"They don't give you a whole lot": Lightning star impressed by Canucks team they used to dominate
The Vancouver Canucks haven’t exactly excelled against the Tampa Bay Lightning in recent years.
That’s to be expected, of course. Tampa Bay has been the most successful franchise in the NHL over the past decade, with the second-best regular-season points percentage to go with two Stanley Cups.
Tuesday’s 4-1 Canucks win ended a seven-game losing streak against the Lightning, dating back to 2018. Vancouver had lost eight of their last nine meetings against Steven Stamkos and company, with their last home victory against the Lightning coming nearly seven years ago.
The Canucks even struggled against Tampa in 2019-20 — the last time they made the playoffs. The Lightning laid down a 9-2 beatdown over the Canucks in their lone meeting that season.
That’s why the comments by Lightning star centre Brayden Point were so notable post-game.
Brayden Point complimentary of Van: “They're explosive offensively … and they're a deep team. They don't give you a whole lot. They got a lot of guys that can skate, a lot of guys that check, they work hard + they got a great goaltender too, so they're a pretty complete team.”
— Kevin Woodley (@KevinisInGoal) December 13, 2023
Responding to a question from Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and InGoal Magazine, Point was extremely complimentary of the team Tampa used to feast on.
He sounded like a Canucks player describing Lightning teams of the past.
“They’re explosive offensively. They’ve got guys that can really beat you, really hurt you. And you know what? They’re a deep team,” said Point.
“They don’t give you a whole lot. They’ve got a lot of guys that can skate. A lot of guys that check. And they work hard. And they’ve got a great goaltender too. They’re a pretty complete team. If you want to beat those guys, you’ve got to match their effort.”
That’s high praise from Point, who ranks 20th in NHL scoring since the start of the 2018-19 season.
The Canucks have been praised for their talent and exceptional goaltending before, but words like “they don’t give you a whole lot” and “they’re a pretty complete team” haven’t been associated with this franchise regularly in over a decade.
“They played tight,” Point added. “A lot of shots that we did have, they cleared the rebounds or they cleared the loose pucks.”
It’s a huge credit to head coach Rick Tocchet, who is the favourite to win Coach of the Year this season. The present-day Canucks don’t look anything like the tire-fire team Tocchet inherited when he first stepped behind the Canucks bench 11 months ago.
After a middling second half of November, the Canucks appear to be back on track, with three straight impressive wins over Minnesota, Carolina, and Tampa Bay.
The Canucks currently have the sixth-best points percentage in the NHL. They lead the league in goals per game (3.83), but more surprisingly they have given up the fourth-fewest goals-against (2.55).
To their credit, the Canucks aren’t overhyping things.
“It was just a solid win,” said Tocchet. “We were a little rusty early, but we settled in… All four lines contributed tonight, and the six D. I thought it was a good team effort.”
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