The Canucks juggled their lines Sunday, but the drawing card Monday is Hughes and Makar matching skill and will as Norris Trophy favourites
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
When/where: Monday, 7:30 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: Hands up. Who needs a good diversion tonight? Everybody? Thought so.
We know the latest Canucks’ demolition on home ice in a stunning 5-1 crash into the competitive ditch against the Boston Bruins on Saturday is a setback that’s hard to dismiss.
The Canucks were outshot 16-4 in the first period and were never really in it. They had too many passengers and not enough culture carriers.
And by trending in the wrong direction with a horrific 5-7-4 home record, they’re sitting in the second wild-card spot instead of pushing for the Pacific Division lead.
Bench boss Rick Tocchet is pissed off and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford is talking of the need to acquire players.
It’s why Tocchet brought out the Mixmaster on Sunday and promoted Conor Garland to the left side with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, and bumped Max Sasson to right wing on the second line with Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson.
Amid all the strife for the Canucks to get their total game in order in short order, another marquee matchup between Norris Trophy favourites Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar is marquee material.
Hughes continues to excel with a mashed-up mug from taking a high stick on Dec. 8 that did gum damage and has made talking and eating an adventure. And playing with a full face shield had its own challenges.
Makar has 37 points (9-28) after 32 games to lead all NHL blueliners, but Hughes is just three points shy with 34 (7-27) in three less games.
Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Canucks Report will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
“Quinn has the puck a lot and that’s a big part of his defence,” Tocchet said Sunday. “He creates a lot for us, just like Makar does for them. They’re both terrific players.”
Bobby Orr changed the game because defencemen rarely ventured out of their zone to lead a rush. Hughes changed the dynamic that you don’t have to be big to make a big impact. You can grow by improving defending, shooting, deception and an offensive-zone presence.
“It doesn’t seem real,” Hughes once told Postmedia of being linked to the game’s greats. “When I hear or see those things, I don’t really associate myself with that.
“It just doesn’t feel like that’s a thing. But for me, it’s never been about that, or that I’m looking at guys just 30, 40 years ago.
“It’s more about trying to drive the game every night. I’m trying to make a difference every night.”
The buzz 2.0: Tocchet has always told his players to do whatever they need to be ready at puck drop.
That coaching philosophy is being tested. Slow starts are a sure sign of not heeding the directive and it also falls on the staff with difficulties on home ice.
Not being engaged from the outset is not an option. And it had been addressed.
“They know now,” Tocchet stressed after Sunday practice. “And that’s what you’re hoping. When guys go home and it’s like? ‘Hey, man. I had a tough night and I’m going to do something about it.’
“We have no problem talking to players. We know they’re not always going to have their ‘A’ game, but we don’t have the team to have three, four or five passengers. We just don’t have it.
“We need everybody. We need the leadership group to help out and I have to make them accountable with ice time and whether you play or not. You don’t want to be a coach that keeps yelling and screaming and being a hard-ass all the time.
“It has to be a partnership. We show video and have 1-on-1 talks and being stern sometimes.”
The history: First meeting of the season. The Canucks went 0-2-1 last season. On Nov. 22 in Denver, Makar put the game away with an unassisted effort in a 5-2 triumph. On Feb. 20 in Denver, Ryan Johansen struck twice in a 3-1 win, while on March 13 at Rogers Arena, Valeri Nichushkin scored on the power play in overtime in a 4-3 decision.
The hope: Undrafted Sasson makes most of his promotion. He has outpaced Arshdeep Bains, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Aatu Raty during their recalls. Sasson has five points (1-4) in 10 games.
The fear: The flu bug doesn’t become bigger problem. Kevin Lankinen and Derek Forbort had symptoms and stayed away Saturday. Lankinen was still sidelined Sunday while Forbort returned. Tocchet said four or five players are experiencing symptoms.
The top guns: Hughes has 15 points (3-12) in his last 10 games, while Jake DeBrusk has 11 goals in his last 11.
The wounded: Canucks: Filip Hronek (upper body, lower body, LTIR), Kevin Lankinen (flu, day-to-day). Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog (knee, IR), Jonathan Drouin (upper body, IR), Josh Manson (upper body, IR), Miles Wood (upper body, IR), Tucker Poolman (head, IR), Oliver Kylington (upper body, day-to-day).
The quote: “Looking for some spark and we only won 40 per cent of our battles last night” — Rick Tocchet on mixing up his lines after Saturday setback.
The lineup:
Garland-Miller-Boeser
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sasson
Heinen-Suter-Sherwood
Joshua-Blueger-Hoglander
Hughes-Juulsen
Soucy-Myers
Forbort-Friedman
Demko
The prediction: The Canucks heed the call to start on time. Club reverts to Thursday form against Panthers and prevails 4-3.
(FAN FORUM: Do you have a specific question for a player? Pass it along to @provincesports and we’ll get it in a future edition.)
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.comand TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4
© 2024 The Province, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.
This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
You can manage saved articles in your account.
and save up to 100 articles!
You can manage your saved articles in your account and clicking the X located at the bottom right of the article.
