Post-Game Talk: GM 17 | Preds def. Canucks | 5-3 (Raty, Pettersson, Sherwood) | Pain.

mossey3535

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Feb 7, 2011
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Didn't know there was a game, just skimmed through the extended highlights.

Man, Myers and Soucy were terrible again.

Free Soucy (who hasn't been great) and give him literally anybody other than Myers. Myers should be on bottom pair.

Stop putting them out there on the PK honestly, they haven't good for awhile. At some point there has to be consequences for poor play. Why does Myers and/or Soucy never sit? Both should be in the pressbox even if they have to alternate taking them out of the lineup. They're not even willing to demote either to the bottom pair.
 

Leif Rohlin

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Jan 25, 2024
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Bluesky embeds don't show vids but if you click the link you can see why Miller might have been benched (assuming Tocchet isn't lying about it being injury related)


Edit: found the twitter post
He's been dogging it going to the bench on line changes sometimes too. It's obvious he's been playing through some sort of injury but he's also giving some pretty bad vibes.

One thing I noticed tonight was the Hughes-Hronek pair on the ice with the 4th line quite a bit. I know it's not a typical 4th line and Heinen and Raty in particular were good tonight, but when you have a guy like Hughes and a team built the way ours is, you really need to make a point of getting him on the ice with the top 2 lines. They don't do that consistently and tonight it was particularly noticeable.

We need a top-4 defenseman, we need Boeser back, and we need an actual breakout strategy.
 
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BoHorvat 53

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The only thing that would make sense is Tocchet meant that his benching tonight was related to his play tonight. He openly stated last month he was hurt and that's why he wasn't taking faceoffs. Not nearly as concerned about it as some are in here, as much as I am about the team just looking like it's their first times playing together
 

VanJack

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Lankinen was a nice story for awhile......but appears to be coming back down to earth in a hurry. Not too surprising, really. His MO is that he's a career backup. This run of games to start the year is the longest stretch he's played in his NHL career.

This team is really starting to miss Demko. Last year he was able to cover so many of the mistakes they were making in their own zone.....but this year, they're going into the net.
 

the big nobody

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Lankinen was a nice story for awhile......but appears to be coming back down to earth in a hurry. Not too surprising, really. His MO is that he's a career backup. This run of games to start the year is the longest stretch he's played in his NHL career.
When I pointed this out in defense of Silovs, I got dumped on.

Anyways, when Demko and Boeser are back, this team will be better, provided Demko has been able to learn to play with the injury since there was no surgery possible on it.
 

JT Milker

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centipede2233

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Sadly, I do worry that may be the case, and even if not..... he's certainly not reliable, which ends up being sort of the same thing.
A goalie missing this much time is the red flag. I watch kyper and Bourne and Steve Valiquette who is well connected to the goalie world says ian clark who was the Canucks goaltending coach is well known for working goalies hard in practice (ie. having demko repeatedly go down hard in practice). It’s likely why Canucks management forced him out of the position. Also Steve Valiquette said whatever is ailing demko it’s something that won’t be rectified and is something demko will have to play with. Demko is toast unfortunately. See price, bishop, Murray, Schneider, Crawford…
 
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Billy Kvcmu

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I don’t think that answer suggests that he’s not hurt, only that he was underperforming regardless of being hurt. Miller wasn’t really much better last year than he was in ‘22 or ‘20, so I can’t see it being a one year wonder. Though he seems to alternate his good and bad years.
One year wonder as in the one year where he wasn’t a lazy ass
 

tantalum

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We're not even 20 games in and Tocchet is already being forced to ride Hughes like a rented mule. It isn't sustainable over the longer haul.

Tonight he was expected to carry just about every d-partner. In the third period alone, was out there with Myers, Soucy and even Brannstrom. Hughes needs some help--and fast.

Hughes is a top D-man in the league (THE top D-man last year). He's averaging 25 minutes per game which is what one would expect (he's 6th in average ice in the league). He is not going to burn out. It IS sustainable as almost every top D-man in the history of the league has played that amount game in and game out for years. As one example...Doughty has averaged 26+ minutes a game since he entered the league in 08-09. Or his counter part on the ice last night...Josi.

Hughes playin 25 minutes isn't the concern. He better be playing that amount. The concern is the second pairing. It needs to be addressed. The chaos giraffe needs a better babysitter than Soucy. Or the chaos giraffe needs to be moved to give Soucy a partner he can play with.

And on thing to keep in mind...while they haven't played well they are second in the division by Pt%. A team that can play at a 101 point pace while playing poorly is a very good team.
 
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JT Milker

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Hughes is a top D-man in the league (THE top D-man last year). He's averaging 25 minutes per game which is what one would expect (he's 6th in average ice in the league). He is not going to burn out. It IS sustainable as almost every top D-man in the history of the league has played that amount game in and game out for years. As one example...Doughty has averaged 26+ minutes a game since he entered the league in 08-09. Or his counter part on the ice last night...Josi.

Hughes playin 25 minutes isn't the concern. He better be playing that amount. The concern is the second pairing. It needs to be addressed. The chaos giraffe needs a better babysitter than Soucy. Or the chaos giraffe needs to be moved to give Soucy a partner he can play with.

And on thing to keep in mind...while they haven't played well they are second in the division by Pt%. A team that can play at a 101 point pace while playing poorly is a very good team.
People are galaxy braining our issues. We need a more competent 2nd pairing and we need our top players to play well rather than take turns sucking.
 

theguardianII

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This team can only go as far as #43 is going to carry them. When he's off, everything looks out of sorts.
Blame NOT the players.
Tocchet now has 7/8 players that are pretty much the same

Hienen, Blueger, Sherwwood, Joshua, Hoglander, DeBrusk, Suter, Bains,

With Raty, Aman and EP trying hard to go that way, boards guys

With Miller being similar only with more skill

2015/2016 - 17 games, 19 pts, 50 GF 42 GA home record 2W 3L 3OTL 3rd in division
This year - 17 games, 21 pts, 54 GF 55 GA home record 3W 4L 3OTL 3rd in division
 

Mr. Canucklehead

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A lot of comments about losing to the worst team in the NHL, but I’d asterisk that pretty hard. Yes Nashville has the worst record, but not many predicted they’d be this bad out of the gate. They were right with us in the playoffs last year, are well coached, have a Vezina caliber goalie and a Norris caliber defensemen and some good pieces. They are definitely better than their standing indicates, and I think last nights game is the kind of game that can be a turning point for them (which sucks as these things always seem to happen against us).

Didn’t actually think the team played that badly, especially for the second half of a back to back. We got some bad breaks around their net, the refs and linesman called the game like they had somewhere to be, and our PK just didn’t get it done.

Probably Aatu Raty’s best game as a Canuck. When I talk about bounces around the net, he almost had 1 or 2 more.

Ferraro commented on it, but after fighting the puck all game (year?) in the third period, Soucy and Myers suddenly were moving it well. You’d like to think they can carry that over, but I’m not holding my breath.

Juulsen/Brannstrom were the better pair for most of the game. For all the criticism Juulsen has taken, he was good last night. Brannstrom looks extremely confident rushing the puck and in the attacking zone. Still a bit of an adventure in his own end, but you take the trade off.

Petey continues to look much more like himself - he and Sherwood look really good together, too. Also got to give Danton Heinen some flowers - usually plays a very quiet game, and there he is with 2 assists at the end of it.

Lekkerimaki made a really nice skill play to start the play that lead to Pettersson’s goal, but got outmuscled a lot all over the ice. Still a ways to go but the promise is there, and these games should be a good taste that informs the things he needs to focus on.

After a super human start, Lankinen has had a bit of a tough stretch. Got beat clean on a few and caught deep in his crease on occasion, too. Hope this is just a case of load management vs. A scenario like DeSmith last year, who started strong and then struggled mightily.

If it was indeed performance based for Miller rather than injury, hope he gets the message.
 

theguardianII

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A lot of comments about losing to the worst team in the NHL, but I’d asterisk that pretty hard. Yes Nashville has the worst record, but not many predicted they’d be this bad out of the gate. They were right with us in the playoffs last year, are well coached, have a Vezina caliber goalie and a Norris caliber defensemen and some good pieces. They are definitely better than their standing indicates, and I think last nights game is the kind of game that can be a turning point for them (which sucks as these things always seem to happen against us).

Didn’t actually think the team played that badly, especially for the second half of a back to back. We got some bad breaks around their net, the refs and linesman called the game like they had somewhere to be, and our PK just didn’t get it done.

Probably Aatu Raty’s best game as a Canuck. When I talk about bounces around the net, he almost had 1 or 2 more.

Ferraro commented on it, but after fighting the puck all game (year?) in the third period, Soucy and Myers suddenly were moving it well. You’d like to think they can carry that over, but I’m not holding my breath.

Juulsen/Brannstrom were the better pair for most of the game. For all the criticism Juulsen has taken, he was good last night. Brannstrom looks extremely confident rushing the puck and in the attacking zone. Still a bit of an adventure in his own end, but you take the trade off.

Petey continues to look much more like himself - he and Sherwood look really good together, too. Also got to give Danton Heinen some flowers - usually plays a very quiet game, and there he is with 2 assists at the end of it.

Lekkerimaki made a really nice skill play to start the play that lead to Pettersson’s goal, but got outmuscled a lot all over the ice. Still a ways to go but the promise is there, and these games should be a good taste that informs the things he needs to focus on.

After a super human start, Lankinen has had a bit of a tough stretch. Got beat clean on a few and caught deep in his crease on occasion, too. Hope this is just a case of load management vs. A scenario like DeSmith last year, who started strong and then struggled mightily.

If it was indeed performance based for Miller rather than injury, hope he gets the message.
Cut and paste. Several "They lost but look at al the good things and ignore they lost" or "they looked good losing"

Some of the post is just analysis which is good but the "hope" still bleeds through.

The roster construction is flawed, that's on Allvin and Tocchet.

Tocchet got rid of scorers in favour of boards guys, now he has 7 all pretty much the same.
What gets praise, hits, dump and chase, have the puck then give it to the other team and fight for it? This becomes so dependent on great goal tending because the defence HAS to pinch and the forwards are so deep they lose defensive positioning scrambling to get back into their own zone.

Defence isn't deep enough long enough, fast enough and playing outside of their comfort zone. Hughes gets all the PP time so these others sit around for extended time.

Some people complain about the refs'. Really? Watch Sherwood, easily half his hits are seconds late or even interference. I have seen Canuck players with their arms wrapped around opponents around the net, almost like a tackle and no call

Don't blame the players for the construction and directions on how to play by those that make decisions.

Miller takes the heat for Pettersson losing Stamkos even with Miller waving at him to look supposedly? Really or was it something said on the bench? Miller isn't the type of guy to stay quiet if frustrated or plssed off.
Tocchet said "I don't know why" and looks distant now in media scrums. I think last night with so many being sent out to face the media it was his way of saying "You explain it", a form of you face the music I'm done. It also ran the clock out on the national viewing.
He gets asked a question he doesn't like and he scratches his face using the middle finger.

32nd in the league. Ferraro's if it wasn't for that bad 7 minutes, sort of like "if we scored more"or "if we played better" Captain Obvious stuff. "We were pretty good until they scored more goals than us"

The Preds are panicking and they are only 3 wins behind the Canucks
 

LemonSauceD

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Bluesky embeds don't show vids but if you click the link you can see why Miller might have been benched (assuming Tocchet isn't lying about it being injury related)


Edit: found the twitter post
I distinctly remember this play. Miller yelled “PETEY” which clearly distracted Pettersson from trying to cut the pass off. Pettersson turned around and kind of threw his hands in the air like “dude wtf” after the goal. I wish this video has audio so you can hear Miller yell like a bozo.
 

Nick Lang

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Well for the group of super analyzers who have been ripping Nashville to threads all year ... what does that say about our team now? Are we just absolute rubbish and idiots of epic proportions as well who should just give up and start the rebuild ... hopefully before lunch.

Looks like JT's motor is broken. No compression and needs to be replaced with a younger model. :eek3: He should sit for a couple games. He's doing more harm than good right now.

I think the way things are shaping up it could be a good year to sit tight and focus on 2025-26. Either use our first rounder ourselves or shore up the D by next season. Miller is hurt, Demko is beyond hurt, we have no clue if Boeser is ever coming back, Joshua is on a path of recovery and not contributing much yet, Forbort is hurt, Petey was struggling but is now carrying the rock, Hoglander hasn't been overly great. Might be a good plan to bide our time and see how the next month or two shape up.
 

Mr. Canucklehead

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Cut and paste. Several "They lost but look at al the good things and ignore they lost" or "they looked good losing"

Some of the post is just analysis which is good but the "hope" still bleeds through.

The roster construction is flawed, that's on Allvin and Tocchet.

Two things can be true at the same time - 1) this team has had a poor start to the season and the flaws in the team are evident, as are some concerning trends in play and behaviour, and 2) the loss last night was not nearly as terrible or concerning as of the other losses we have had this season.

And yes, I tend to trend more optimistically. But you don't see me accusing you of cutting and pasting your wet blanket commentary from other similarly inclined posters.
 

LemonSauceD

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Thanks.

Petey is like “stfu dude I know where he is”. You can tell when Miller kept calling his name he got confused thinking Stamkos might’ve moved from where he originally thought he was and that half a second f***ed him over Lol.

Just an overall terrible PK from Miller. He was definitely benched for that especially prior to that sequence he literally lets I believe Forsberg one time a shot.

Edit: you can even see Pettersson closing to the middle more because Miller isn’t tracking his man. Like dude stop directing traffic when the play and puck is LITERALLY Infront of you.
 

Nuckles

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Apparently at one point this season Miller was playing through 3 injuries at once
 

Johnny Canucker

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Feels like every game recap I do is starting to sound the same, and not in a good way. The schedule has been superbly soft, and if they keep playing like this once the competition gets better they're going to be a bubble playoff team. The Miller/Boeser injuries are killing them up front (losing your first line tends to do that), and the Soucy/Myers pair is giving the other team an additional first line each night.

Petterson - He's come alive and is bringing it, and alongside Hughes is the reason for hope. When you have a franchise center and dman, you can usually turn things around if you make the right depth decisions.

Sherwood - Probably could've had a hat-trick tonight with all the chances. Thought his breakaway flub turned the momentum the other way, but kudos to him for continuing to work hard all game.

Heinen - Continues to do all the little things right and is getting rewarded on the scoreboard for it.

Garland line - Not great. Chemistry from last year isn't quite there, and it's tough with Joshua being so rusty. Them not producing while the first line is effectively out is going to make it hard to win while the defense is playing like this.

Raty - Nice to see him get rewarded with a goal, his game has been coming around. Hoglander had some nice possession time, but he really needs to cut out the 1-2 stupid things he does a game - it's like watching the forward version of Juulsen.

Soucy/Myers - When you're so bad that you force the team to break up it's biggest strength because the coaches can no longer trust you on the ice, it's bad. They're playing at a below replacement level right now. If the team wants to be taken seriously, this situation needs to get resolved, or the team is going to remain inconsistent.

Brannstrom - Solid game. Size remains an issue on the defensive end, but the fact he's been the team's third best dman after being on waivers is a bad look for what management did with the blueline during the offseason. Juulsen looked ok for once too.

Hughes - Uncharacteristically bobbled the puck a lot tonight and made some weird decisions with the puck. Was clearly frustrated with how the night was going. Having to play shifts with Myers when they've repeatedly shown they don't play well together was likely a sore spot as well.

Lankinen - Mediocre performance. Stamkos' first goal was particularly soft, and he wasn't tracking the play as well as he usually does.

I'd prefer to wait until the deadline to make a move on the blueline, but this reminds of last season when the Canucks were injured & made their play for big Z. The situation right now is just untenable for a team that wants to make the playoffs. Really hope Boeser and Miller can recover from their injuries soon.
This Zadarov stuff needs to stop. He’s on pace for 0 goals , 20 points , -4 and 160 PIM this year. He’s garbage that went on a good run in sheltered minutes.

Soucy - Juulsen
Brannchise - Myers

Gotta do it until Desharnais is back.
Is Darren Forbert still on our team?
 

Bertuzzzi44

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Apparently at one point this season Miller was playing through 3 injuries at once

He needs to take games off and rest, needs to be 100% to play his style of power game. He battles hard and is an intense guy, wears his heart on his sleeve but he’s getting older and shouldn’t be playing through multiple injuries in the regular season.

Also JT shouldn’t be on the PK he’s built as a north south player that drives hard to the net and wrecks havoc in the offensive zone not as a patient responsible penalty killer focused on gap control.
 

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