Elias Pettersson has looked like himself again for the Canucks

Confidence is a great thing. For the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson has got his confidence back and has looked rejuvenated.

For the first few months of the season, Pettersson struggled. He wasn’t scoring goals, his shot looked off, he couldn’t handle the puck and looked sluggish.

There were also a lot of broken sticks and bad luck for Pettersson.

Over the last month or so, things started looking up for Pettersson. He has five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 12 games since January 22 and that ties J.T. Miller in the point totals over that period.

Here is another interesting stat about Pettersson over the last few weeks.

Guess who’s back, back again? Pettersson’s back, tell a friend.

Pettersson also leads the Canucks in goals since January 1 with eight and has 17 points since then which is second only to Miller. He only had six goals before the calendar flipped to 2022 and only had 17 points from October to December.

The 2017 fifth overall pick talked about how he feels like himself again.

“I feel great, I think I’m creating a lot,” said Pettersson after the win over the Seattle Kraken on Monday. “I feel like myself out there. Playing is fun. I’m playing with confidence.”

Bruce Boudreau has put Pettersson on different lines and has even put him on the wing to get him going again. (He is better at centre, however.)

“He’s never complained when I’ve put him on different lines,” said Boudreau per Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor. “As long as he continues to do what he does and make great plays and gets his shot away, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Pettersson has been doing his dekes again, he has been trying hard at the puck battles, throwing some hits around and has been shooting has looked much better, especially with the one-timer.

Up until January 22, Pettersson’s had a Corsi For percentage of 51.52% and expected goals percentage of 50.14% and a High Danger Corsi For percentage of 48.95% at five-on-five per NaturalStatTrick. Since January 22, his Corsi has dipped a little to 50.95% but his expected goals have gone up to 52.95% and HDCF has gone up to 50%.

This means Pettersson is getting a little fewer attempts but is been getting more high danger scoring chances and more of his chances have resulted in goals.

Pettersson has also revealed his wrist was taped earlier in the season meaning the injury from last season was still bothering him. That explains a lot.

For Canucks fans, it is great to see Pettersson play with confidence. He is showing he can be lead the team offensively and reminded us why he was one of the top players in the NHL two years ago.

The playoffs do look far-fetched and it is best for the Canucks to sell at the deadline but watching Pettersson put up the points can make the rest of season more enjoyable.

A confident Pettersson is the best version of Pettersson and long may it continue.