Edmonton is atrocious and sit at 30th overall, and they’ve only given up 23 goals in that same span. That’s not just worst in the NHL, it’s the worst by a full 10 goals. Like a minivan full of toddlers, they seem to just pile onto the ice whenever their number is called and mindlessly chase the puck en masse until the referee stops play.Īs a result, the Canucks have allowed 33 goals in just seven games. The Canucks are successfully executing pretty much none of these things for long stretches at the moment. And for crying out loud, you don’t give a talented goal scorer like Tyler Toffoli acres of open ice to play around in on multiple occasions over a three-game stretch. If you’re defending a two-on-one, you don’t slide feet first into the corner you take away the pass and diminish the puck carrier’s options. Good teams support the puck that means, when your defenceman pinches into a forward position, you cover their patch of ice. If there’s a chance to advance, there’s a player ready to move forward. If there’s an attack, a defender can mitigate the situation. If there’s a loose puck, there’s a player nearby to go after it. At any given time, a team with good shape is in a position to react to their opponent. I enjoy chaos as much as the next guy - well okay, maybe not as much as Jeff Marek - but frankly this team is lacking what we call in soccer, ‘shape’.

Good citizens, that’s more than a quarter of the salary cap! Screen grab from. This despite the fact that the Canucks have well over $20 million wrapped up in their top seven defenders.

That’s what we in the biz call a shitty line change.Ĭoverage like this, coupled with all of those giveaways mentioned earlier, is unacceptable in fricking beer league. Even if it’s the lowly Ottawa Senators, giving the opposition this much open ice is going to end badly for the good guys: I’m not sure this one is Holtby’s fault. No matter what happens between the pipes at the other end, however, Vancouver needs some serious work on the back end. Hughes ➡️ Miller ➡️ Horvat = 🚨 /fIT5BqpSz0- Vancouver #Canucks January 21, 2021

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