Jake DeBrusk is heating up, and have the Canucks found their top gear? 3 takeaways
LOS ANGELES — Are the Vancouver Canucks on the cusp of hitting their top gear?
It's not that the Canucks had a poor start — their 6-2-3 record before Thursday's win had them on a 112-point pace — but the underlying process didn't always look pretty and there was a sharp contrast in their results based on opponent quality.
Before their 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings , Vancouver had lost four of its five games against teams that either made the playoffs last year or are currently in a playoff spot based on points percentage. It hadn't beaten an opponent of that calibre in regulation and had a minus-10 goal differential in those five games.
The Canucks' ability to comfortably outclass bad teams was propping up the team's record in the early going. But now, Vancouver's win against L.A., which capped off a sweep of the California trip, will halt any early concerns about the club's performance against the league's top half.
Here are three takeaways from the victory.
Brock Boeser doesn't return after Tanner Jeannot 's cheap shot
About halfway through the first period, Brock Boeser accepted a slip pass from Quinn Hughes in the neutral zone. Vancouver's star winger corralled the puck and made a pass up the ice to continue the breakout. It was a routine play — Hughes hadn't put Boeser under any duress or a dangerous situation with that pass — but the outcome was anything but typical.
Well after Boeser had released the puck, Tanner Jeannot came cruising in from the blindside and delivered a blow directly to the chin. It was a dirty cheap shot; the exact type of hit the NHL should be trying to eliminate. Jeannot was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head.
Boeser left the game and did not return.
For a while, it looked like the Canucks might come out empty-handed on the ensuing five-minute power play. Their execution was shockingly poor for the first 3 1/2 minutes of the five-on-four. Vancouver's zone entries were the biggest problem. The puck carrier receiving the drop pass wasn't building enough speed through the neutral zone, which made it difficult to carve through the Kings' entry defense at the blue line. When they rimmed it around the boards on an entry, the flank players were often flat-footed getting to the puck or didn't make a clean, composed pass back to the point to get the unit fully set up.
J.T. Miller wasted no time making the Kings pay once they eventually did get organized. Miller took a pass from Hughes and fired a one-touch to Conor Garland on the backdoor. They got a fortunate bounce with Darcy Kuemper 's accidentally striking the puck into his own net after Garland tried to direct in on goal.
The Canucks made L.A. pay on the scoreboard, but these fans aren't going to forget that hit. Jeannot will be public enemy No.1 when the Kings visit Vancouver in January.
Jake DeBrusk is heating up
Jake DeBrusk has long been labelled as a streaky scorer, and he's the first one to acknowledge there's truth behind it . He takes pride that his two-way play is at least more consistent than it was earlier in his career, but the production often runs hot and cold.
After going goal-less and registering just 13 shots in his first nine games, DeBrusk scored in all three games of this California trip. He piled up five shots Thursday night and made a slick move to outwait Kuemper and score the Canucks' second goal.
Hughes (who was again the best player on either team) did a lot of the heavy lifting to set that goal up — he faked attacking the middle, darted to the outside and feathered a perfect cross-seam pass — but DeBrusk deserves credit for reading the play and understanding where to go to create that open passing lane.
It's going to be even more crucial for DeBrusk to continue this momentum if Boeser misses any time. Miller hasn't been as electric at driving offensive play as he was last year — DeBrusk needs to consistently generate shots and chances so the pressure isn't on Miller to singlehandedly drive that line.
Carson Soucy 's bounce-back and the Canucks' sturdy defensive performance
Vancouver's defensive play was a legitimate concern against the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils at the end of the club's last homestand. The Canucks were giving up way too many odd-man rushes, struggled to lock down the inner slot and were leaning way too heavily on Kevin Lankinen to bail them out.
The Canucks' last two games have been a step in the right direction, with the club's surrendering just three high-danger chances at five-on-five Thursday night.
Carson Soucy, in particular, had a much steadier performance. The lanky shutdown defender made a few glaring gaffes against the Anaheim Ducks , which continued the trend of his slow start to the season, but his pair did a substantially better job of controlling play against the Kings. During the first 40 minutes, the Canucks had a 9-4 edge in shot attempts and didn't surrender a single high-danger chance against during his five-on-five shifts. They were on the ice for Vladislav Gavrikov 's goal in the third period, but that wasn't their fault.
Soucy also played a key role in stymying the Kings' power play 0-for-4 with his long reach and battle-winning down low. He defended zone entries well, too.
Vancouver's centres deserve credit for the club's stout defensive play, as well. They consistently came down low in the defensive zone to protect passes into the slot and protect what coach Rick Tocchet would call the guts of the ice.
In the third period, Quinton Byfield had a one-timer chance on the backdoor, with plenty of open net available, which Elias Pettersson slid out to block. Pettersson was active breaking up plays defensively and strong on his feet the entire night.
(Photo: Kiyoshi Mio / Imagn Images)
