The Vancouver Canucks are a very good hockey club.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 been evident throughout the course of the season as the Canucks have been near or on top of the NHLB次元官网网址檚 overall standings.
But winning the PresidentB次元官网网址檚 Trophy as the best regular season team doesnB次元官网网址檛 always translate into a Stanley Cup championship or even a deep playoff run.
Since the turn of the century, only four teams that have finished first in the overall standings have managed to win it all B次元官网网址� the Colorado Avalanche in B次元官网网址�01, the Detroit Red Wings in B次元官网网址�02 and B次元官网网址�08 and the Chicago Blackhawks in B次元官网网址�13.
In fact, in the last decade no PresidentB次元官网网址檚 Trophy winner has managed to get to the Cup Finals never mind win it. Only the New York Rangers were able to advance past the second round making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2014-15 before bowing out.
Looking at it even deeper, youB次元官网网址檒l find that in the last decade there have been only two Stanley Cup champions that have even finished in the top three in the overall standings.
So what gives?
Sometimes itB次元官网网址檚 the fact that a team really hasnB次元官网网址檛 faced any adversity throughout the year and is ill-equipped to handle it when it arrives in the post-season.
Just ask anyone associated with last yearB次元官网网址檚 Boston Bruins.
Sometimes itB次元官网网址檚 the inability to play the B次元官网网址榟eavy hockeyB次元官网网址� that is required to win in the playoffs.
The time and space needed for making high-skilled plays is reduced as the season progresses and by the time the playoffs roll around, that time and space is at a premium as post-season success is based on winning battles and scoring ugly goals.
For Rick Tocchet and the Canucks coaching staff, adapting to that shift is probably one of the bigger challenges they face heading into the post-season.
ItB次元官网网址檚 safe to say most people within the league would identify the Canucks as a B次元官网网址榮peed teamB次元官网网址� rather than a B次元官网网址榟eavy teamB次元官网网址� such as the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.
So how do the Canucks adjust to the disappearance of time and space?
It has to be a collective effort according to Tocchet.
B次元官网网址淚 wish we were a little bit better on the boards (and) be a better wall team. We want to make plays. We want to scoot and play fast but I think if everyone can get better by five per centB次元官网网址eB次元官网网址檝e got some guys that will never be great wall guys B次元官网网址� letB次元官网网址檚 face it B次元官网网址� and thatB次元官网网址檚 okay. But can they play five or ten per cent better on the wall or win the battle? ThatB次元官网网址檚 the way we are approaching it here. I think if everyone can get better, thatB次元官网网址檚 how we can get better as a team,B次元官网网址� explained Tocchet.
For Tocchet and the coaching staff, that means emphasizing the techniques to be successful in practice and emphasizing it to the point where it becomes habitual in games.
B次元官网网址淚 have certain techniques on how to go into a battle and how to be a wall guy but to apply itB次元官网网址tB次元官网网址檚 hard in real time sometimes. I get it but you got to stick with it in the pressure situations. You have to think technique but it has to come organically. Doing a lot of reps helps and guys have gotten better B次元官网网址� donB次元官网网址檛 get me wrong B次元官网网址� from the start of the year,B次元官网网址� he noted.
Probably the best example of that has been Brock Boeser, who will never be mistaken as a power forward, but who has improved in winning one-on-one battles along the boards.
This spring is a different animal for the hockey club.
Playing out the string has been replaced by high-pressure games that actually mean something as the team tries to hone its craft with the playoffs approaching.
Case in point was WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 disappointing 4-3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Arena.
According to Tocchet, no one stepped up in the critical moments of that game and won some of those battles when they were needed but he also believes that there was a silver lining in the loss in that it was a pressure situation that the players hopefully learned from.
B次元官网网址淚 think the more games we can play under pressure, itB次元官网网址檚 good for guys to get better. ItB次元官网网址檚 like 3-2 and you know the puck is coming and itB次元官网网址檚 a big play. Either you got to get it out or make a play B次元官网网址� those are the times that youB次元官网网址檙e looking at the players and theyB次元官网网址檝e got to make that play seven, eight or nine times out of ten,B次元官网网址� said Tocchet.
OVERTIME
* Tensions boiled over during practice on Thursday at Rogers Arena when Filip Hronek and Conor Garland got into a minor dust-up during a battle drill.
* Based on the pairings at practice expect to see Tyler Myers back in the lineup Saturday against the Washington Capitals at Rogers Arena after a five-game absence due to injury. Myers was paired with Carson Soucy during drills while Noah Juulsen appeared to be the odd man out as he was teamed with Mark Friedman.
* Former Canucks President and General Manager Brian Burke took in the game against Colorado. Burke was in town as the keynote speaker for ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 KPMG Thunderbird Scholarship Breakfast benefitting UBC Athletics. Burke made a point of stopping in to visit Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
* NHL Network analyst Cory Schneider wasnB次元官网网址檛 too bullish on his former team when it came to ranking the top teams in the Western Conference. Schneider had Dallas on top followed by Winnipeg, Edmonton, Colorado and Vancouver. Fellow analyst Brian Boyle didnB次元官网网址檛 even have the Canucks in the top five electing to go with Dallas, Winnipeg, Vegas, Edmonton and Colorado as his choices.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob B次元官网网址渢he MojB次元官网网址� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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