Canucks drastically alter power-play units ahead of Penguins matchup
The Vancouver Canucks are going with a different look with their power plays ahead of tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The unit has been struggling a lot as of late, scoring on just 12.1% of their chances in February.
Head coach Rick Tocchet has decided to drastically alter the lineup as a result, showing off two more evenly balanced units at morning skate.
One unit had Filip Hronek, J.T. Miller, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser and Pius Suter.
The other unit included Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Tyler Myers, Elias Lindholm and Arshdeep Bains.
“I think sometimes you need a breather from each other. Some guys maybe need to have their own units. Take a shot at it, see how it works,” said head coach Rick Tocchet about the new approach after morning skate. “It’s only practice but one side looked really good. Hopefully, it works out. I think there’s nothing wrong with it plus it gives a freshness to it and I saw a little juice out there from some guys so we’ll see how it works.”
Despite the recent slide, the Canucks power play still ranks 11th among all NHL teams at 22.8% on the year.
It’s a big opportunity for Bains, who will get to play on a power play with two of the league’s best, Pettersson and Hughes.
“They’re elite talent,” said Bains about practicing on the power play with the two stars. “I think just trying to support them and help them if I’m in that position and hopefully we can find something tonight.”
Both Hughes and Pettersson rank in the top 20 league-wide for power-play points.
The puck drops for the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 pm PT.