the game progressed, the Oilers kept up the pressure, as expected.
At around 14:50, Hoglander spent time in the Canucks zone with Virtanen and Pettersson, as the Oilers caught the duo in their own zone before they could change. Hoglander was much more active in his coverage on the left flank as Edmonton held Vancouver in their own zone.
Hoglander closed his gaps well and cleared the puck out of the low slot just as the whistle blew for an Edler cross-checking penalty.
While not a surprise, Green kept Hoglander off the ice when Edmonton pulled their goalie, as he opted for Tyler Motte to close out the game before a Jesse Puljujarvi penalty.
It’ll be interesting to see if Green ever hands Hoglander the reigns to the Canucks’ late-game situations as he plays more with Horvat and Pearson. Although that’s something you shouldn’t expect to see, at least for now.
As the clock winded down, Hoglander did not see another shift as the Canucks capped off a 5-3 victory over the Oilers.
Hoglander finished the game with one goal, three shots on goal, along with a 59.38 Corsi For% in 16:23 of ice-time. That’s quite the debut for the Swedish rookie.
While it’s only been one game, the addition of Hoglander to Horvat’s wing has completely reimagined the Canucks’ second line.
It is promising to see how Hoglander can facilitate so much offence on the rush and is fast enough to stifle the opposing team’s transition.
The apparent lag that hampered the ‘shutdown line’ so much is no more, as Hoglander’s speed and poise are a breath of fresh air in the Canucks top-six.
It feels weird to even coin this trio as a ‘shutdown line,’ because thus far they look to be so much more. While they will continue to match up against top opposition, they are equally as dangerous in the offensive end as well.
As a whole, there are a lot of things to like about Hoglander, and if last night was just the start, then Canucks fans have a lot to be excited about this year.
What did you think of Hoglander’s performance? Let us know in the comments!