Scoring goals remains top question mark for Canucks

KELOWNA As the final dress rehearsal for the curtain-raising Wednesday, the performance here by the cast of Saturday Night Live led to mixed reviews.

Nobody is playing for keeps yet, but the numbers don’t lie.

A 1-6 pre-season record in which the Vancouver Canucks scored just five even-strength goals and 10 overall can be spun in a number of directions. Three successive games in Rogers Arena to open the exhibition slate. Mixed lines. Mixed pairings. Mixed messages.

Canucks coach Travis Green’s roster decisions shouldn’t come as a surprise — unless Tyler Motte is rewarded for a strong pre-season. Motte has been more noticeable than acquisition Tim Schaller or Darren Archibald, but the absence of winger Antoine Roussel to an off-season concussion leaves the Canucks looking for grit.

Even though Sven Baertschi was missing with the flu, it wasn’t hard to conclude he will probably line up with Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser on Wednesday against the Calgary Flames.

And with Elias Pettersson between Brendan Leipsic and Loui Eriksson on Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, where Nikolay Goldobin plays in the opener is worth pondering and debating. He scored the lone Canucks goal Saturday with a quick release to tease yet again that he could be a wild-card in the mix.

Here’s what we learned as the Canucks fell 4-1 to Arizona:

CENTRE OF ATTENTION

Of all the question marks dogging the club, there was one preseason answer. Pettersson proved he can play centre.

His encouraging transition to the North American ice has been buoyed by slick stickhandling, crisp passes and being a step ahead of the play thanks to how he processes the game and finds time and space for those sharp releases.

Every time it looks like the prized rookie might be in the crosshairs of a heavy hit, he spins off or simply dekes the opposition.

On Saturday, he had Jason Demers grasping at air and drew an assist on Goldobin’s goal.

BACK END CAN’T REST

Maybe it was Troy Stecher skating the puck into that mosh pit that created an early turnover. It led to a bad decision by Alex Edler on the opening goal.

Maybe it was everybody just trying to do too much, because it’s been a trying pre-season for a returning blue-line.

In the pairings of Edler-Stecher, Ben Hutton-Chris Tanev and Derrick Pouliot-Erik Gudbranson, (Michael Del Zotto didn’t play Saturday) there had to be better dedication to taking care of business in their own zone first.

BROCK CLOCK

Everybody has a theory on why Brock Boeser didn’t score in five pre-season games.

One notion is having his season end March 5 with a back injury and not really being up to speed until July. And what about those extra eight pounds that have affected the Calder Trophy finalist? He seems to have lost some explosiveness in his stride, and the velocity and accuracy in his release is waning.

“He just needs to worry about his game and worrying about playing quick and good things will happen,” Green said.