The Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs square off for the second time this season, Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada. Round 1 was a bloodbath that saw the Maple Leafs expose the Canucks’ biggest weakness — one that, until corrected, will prevent the Canucks from having any kind of meaningful success this season.
The 7-3 drubbing at the hands of the Maple Leafs on Thursday was the eighth time the Canucks have allowed five or more goals in a game this season. The only team with a worse goals-against average are the Ottawa Senators, who have the worst record in the NHL. And while the Canucks have given their fans glimpses of hope, a four-game win streak, and flashes of strong play from their top players, this team has really only shown one thing consistently this season: An inability to defend, particularly off the rush.
In the loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday, the Canucks allowed 17 scoring chances off the rush, more than any team has allowed in a game this season. Four of those rush chances resulted in goals, which is more than two teams, Dallas and New Jersey, have allowed all season.
The Canucks’ inability to slow teams down is their biggest performance-based issue right now.
Going back to the start of the 2017-18 season, no team has allowed more goals off the rush in its first 14 games than the 19 Vancouver has allowed this season.
Only the 2018-19 Detroit Red Wings allowed more rush chances against (116) this deep into a season than the Canucks have this season (115). That Red Wings team went on to finish 28th place.
The Canucks currently rank last in the NHL in the amount of rush scoring chances they allow per game, 8.2, and goals allowed off the rush, 1.36.
So, let’s look at four key areas to identify the root of the problem. Goaltending, personnel, coaching and execution.
Goaltending
Let’s get this out of the way: it’s not goaltending that is costing the Canucks defensively. When isolating goaltending performance (actual goals against average vs. expected goals against average) from team defence (expected goals against average), the Canucks sit 21st in the league. Their expected goals against, a direct reflection of team defence, is last in the NHL at 3.54 goals-against per game.
Captain Bo Horvat hit the nail on the head after Thursday’s loss to Toronto saying, “It’s not our goaltender’s fault. We’re giving up too many grade-A opportunities.” J.T. Miller echoed his captain’s sentiments stating, “We hung our goalies out to dry. I think we can be way better.”
Personnel
The Canucks lost some key defensive contributors in the off-season in Jacob Markstrom and Chris Tanev. Markstrom covered up some of the defensive warts that are proving so costly this season.
In 2019-20, the Canucks ranked 29th in rush chances against per game with 6.8, and 24th in rush goals against with 0.77. Not quite as bad as this season, but still not the type of numbers you typically see from a team that went on to win multiple playoff rounds. Like Markstrom, the Canucks’ best defensive defenceman last season, Tanev, also left via free agency. Vancouver wasn’t a great defensive team with Tanev and they are proving to be a worse one without him.
Coaching
I think Travis Green is a good coach and I think he understands what he has in his group. Part of the reason the Canucks allowed so many rush chances and goals against last season was due to how they looked to create offence.
Vancouver did an excellent job cycling the puck and turning offensive zone possessions into goals. At even-strength, no team scored more goals off the cycle than Vancouver. In order to maximize the strengths of the team and create so many goals by working the puck in the offensive zone, the Canucks often had three or four skaters playing below the hash marks in the offensive zone. If a puck was turned over or a battle was lost, the opposing team would often have a chance to move up ice quickly and create off the rush.
In the end, Vancouver scored more by cycling than they allowed off the rush so this strategy seemed sound enough. This season, the Canucks are still giving up the rush chances we would expect, but the issue has been compounded by a concerning degree of disconnect between the forwards and defencemen.
Execution
The game against the Maple Leafs was a microcosm of the defensive issues that have plagued Vancouver for much of the season and it started early. Here are just a couple of examples.
Less than three minutes into the game a failed pinch at the blue line leaves J.T. Miller to defend Auston Matthews. Guess who won that battle?
In the second period, Adam Gaudette gets beat on a stretch pass up the middle of the ice. Odd-man rush, goal.
There were plenty more examples like this, but for brevity’s sake we’ll move on.
The Canucks are going to give up more rush chances than most teams. Partially because of how they play and partially because they are not a fast team. They can not compound the issue by lacking in execution and details.
Perhaps some of this is fatigue related, both mental and physical. After all, Vancouver started its season playing 13 games in 21 days including four sets of back-to-backs. Opportunities for the Canucks to fine-tune their game with practice time have been few and far between. However, these defensive issues were real with this team last season. The Canucks just did a better job of hiding them thanks to the Vezina-calibre play of Markstrom and of course, bubble Thatcher Demko.
Goaltending has been fine this season. With the departure of key players, this year’s Canucks simply aren’t as good as last year’s Canucks. That was a team that performed in the playoffs beyond what it would likely be capable of over a long stretch of time — say, a regular season.
Despite what some fans in Vancouver might want to hear right now, I’m not hanging much of the blame for the Canucks’ current plight on Travis Green. The blue line isn’t good enough and it shows most nights. I do believe this Canucks team is likely better than it’s shown so far, but not better than the unrealistic expectations some set for the group at the start of the season.
One thing is for sure, until this team finds a way to limit the inordinate number of dangerous rush chances it’s allowing, it will lose far more often than it wins. Trying to limit the Leafs to less than the 17 they had on Thursday is a good starting point.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
