Canucks stress connectivity amid power-play struggles

VANCOUVER — Tuesday was family day for Quinn Hughes.

The Vancouver Canucks captain left his hockey brothers at the rink and went home to a family dinner with his actual brothers, Jack and Luke, who visit Rogers Arena with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.

Quinn is the eldest of the three Hughes boys in the National Hockey League. But on the Canucks, Hughes is more like a middle child, trying to bring everyone together and keep as narrow as possible whatever gaps exist between his younger and older teammates. No wonder the Canucks made him their captain.

As most middle kids can attest, it can be a thankless and difficult task at times trying to keep the family connected.

“I feel like it's, you know, sometimes my responsibility that everyone should feel happy and feel comfortable,” Hughes said after the Canucks practice. “And I'm not saying anyone doesn't. But you just want everyone to feel really excited to get to the rink. I want to try to help guys with that; I think that's part of my job. But in saying that, I can't let some things distract me from what I need to do to be successful and help this team.”

On Monday night, the Canucks lost 4-3 in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes, furiously rallying from two goals down in the third period to salvage a point in a game they probably deserved to lose in regulation.

Coach Rick Tocchet gave his players a fairly decent blast post-game for straying from core ideals and a detailed game plan, and he was especially critical of Vancouver’s inert power play. 

It went 0-for-3 and managed just three shots in six minutes, two of them by second-unit shooter Daniel Sprong. The best two scoring chances during Vancouver’s power play were for Carolina’s penalty-killers.

“We're going to have to make some changes,” Tocchet told reporters post-game. “Not working hard enough, very lackadaisical. 

“I thought a couple of guys were playing slow. You can't play slow against a high-pressure PK. You just can't. I think I'm going to make a couple of changes. We'll talk tomorrow.”

Whatever was said during the coaching staff’s morning roundtable, Tocchet ran out the same five first-unit players for Tuesday’s practice: Hughes, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser and Conor Garland.

But the coach’s comments echoed his criticism at the end of last season that the power-play players were not connected. 

Connecting them became a priority for this season, and Tocchet made it clear to Sportsnet during training camp that this is as much a philosophical issue as a tactical one.

Here’s how Hughes described it to us in September: “There's going to be good nights, there's going to be bad nights, but just staying patient with it and with each other. Sharing the puck, spreading the puck. We're going to have five great players on the unit, and have to be able to let people have their individuality. If Petey has the puck and he wants to beat a guy and go in and rip it, or he wants to shoot the puck four times in a row, that's OK because he's a special player. We just need to be on the same page, like Toc said.”

Through the first eight games this season, the Canuck power play is 5-for-25, and that 20 per cent efficiency is 16^th among 32 NHL teams. Factor in one shorthanded goal allowed, and the net efficiency of 16 per cent ranks 19^th.

Vancouver’s lack of shot generation, however, is more alarming than its ranking, even if a power play with as much talent as the Canucks have should easily be in the top 10.

In 28:01 of power-play time, Pettersson has two shots on target. Boeser has four in 30:34 of advantage time, and Garland two in 24:07. Miller and Hughes lead the first unit with six shots apiece. No one has more than two power-play points.

“Sometimes when you're talented, you think you can just skill your way, and that doesn't work,” Tocchet explained. “You know, it's not horrible. I think we're 20 per cent. But it's not a good taste. We don't have a good taste in our mouth with it (and players) don't either, trust me. So, I think it's more about beating your man, your check, coming up with those loose pucks.”

On Pettersson’s paltry shot total, Tocchet said: “I mean, you can't stand still, and the team's not going to let you take one-timers. So, you've got to move. You've got to move ... and then get it back when you should be open. So, it's a lot of movement. We've talked to Petey about moving his feet. You can't just stand still.”

And from our training-camp discussion with the coach: “It’s not technical. It's sacrifice. It's being ready to execute the plan. You might not be getting the puck as much that night ... but your responsibilities doesn't mean you just stand around. Better communication. If things aren't going great, are you being a good teammate? There's a lot of factors. And I'm not saying these guys are bad at it. I think we've just got to get better at it.”

Which brings us back to connectivity, and the coach’s desire to get players to sacrifice and move out of their territorial silos — like Pettersson standing at the right-wing circle waiting for one-timers — to adapt and be more aggressive.

Using their extra skater to outwork penalty-killers should be a starting point for the Canuck power play.

“A lot of it just comes down to competing and wanting it more — the will,” Hughes reiterated Tuesday. “Getting loose pucks, retrievals, getting to the net, being aggressive and just having that mentality. I know we'll get there. There's been glimpses this year.

“I don't know, you're competing, but sometimes the difference is just that one extra puck battle. We might win three, but then you lose that fourth one that you need. I don't think it's far off, but everyone needs to elevate on the unit. I know everyone's intentions are good. I don't think anyone's trying not to bring their best.”

Everyone on the Canucks — players, coaches, management — agreed before this season that the power play needed to be better than it was during the final three-quarters of last season (19 per cent after Nov. 16, tied for 20^th) and certainly more effective than it was in 13 playoff games (13.9 per cent). 

The power play has massive upside. It should be a difference-maker for the Canucks.

“It shows how good of a team we are that when we lose a game like that last night, it's not just, ‘Oh, it was nice to grab a point,’” Hughes said. “It's like, ‘That was unacceptable, not a good game last night.’ I think that just shows how we expect to play and how it doesn't matter if we’ve won four in a row or five in a row or six in a row, or even if we lost three in a row, you play the right way. And I think that's going to be a credit for why we'll be a good team this year.”

ICE CHIP: The only changes in forward lines and defence pairings for Tuesday’s practice were the elevation of winger Arshdeep Bains alongside Pettersson and Garland on the second line, with Nils Hoglander skating on the fourth unit, and Noah Juulsen replacing Vincent Desharnais beside Erik Brannstrom on the third blue-line pair.