And, we’re back.
It’s time for your morning serving of savoury Canucks Coffee. So sit back, have a cup or two, and ponder what to make of what we saw in a season-opening 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday and what it may mean Saturday in Edmonton.
There was a lot for Canucks rookie head coach Adam Foote to like Thursday. There was finding a way to match pace with the pugnacious Flames and not get drawn into the wrong kind of game. There was healthy centre Filip Chytil looking like he’s ready to make a statement this season with two goals, including a breakaway, and a playing presence.
“He was good and fast and wanted the puck on his stick,” Canucks head coach said of Chytil’s five shots and eight attempts.
Centre Filip Chytil celebrates his second goal against the Calgary Flames on Thursday at Rogers Arena.
There was Thatcher Demko who was positionally sound and remained calm and square to pucks when the Flames tried to make a push. There was also the penalty killing going 4-for-4, but struggling and disconnected on the power play that failed to score on four chances.
“Demmer was just solid,” said Foote. “He was a just a wall with his confidence.”
And there was managing the game within the game.
Rookie Braeden Cootes started his fist NHL regular-season game by being marked for extra attention. Some chirping, some stick work and some thought it might get out of hand with the frustrated Flames.
“We didn’t give him enough ice early, but he’s a young guy and plays the same way and that’s impressive,” Foote said of 11:14 of ice time that went without a shot but with good game awareness. “I want to give him more (ice) and he’ll get more. When it was 5-1, it was the physical part and trying to watch where he was and who he was playing against.”
Said Cootes of his first game experience: “It was pretty cool. You kind of black out for a second and try to take it all in. It was awesome. The boys played really good. It was more physical and intense and they (Flames) have a pretty heavy team. I just tried to play my game and be confident not let it rattle me at all.”
What did the Canucks learn Thursday and take into Saturday’s test Edmonton?
“When it was close early we pushed too much at times and striking too quickly,” said Foote “We were forcing too much.”
NOT KILLING THEM SOFTLY: Penalty kill source of pride as players embrace challenge
Teddy Blueger is injured, Pius Suter left in free agency, and Dakota Joshua was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It could be cause for concern after the Canucks continued on a path of penalty-killing excellence last season. They finished third overall with a 82.6 per cent efficiency rating as Blueger and Suter formed a formidable top pairing. However, there is depth in that department and bringing something extra to the table in a shutdown capacity resonates with many.
Kiefer Sherwood and Drew O’Connor formed one unit Thursday, while faceoff specialist Aatu Raty was aligned with Arshdeep Bains, and Conor Garland saw time with Elias Pettersson. The back end had Marcus Pettersson with Tyler Myers, and Elias (D-Petey) with Derek Forbort.
So, what makes it work? The Canucks have come a long way since struggling to such a great degree that it almost became laughable.
Feisty winger Kiefer Sherwood led the NHL last season with a record 464 hits and career-high 19 goals.
It got so bad in the 2021-22 season that former Canucks centre and penalty kill specialist Jason Dickinson had trouble sleeping. By early November, the club owned a pitiful 63.8 per cent kill rate. For a guy who takes pride in denying the opposition, it killed Dickinson’s sleep patterns.
“Honestly, I didn’t sleep very well after the game because right there, that was the difference,” Dickinson said of surrendering two power-play goals in a 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators. “If we’re able to get those kills, we’re looking at a different game.”
Fast forward and the string of recent success started by being seventh overall in 2023-24 (79.1 per cent) and continued this pre-season with a run of 16 kills in 18 attempts.
“Structure and a good active stick is really important,” Sherwood said Thursday. “We have really good killers on the back end, who aren’t just shot blockers, but have good reads and experience and it allows our forwards to hunt and track harder. It’s just reading off each other. You’ve got to be cohesive.”
And want it, too.
“I love it,” added Sherwood. “It’s an opportunity to grow your game in different areas and steal momentum and energy. It gives the guys extra juice. It’s the next-man up mentality. Get under their skin and disrupt as much as possible and it’s an extension of last year’s PK.”
Raty’s efficiency in draws and willingness to play with a forechecking edge makes the Finn a penalty kill natural. He won 57.4 of faceoffs over 33 games last season, second on the club to J.T. Miller (58.6) in 40 outings.
“It’s funny sometimes when your mind flips and you’re not thinking offence all the time,” said Raty. “It’s fun to make their power play life as tough as it can be. I love it, especially going against the most-skilled guys. It’s like a chess match. Make them do what they don’t want to.”
REALITY STRIKES ROSLOVIC: Canucks kicked tires on UFA, but not that hard
Jack Roslovic, 28, has been on the Canucks’ radar before and popped up again in the off-season.
The unrestricted free agent, who can play centre or right wing, tried to parlay versatility plus 22 goals and 39 points with the Carolina Hurricanes last season into a big bump from an expiring one-year, US$2.8 million deal.
The Canucks went into summer sticker shock because their big need remains a support centre, much like many NHL teams. Roslovic was deployed more as a winger last season and that’s not the need here.
Jack Roslovic had 22 goals and 45 points in the 2021-22 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The buzz was Roslovic was seeking three years and $4 million annually, but reality is a one-year, $1 million commitment Wednesday from the Edmonton Oilers is all he could pocket. The rationale for general manager Stan Bowman is a small cap hit for what could be immediate help, and for Roslovic, staying employed is of paramount importance.
With winger Zach Hyman sidelined week-to-week with a wrist injury, and need for another right-shot pivot, acquiring Roslovic makes sense. And the Oilers could consider aligning the 6-foot-1, 198 pound Roslovic with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisatil and move Trent Frederic down to the third line. But Roslovic has but three goals in 45 playoff games.
Still, a fresh start might kick start the 25th overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft, much like Vasily Podkolzin when he got top-six looks last season in Edmonton.
bkuzma@postmedia.com