J.T. Miller’s rough night, Elias Pettersson’s spark and more: 3 Canucks takeaways

J.T. Miller’s rough night, Elias Pettersson’s spark and more: 3 Canucks takeaways

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VANCOUVER, B.C. — The hype for the Vancouver Canucks’ rematch with the Edmonton Oilers — the first since last spring’s electric second-round playoff series — was through the roof.

Five minutes before the 7 p.m. start time, the cheapest ticket to get into Rogers Arena was over $200 in the upper bowl, according to Ticketmaster.

It helps the demand, of course, that it was a Saturday night and the Canucks had just swept their California trip, but it’s also a reflection of the club’s budding new rivalry with the Oilers. Both teams are potential Stanley Cup contenders this season, and the divisional playoff format means there’s a decent chance they’ll clash again at some point if each side has its sights set on a deep postseason run.

The game didn’t live up to the hype for the Canucks faithful in attendance, though.

Vancouver was lethargic and inept offensively, finding itself in a 3-0 hole early in the second period. The Canucks started to push back and had a legitimate chance to complete a comeback down only 3-2 heading into the third period. But it all came crashing down in the final 20 minutes. The Oilers pumped another four goals, chased Kevin Lankinen and walked away with a 7-3 blowout victory. The Canucks’ defensive effort was appalling in the third period, which was especially disappointing because they were coming off one of their most complete performances of the season against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Inside the Canucks’ miserable offensive start

The Canucks’ bottom-four defence is unanimously viewed as the team’s biggest concern. It’s a major problem that threatens to bottleneck the roster on any given night.

Well, for all the blue-line depth concerns in this province, Edmonton’s bottom four — which includes Darnell Nurse (whose play has fallen off dramatically since last year’s playoffs), Troy Stecher in the top four and a bottom pair with Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson (less than 50 games of NHL experience) — is just as vulnerable and weak.

When the Canucks had early-season success against the Oilers last season, a lot of it hinged on their ability to give Edmonton’s shaky defence fits on the forecheck. Vancouver failed to exploit that regularly enough. The shot totals might have been close early, but the Canucks generated zero high-danger chances compared to the Oilers’ eight in the opening 20 minutes.

It was way too easy for Edmonton’s blue line to break out the puck. The Canucks attempted a lot of cross-corner dump-ins in the first period. The first forechecker would apply pressure, but then the second forechecker (F2) was a fraction of a second too late to pounce, disrupt and win the puck back. The Oilers were flying through the neutral zone, looking quick and threatening off the rush.

Vancouver’s forecheck struggles were likely also connected to its sluggish breakouts. The Oilers were breaking up many plays and winning battles along the walls and in the neutral zone, which killed the Canucks’ flow and rhythm with the puck in transition. When you break out slowly, it’s harder to have a fast, feisty forecheck.

The Canucks didn’t find their legs and force Edmonton’s blue line into mistakes until they were already down 3-0.

How Pettersson sparked the Canucks’ second-period pushback

When Viktor Arvidsson scored off the rush to make it 3-0, it looked like the Canucks were down and out. It wasn’t just the score but their lethargic form that made a comeback seem unlikely.

Just 18 seconds later, Elias Pettersson responded with his third goal of the season, giving his club some life. He hounded Mattias Ekholm on the forecheck, forcing the veteran defender into a failed glass-and-out clearance attempt that landed on Jake DeBrusk’s stick just inside the offensive blue line. DeBrusk loaded up for a half-clapper from the point, and Pettersson tipped it past Stuart Skinner. This wasn’t just a flukey tip; Pettersson’s hand-eye coordination is notoriously strong and something he has specifically trained in previous offseasons.

That was a temporary but fleeting turning point for the Canucks. It was still a challenge for them to get true grade-A chances from the inner slot — Pettersson’s goal was the only official high-danger chance they recorded in the second period, according to Natural Stat Trick — but they started controlling play and mounting pressure with heavy cycling shifts.

Immediately after the goal, Pettersson’s line stayed on the ice and had another hardworking shift in the attacking zone to continue the momentum. The Canucks kept applying offensive pressure, and two minutes later, Filip Hronek scored a one-timer from around the top of the faceoff circle. Danton Heinen’s and Teddy Blueger’s patience with the puck in prime shooting locations was a major key to the goal — their passing got Skinner moving in his crease and teed up Hronek perfectly.

Through two periods, the Canucks outshot the Oilers 9-3 and had a lopsided 8-1 advantage in five-on-five scoring chances during Pettersson’s shift. He even rang a shot off the post later in the second period. He and the rest of his teammates, unfortunately, failed to carry any of that momentum into the third period, during which they got shellacked.

Miller’s tough night without Brock Boeser

J.T. Miller was often the Canucks’ best forward during head-to-head meetings with Connor McDavid and the Oilers last year. He scored 7 points in four games against Edmonton in the regular season last year on top of holding his own defensively against McDavid.

We didn’t come close to seeing that dominant version of Miller on Saturday. The Canucks were out-chanced 9-1 and outscored 3-0, and they didn’t generate a single shot on goal during Miller’s five-on-five shifts. He turned over the puck in the second period, leading to Arvidsson’s 3-0 goal.

Miller might still be feeling the effects of his preseason injury, so the point isn’t to criticize him, but the Canucks are a shadow of themselves when he isn’t on.

(Photo of Elias Pettersson and Oilers forward Connor McDavid: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)

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