Familiar formation could fix Canucks power play before playoffs
The Vancouver Canucks have been struggling to convert on the power play over the last few months. Last night’s victory over the Buffalo Sabres provided a few clues that the unit could be getting its mojo back.
With skilled players like Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes leading the way, scoring with the man-advantage has been a big part of the team’s offence for the past few seasons. However, over recent months, they’ve been lacking that dynamic.
Since the start of February, the Canucks have converted on just 15.5% of their power play chances, ranking 27th in the NHL.
“It’s not a concern,” said captain Hughes about the power play before yesterday’s game. “Just keep moving up the mountain, that’s all we’re trying to do.”
“Just ebbs and flows,” he answered when asked why the unit wasn’t converting at its normal rate.
Perhaps Hughes was right that there was no need to worry about the power play, as it looked as good as ever against the Buffalo Sabres. Pettersson scored once with the man-advantage and the unit generated more than two expected goals and 10 shots.
The top unit used a familiar formation that had Miller on the left circle and Pettersson on the right circle. It’s one the Canucks have used to great success in the past.
A Petey power play? Why not. š„ pic.twitter.com/bi70dVBBSw
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 20, 2024
Head coach Rick Tocchet singled out Miller for his strong performance on the power play.
“I thought Millsy was really good. He setup about five guys for empty netters, I thought Millsy was excellent,” said Tocchet about the power play after the game. “Obviously Petey, getting the big power play goal for us, but I thought Millsy was really good, he set about four guys up, we could’ve had about four goals on the power play, good for them. That’s what we need, you could tell it was in attack mode.”
The American-born forward did set up plenty of good chances from his old spot at the top of the left circle. This is an area where Miller has had plenty of success in the past but one he was been moved out of at points this season as the power play experiments with different looks.
“It’s good to get back on that side. It just depends on the personnel and the hands of people, what teams present in the formation so today we went with that and I felt like we created a lot of momentum each time,” said Miller about assuming his old position. “They were good reps and you feel good when you come off those reps. It would’ve been nice to score on all three but that was a step in the right direction for us.”
The Canucks are going to need their power play to be going if they want to find success in the postseason. Last night’s effort offers hope that this unit can still be one of the league’s elite.