FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
Captain must lead by example
Henrik Sedin was as frank as a slap in the face Monday. He called out the club’s battle level and owned it from his own competitive perspective. He was asked to lead. He logged 17:47 against the Kings and had nothing to show for it offensively. “(Head coach) Travis (Green) gave our line the chance to get something going and maybe win the game, but we didn’t step up,” said the captain. “It’s going to fall on the guys who need to produce. I don’t care who gets the goals. You want to see the battle level that needs to be there every night. I believe we could have had more guys doing that.”
Little mistakes are big trouble
At least they’re not boring. The injury-riddled club is still trying to push the pace with few bullets in the chamber. They still activate the defence, they want out-manned situations moving up ice and can live with a high-risk, high-reward theory. However, when
Ben Hutton is caught in a pinch and Derrick Pouliot is retreating in vain in a failed attempt to stop a Tyler Toffoli breakaway goal — and Hutton loses a board battle to allow Tanner Pearson toputthe game away — it speaks to a minuscule margin of error for the club.
Tanev riding to the rescue?
The Canucks were off Tuesday and could welcome Chris Tanev back Wednesday. He has missed 15 games with a micro leg fracture and wants back in the fight. That’s good. His smart reads, positioning and ability to quickly move pucks up ice are vital if the Canucks expect to upset the Ducks. “He’s possible,” said Green. “He wants to play and I want him to play. I want him to end this season playing some good hockey down the stretch and be ready to come back. We miss him drastically.”
Daniel sees a silver lining
Daniel Sedin’s critiques usually revolve around mistakes. And if you want a read on what the Sedins might be thinking about their playing futures, listen to the winger, who had a run of six goals in five games end March 5. “A few games, it’s been a mistake here or there,” he said. “That’s easy to correct. It’s tougher when you have four or five things going wrong.”
Gagner sees the frustration
Sam Gagner is supposed to be contributor, not a leader. He had a glorious chance Monday that sailed high and wide of an open net and has gone 21 games without a goal. He had 18 goals last season in Columbus, including eight on the power play. He has but seven this season and three on the power play.