Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

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The Brown Knight
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by The Brown Knight »

ukcanuck wrote:Second round and bore the crap out of everyone ...

I had a friend post his $245.50 ticket stubs on Facebook the other day...

250 bucks to watch dump and wait and clutch and grab hockey.


You can see that at your friendly neighbourhood beer league game for free..

Winning in a boring way is better than losing in a prettier way. Case in point - compare our 2006-2007 team and their results to the 2005-2006 team that missed the playoffs but popped in over 250 goals if I recall correctly.

Again - it's a short term solution/strategy. Once Horvat, Shinkaruk, etc., all develop (sometime between 2014-2016?) to the point where they become impact players, then we can open up again..............just as the Canucks did at the start of the 2008/2009 season when our young guys came to camp all developed and ready to go.

And again - that 2006/2007 team was fucking terrible..........but still got to the 2nd round due to a tremendous work ethic and good attitude.

Our current team is far more talented than that 06/07 team.

As like I said - our current GF is similar to that of LA's and Boston's already. Only difference is that their GA is a lot lower. If we can improve our GA and team defense, why couldn't we have a similar GF/GA to LA and Boston? ( and hence, be at their level?).
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by The Brown Knight »

Hockey Widow wrote:A respectable PP cures all of our problems right now. That's how close we have been in so many games. One extra PP goal each of the last 12 games and check the standings.

In fact I'm going to suggest we put Sestito on The PP to stand in front of the net. Have Edler and Garrison pounding away from the point and the other two forwards should be the two who are best at puck retrieval. Like Higgins and Kesler. What we got to lose?
I like this idea a lot actually.

Definitely worth trying!

Sestito can be our Dustin Byfuglien and put *his* ass in the faces of other goalies. :D

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows-Bieksa-*** can be the first or second PP while your suggested line-up can be the other unit. 8-)
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Topper »

So do you want a return to the 06/07 team or the 08/09 team? You still haven't answered me. In fact you seem to be even more confused than ever. Possibly a Kibera neighbourhood coordinator could straighten you out.

As I noted, Tororella is already using his Kesler centred second line against opponents 1st line. That is at home of course where he enjoys last change privileges. On the road, opposing coaches may dictate a different scenario.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

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Topper wrote:So do you want a return to the 06/07 team or the 08/09 team? You still haven't answered me. In fact you seem to be even more confused than ever. Possibly a Kibera neighbourhood coordinator could straighten you out.

As I noted, Tororella is already using his Kesler centred second line against opponents 1st line. That is at home of course where he enjoys last change privileges. On the road, opposing coaches may dictate a different scenario.
I want a return to the 2006/2007 team in terms of our style of play and full commitment to team defense.....even if it means taking less offensive risks. Why? Because - right now, it is clear that we do not have the talent and depth up front as we did in recent years. Eventually, in 1-2 seasons, when guys like Horvat and Shinkaruk develop and become impact players on our team, we can re-open up our style..........as we did in the 2008-2009 season when we transitioned from our 2007 style of playing. (So, the ultimate end game would be for us to eventually play like we did from 2008-2013 once we have enough talent and depth up front to support that style).

As far as Burrows-Kesler-Hansen goes, I would like to see them play together and play similarly to how they were playing together with one another at the start of the 08/09 season. I think that line would potentially be the best shut down line in the league.

Re: The way Kesler is being used right now. You're right. Torts is already using him in that way. I guess I just want Burrows and Hansen as his linemates, while also changing the philosophical approach to the Kesler-lead second line ( I.e. goals are great obviously but don't stress too much if you don't score. If you prevent the 1st line from scoring.....or any line for that.....you've done your job). If I understand correctly, Mike Richards in LA is being used in this way.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Topper »

So the thread should be "Should the Canucks play Kesler with Burrows and Hansen?"
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by 2Fingers »

The only thing I can add to this is that the team already has problems scoring how could playing more defensive solve their scoring problems and winning games?
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Topper »

Reefer2 wrote:The only thing I can add to this is that the team already has problems scoring how could playing more defensive solve their scoring problems and winning games?
Especialy with 2-1 and 3-2OT final scores.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by The Brown Knight »

I probably didn't describe things in the right way, I don't know.

Maybe it's more of a mindset thing, rather than style of play.

Right now for instance, I get a sense that the Canuck players, management, coaches, fans, etc., are all very stressed out about not being able to score prolifically. It almost seems like the players try too hard to score......to the point where we often make inappropriate pinches leading to some very ugly 2-1 chances going the other way (case in point: Chicago game, LA game).

Contrast this to our style of play in 2006/2007 where we were just as equally offensively challenged (i.e. winning games 2-1 or 3-2), but we were seemingly so relaxed out there.......and didn't care all that much about being offensively challenged. The Canucks seemingly embraced the fact that they had offense limitations and played within themselves as result. There wasn't this self-imposed pressure to put pucks in the net. Instead, they played an extremely tight and conservative defensive game that frustrated opponents, and capitalized on turnovers.

Does that make sense?

The 2006-2007 team just seemed so relaxed, upbeat, and played within themselves. Our current team presses too hard offensively, and then gets very frustrated/down when they give up goals.

Since our offensive prowess is about the same as our 2006/2007 prowess, all I'm suggesting is that perhaps we go back to that style.

In 2006/2007, our team was just as offensively challenged as it is now, but they were much better defensively. I think if we played using our 2006/2007 style, our GF/GA differential/stats would be similar to that of LA's and Boston's.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Art Vandelay »

The Brown Knight wrote:I probably didn't describe things in the right way, I don't know.

Understatement of the year right there. Gettysburg Address wasn't really necessary imho.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Topper »

So the thread should now be "Should the Canucks have kept Alain Vigneault?"
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by dbr »

The Brown Knight wrote:The 2006-2007 team just seemed so relaxed, upbeat, and played within themselves. Our current team presses too hard offensively, and then gets very frustrated/down when they give up goals.
The 2006-07 team looked mediocre, 17-17-1 at Christmas, until they finished making adjustments and caught fire in the back half of the season.

The team we're watching right now is clearly slumping badly (in that none of the bounces are going their way, not in that their play has been remarkably poor) and that's why they're squeezing their sticks and looking dejected out there.

Rather than some sea change in approach to the game or abandoning the hope of ever scoring more than two goals ever again this team needs to just keep doing what it's doing because they can't play this way and continue to get these results forever.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Hockey Widow »

The team isn't slumping, they are not scoring. They are playing well, just not scoring.

When AV was here the complaint was that we sat back to protect leads. Now we should sit back to protect leads? No, we need to find a way to score that 3-1 or 2-0 goal to give us that 2 goal cushion so we don't blow leads in the final minutes just to lose in OT.

We've lost games with a series of defensive lapses in the final minutes that have been costly. But as I've said earlier, fix the PP and find a way to get one more goal. Sitting back won't help that.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by herb »

I disagree HW. This is a classic slump IMO. The team is playing well overall, but is not executing well on critical plays. The shots are there, but guys who are generally good shooters are just plain missing. Burrows, Edler, Daniel and Kesler, some of our best most consistent scorers, are all missing on absolutely glorious opportunities.

The PP is still missing urgency, for whatever reason. The guys are squeezing their sticks too tight and making stupid mistakes (due to overthinking IMO) at critical junctures (i.e. the recent Sharks, Hawks and Kings games).

The team is clearly snakebit. Getting the hell out of town is probably the best thing.
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Zedlee »

The name of the game is to get pucks on the net. And the Canucks are doing that...getting loads of shots this past month. Lack of scoing is just bad puck luck and bad bounces I say. Patience...the puck will start going in!
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Re: Should the Canucks become a more DEFENSIVE team?

Post by Meds »

Zedlee wrote:The name of the game is to get pucks on the net. And the Canucks are doing that...getting loads of shots this past month. Lack of scoing is just bad puck luck and bad bounces I say. Patience...the puck will start going in!
Bounces have nothing to do with the high percentage of opportunities hitting the goaltender in the logo.

Feels like they are just shooting the puck so that after the game they can say how they should be getting more considering how many pucks they are getting on net.

They could fire 100 shots at the net and if they all hit the kid square in the chest, then the puck isn't going in unless the goaltender jumps out of the way.
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