Canucks take show on the road
Dilemmas on defence loom as team prepares to face off against the Flyers
Good news: Chris Tanev looks ready to return. The Canucks’ best defensive defenceman skated with his mates in practice on Friday, suggesting he’s just about good to go.
Before he dropped out of the lineup because of a bruised thumb suffered against the Flames Nov. 7, Tanev had been playing heavy minutes with Ben Hutton as his partner.
It was an incredibly effective partnership, with the Canucks giving up few shots of any kind while they were on the ice.
It shouldn’t be a big surprise, then, that while Tanev’s been on the shelf, the Canucks overall shot-suppression numbers have nosedived as well.
Leave little doubt: having Tanev back in the lineup for 20-plus minutes per night is going to have a huge effect on the Canucks’ defensive look.
Then there’s the knock-on effects of bringing Tanev back in to the rotation. It’s not just that Hutton gets a solid partner, who can move the puck well, it’s how other defenders’ roles shift.
The partnership showed well last year — no mean feat, given broader context — and they’ve picked up where they left off.
As Tanev has consistently played against the opposition’s toughest forwards, it’s safe to say the duo of Erik Gudbranson and Michael Del Zotto will be under less pressure; a good thing in the Canucks’ overall picture.
There’s not much dilemma on who to take out of the lineup in favour of Tanev: Alex Biega will almost certainly be back in the press box. The Bulldog put up his usual battle — you can never find an issue there — but he made this team to be a support player, not a regular.
But in all this, there’s some bad news: Tanev has two of the Canucks’ measly three goals on the season. That’s great for him, but terrible for the team.
The Canucks desperately need more offence from the back end. They’re getting shots off, but not getting much puck luck.
Hutton is one to look at for more production — the numbers do suggest there’s scoring to come — as is Del Zotto, who has the other blue line goal this year.
Alex Edler and current partner Derrick Pouliot have also shown promise and both have a knack for pushing offence.
In the juggle for ice time, might they get a leg up over Gudbranson and Del Zotto? It’s the logical move but to date, Travis Green has shown a strong preference for the former partnership in most non-Tanev situations.
That brings us to our other dilemma: what to do with the blue line when Troy Stecher’s ready to go? The sophomore defenceman skated for the first time on Saturday as part of the morning skate, so it seems a stretch he’ll be back in to face the Flyers on Tuesday in Philadelphia. But he’s obviously close to a return.
In all likelihood, he’ll replace Pouliot, even if the first-year Canuck has proven to be a solid contributor for the Canucks and quite possibly the team’s slickest blue-line passer.
Stecher found some success last season when paired with Edler, though defensively they needed work.
Of course, so much last season was a mess, it’s tough to judge the truth of it all. Still, there’s reason to try out that duo.