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Canucks’ mediocre power play hindering potential turnaround – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

February 17, 2021

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks were so poor defensively in the first three weeks of the season that their power play didn’t matter.

Eight of their first nine losses were by three or more goals, so besides adding some momentum within those games, another goal on special teams probably wasn’t going to change the outcome.

But now that the Canucks have rediscovered their game, outshooting and out-chancing opponents the last four games but winning only once, the power play suddenly matters a lot. And through the first 19 games of 2021, Vancouver’s man-advantage units are operating at roughly two-thirds the output and efficiency they did last season.

Even with a 2-for-6 night in Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames – one power-play goal was scored5-on-3, the other in the final second of a penalty – the Canucks rank 20th in the NHL with a power-play conversion rate of 17.4 per cent. They’ve scored 12 times at extra strength.

Through the first 19 games last season, which the Canucks’ power play finished at No. 4, Vancouver had generated 19 goals and was humming along at 25 per cent.

What makes the downgrade this season more curious is that the Canucks are using the same five players on their top unit: Quinn Hughes at the point, Bo Horvat in the bumper, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller on the flanks and Brock Boeser down low.

Coach Travis Green was critical of the unit after Monday’s game, saying: “I didn’t think they were very good tonight. I just didn’t think they were sharp. Passing wasn’t sharp, they were on the outside.”

“Yesterday, I think we were a bit sloppy,” Pettersson said after Tuesday’s practice for the four-game series finale Wednesday against the Flames. “We weren’t making the plays. We weren’t breaking in the puck like we normally do. I think we just have to keep high standards. This year, the power play hasn’t been as good as we want to want it to be, but we’re talking about it before every game and practice, working on it every chance we get.”

Pettersson had 24 power-play points in 69 games last season, one behind Miller and Hughes. So far this year, he has just four.

“We definitely have the talent to get back to where we were last year, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Hughes said. “(But) it’s also harder this year. . . playing a team four times in a row. They’re going to make adjustments and we’re just going to have to do that, too.”

A huge factor for the Canucks has been the disappearance of the second power-play unit, which produced 19 of the team’s 57 extra-strength goals last season. Tanner Pearson’s deflection of Hughes’ point shot on Monday – the goal was initially listed as even-strength but was changed to a power-play goal as a Calgary penalty expired – was the first power-play marker this season outside of the top unit.

MILLER’S TIME AND DEPLOYMENT

The Canucks made a slight change to their No. 1 power play in practice, moving Miller down to the net and Boeser up to the left-wing circle. Those were their positions when Boeser wristed in the tying goal Monday with 30.2 seconds remaining in regulation time and goalie Thatcher Demko on the bench for an extra skater.

Miller is more adept at jamming the front of the net than Boeser, who will pivot out of the goalie’s way to try and deflect shots. Using Boeser, a right shot, on the left side opens another one-timer option although the left-shooting Miller has been effective collecting the puck from Hughes just inside the blue line and attacking “downhill” to the net. But that position includes a lot of playmaking and Miller has had a frustrating number of turnovers while trying to force passes.

Miller’s ice time has been redistributed this season due to his introduction to the Canucks’ penalty-killing unit, which has phased out Loui Eriksson and lost Tyler Motte to an ankle injury. With 10 power plays and nearly 17 minutes of special-teams play on Monday, Miller logged 24:52 of ice time – easily the most by a Vancouver forward this season.

“I did call Millsy in today and talked about his minutes,” Green said Tuesday. “I don’t like them creeping up that much. On the other hand, I did tell him that I liked his penalty killing. You’re lucky if you can find a guy who’s very skilled and can kill penalties, and is hard enough to do it and brave enough. I think he’s a good penalty killer and has done a good job since we added him. I’ll probably keep him on the penalty kill and I might have to cut his ice in other areas once in a while.”

PETTERSSON’S BACK

After a perplexing start to his third NHL season, former Calder Trophy winner Pettersson has 11 points in his last 11 games and again looks fully engaged.

The 22-year-old’s skill has always sparkled, but what helped him become a star at such a young age was his drive without the puck: how relentlessly he worked to retrieve it, how willing he was to battle defensively. That part of Pettersson’s game was noticeably absent for most of January.

“I’ve been trying to skate faster,” he said Tuesday. “I’ve been trying to challenge the opponents harder. I think the first couple of games, I didn’t really do that stuff. I was being too stationary. I was trying to make plays while I’m while standing still and (I was) an easy target to play against. So yeah, I’ve been thinking about that lately, and been feeling a lot better.”

So is Green.

“Any top player in the league, you notice them skating,” the coach said. “You notice them moving their feet, wanting the puck, commanding the puck. I don’t think he had his legs under him to start the season. I think he’d probably admit that, that he wasn’t on top of his game. But he does seem to be getting to the level that he played at before.”

INJURY REPORT

Former Flame Travis Hamonic travelled with the Canucks to Calgary for Wednesday’s single road game, an indication he is close to playing after suffering an upper-body injury on Jan. 20. Signed by Vancouver to play with Hughes as the replacement for Chris Tanev, who has had an excellent start with the Flames, Hamonic may have a difficult time dislodging Jordie Benn from the lineup.

After a disappointing first season in Vancouver when he became a regular healthy scratch, Benn has had a stabilizing effect on Hughes and is playing his best hockey as a Canuck. His expected-goals-for percentage of 49.6 is second among Canucks defencemen, and Benn has improved the penalty kill, which has allowed only one goal in 30:22 of short-handed time with the 34-year-old on the ice.

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Washington Capitals 3-2 win ends Dallas Stars’ winning streak

Published

3 hours ago

October 18, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored to help the Washington Capitals end the Dallas Stars’ season-opening winning streak at four with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.

Wilson’s goal was his third in three games, Strome his second of the season and Raddysh his first since joining the team in free agency last summer. Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves as the Capitals wrapped up this early homestand with back-to-back wins.

The Stars fell from the ranks of the league’s unbeaten teams despite a short-handed goal by Colin Blackwell and one at even strength from Jason Robertson. Rookie Oskar Bäck set up Blackwell for his first NHL point.

Casey DeSmith was screened on two of the three goals he allowed on 26 shots.

LIGHTNING 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the winning goal with less than a minute to play just 1:27 after Brandon Hagel had tied it and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Vegas.

Kucherov’s second goal of the game with 55 seconds left was his sixth of the season.

Janis Moser had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who remain unbeaten. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.

Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev had goals for Vegas. Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots.

Jack Eichel, with two assists on Thursday, now has 10 points this season in five games and reached reached double-digit points faster than any other player in Vegas history. He is the 10th U.S.-born player to accomplish the feat.

After Barbashev put Vegas up 3-2 early in the second, Hagel pulled Tampa Bay even at 3 with 2:22 remaining in the third.

BLUE JACKETS 6, SABRES 4

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier each had a goal and an assist and Daniil Tarasov made 21 saves to help Columbus to a win over Buffalo.

Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Zachary Aston-Reese and Damon Severson also scored for Columbus, and Zach Werenski added two assists.

Ryan McLeod, Owen Power and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo, and Jiri Kulich added his first NHL goal. Devon Lev stopped 19 shots for the Sabres (1-5-1), who have lost two straight road games and five of their first six overall.

CANUCKS 3, FLORIDA 2, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — J.T. Miller scored 2:09 into overtime and Vancouver got their first win of the season, beating Florida.

Teddy Blueger and Quinn Hughes had goals for Vancouver, with Kevin Lankinen stopping 26 shots.

Anton Lundell got his fourth goal in the last three games for Florida and Jesper Boqvist also scored for the Panthers, who got 30 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida remained without forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness).

DEVILS 3, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid in the final minutes as New Jersey beat Ottawa.

Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who won for the third time in four games and improved to 5-2-0.

The Senators, who were coming off an 8-7 overtime victory against Los Angeles on Monday, struggled to beat Markstrom.

Brady Tkachuk was the only scorer for the Senators, beating Markstrom, with a power-play goal with 65 seconds remaining in the third period.

Anton Forsberg, making his second straight start and hoping to rebound after getting pulled Monday, made 32 saves in the loss.

Haula opened the scoring early in the second period and Bastian added a short-handed goal, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Cotter scored midway through the third.

RANGERS 5, RED WING 2

DETROIT (AP) — Artemi Panarin had his eighth career hat trick and New York rolled to a victory over Detroit.

Panarin became the first Rangers player to have multiple points in the first four games of a season. He scored twice on the power play. Vincent Trocheck also had a power- play goal and assisted on all of Panarin’s goals.

Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in his season debut. Victor Mancini also scored.

The Rangers have won the last five meetings, including twice this week. New York had a 4-1 home victory over Detroit on Monday night.

Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit. Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals.

KINGS 4, CANADIENS 1

MONTREAL (AP) — David Rittich made 26 saves a night after being benched in the second period in Toronto, helping road-weary Los Angeles snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over Montreal.

Los Angeles improved to 2-1-2 on a season-opening, seven-game trip necessitated by arena renovations.

Rittich rebounded after allowing four goals on 14 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe scored.

Justin Barron scored for Montreal (2-3-0). Sam Montembeault stopped 28 shots. He made a save on Kevin Fiala on a penalty shot.

BLUES 1, ISLANDERS 0, OT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joel Hofer made 34 saves and assisted on Jake Neighbours’ goal at 2:04 of overtime in St. Louis victory over New York.

Hofer had his second career shutout in his and the team’s second overtime victory of the season.

Philip Broberg carried the puck into the New York zone and made a centering pass to Neighbours for the winner.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorkin made 29 saves.

Blues defenseman Nick Leddy sat out because of a lower-body injury, the first game he has missed this season. Leddy played in all 82 games last season.

OILERS 4, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brett Kulak scored twice and Connor McDavid added his first goal of the season to lead Edmonton to a victory over reeling Nashville.

Jeff Skinner also scored and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers, who have won consecutive games after beginning the season with a three-game skid.

Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored and Juuse Saros made 32 saves for Nashville (0-4).

Forsberg’s goal midway through the first period gave Nashville its first lead of the season. That lasted less than six minutes before Kulak tied it.

Kulak sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute for the defenseman’s first career two-goal game.

BLACKHAWKS 4, SHARKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Foligno each scored a power-play goal, and Chicago beat San Jose.

Taylor Hall and Jason Dickinson also scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists.

Hall, who missed most of last season because of right knee surgery, put the Blackhawks in front 4:20 into the first period. It was Hall’s first goal since Nov. 5 and No. 267 for his career.

Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored for San Jose, which trailed 3-0 early in the second. William Eklund and Mikael Granlund had two assists each.

The Sharks dropped to 0-2-2 under Ryan Warsofsky, who was promoted to head coach in June.

Petr Mrazek had 20 saves for Chicago, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 stops for San Jose.

KRAKEN 6, FLYERS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, and Shane Wright scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second period and Seattle held off a Philadelphia rally in a victory.

Tolvanen’s goal broke a 2-2 tie at the 14:57 mark. Eberle made it a two-goal game with a goal at 17:44. Eight seconds later, Wright scored to give Seattle a three-goal lead.

Jared McCann tied the game at 2-2 with the first of Seattle’s four second-period goals.

Cam York and Jamie Drysdale scored to pull Philadelphia within 5-4 in the third period, but Oliver Bjorkstrand responded with a goal to push Seattle’s lead to two with just over five minutes left in the game.

Scott Laughton scored twice for the Flyers in the first period, while Brandon Montour scored one in for the Kraken.

Chandler Stephenson had an assist in his 500th NHL game. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.

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Canada’s Dabrowski, New Zealand’s Routliffe out of Japan Women’s Open after walkover

Published

13 hours ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

OSAKA, Japan – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are out of the Japan Women’s Open tennis tournament.

Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Romania’s Monica Niculescu advanced to the final on Thursday by way of walkover.

The fourth seeds were supposed to play the top-seeded Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals.

Bucsa and Niculescu will next face third-seeded Ena Shibahara of Japan and Laura Siegemund of Germany in the final.

Dabrowski and Routliffe defeated Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to advance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Mountain West commissioner says she’s heartbroken over turmoil surrounding San Jose State volleyball

Published

13 hours ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.

Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.

A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”

All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.

“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”

After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”

San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.

“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”

The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.

“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.

Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.

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