REAL ‘FUN’ BEGINS NOW FOR CANUCKS
Fans and players have playoffs on their mind as Vancouver readies for tense stretch run
It was almost like training camp all over again Thursday as the Vancouver Canucks got back on the ice for the first time in a week.
Between the NHL All-Star break on the weekend and the league-initiated bye week, the last time pro hockey players clad in blue and green flashed across a fresh white surface was Jan. 23, a 5-2 loss to the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.
“That was a good hard practice today ,” a smiling BoH or vat said of the Canucks’ power hour spent at UBC getting their legs, eyes, ears, hands and everything else back in sync.
The Canucks are in the thick of a playoff race and rookie Elias Pettersson said the timing of the team’s weeklong break was actually a good thing.
After a busy weekend in San Jose — Pettersson was the Canucks’ lone representative at the star-studded showcase in California — he got a few days off to play tourist with his brother Emil, who flew in from Milwaukee, where he plays for the Admirals, the Nashville Predators’ AHL affiliate.
“It’s always nice to get some days off, because the season schedule is so tight. It was nice to get some recovery time,” he said.
Many of the Canucks travelled to Mexico to enjoy a week at the beach, but others such as Antoine Roussel and Alex Biega stayed closer to home.
Horvat went away, but to Palm Springs with fiancée Holly Donaldson.
“It’s all about what you prefer to do. (Some) like to sit on the beach and lounge out and just relax,” he said of his decision to skip the Baja and Cabo San Lucas. “For me, I can’t stand just sitting there and doing nothing, I’ve got to be out exploring and doing stuff.”
So, they went horseback riding and hiking.
“It was about taking your mind completely away from the game for a little bit.”
Waking up that first morning in California, realizing he didn’t have to go to the rink, was “amazing,” he said. “It’s a really nice feeling, knowing you don’t have to come back to the rink that next day. It’s nice, it’s refreshing.”
It also felt great to flush the hockey routine out of his system for a week, he added.
“It’s a gruelling part of the season ... for us to get that break, to recuperate and get ready to go for that last stretch here is going to be great for us.”
By Tuesday Horvat started to feel antsy again.
“(The break) was the perfect amount of time. The last couple days, I was back in the gym and ready to go, wanting to get back on the ice and start playing again.”
And now the focus is back on hockey. The NHL trade deadline is in three weeks. There are still seven teams chasing down the final two wild-card playoff spots.
The Avalanche are right there with the Canucks, who insist they need to refocus on their defensive work. The last three games before the break saw them surrender far too many shots.
“It was a good time for us to regroup and remember what kind of team we want to be,” Horvat said.
■ ICE CHIPS: The Canucks likely won’t make any lineup changes against the Avalanche on Saturday . ... Nikolay Goldobin skated on both Horvat’s and Pettersson’s wing, while Tim Schaller took turns in Tyler Motte’s spot on the fourth line. Both have been regular healthy scratches of late . ... On defence, Erik Gudbranson and Derrick Pouliot remained the third pairing; Troy Stecher and Ben Hutton were the second pairing behind veterans Chris Tanev and Alex Edler.