Pettersson on track to set new Canucks shorthanded points record
Does former Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green ever sit back and think…
“Should I have played Elias Pettersson on the penalty kill?”
During three and a half seasons under Green, Pettersson rarely killed penalties.
This season under former coach Bruce Boudreau and current head coach Rick Tocchet, Pettersson has blossomed into the team’s most-relied upon forward on the PK, receiving 1:39 of shorthanded ice time per game.
Not only that, but offensively, he’s the most dangerous penalty-killer in the NHL.
Power kill
As a penalty killer, if you’re able to help limit power play chances and goals against, then you’re doing your job.
However, no penalty killer is expected to outscore the opposition.
Somehow, that’s what Elias Pettersson has done of late.
Since Rick Tocchet took over on January 22, Pettersson has been on the ice for seven Canucks goals scored, and only five goals-against while playing shorthanded.
Elias Pettersson scores shorthanded pic.twitter.com/TtnjbobVtX
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 5, 2023
During that timespan, the seven shorthanded goals that both Pettersson and J.T. Miller have been on the ice for lead the NHL.
No NHLers since January 22 have been on the ice for more than four shorthanded goals, aside from Pettersson and Miller.
Pettersson on pace to match Canucks shorthanded record
You can add another entry to the list of accomplishments from Pettersson’s 2022-23 campaign.
With the shorthanded assist on Miller’s four-on-five marker against the Anaheim Ducks, Pettersson now has sole possession of first overall in the NHL with eight points while on the penalty kill.
Pettersson with some great hand eye to knock the puck down and set up Miller, who absolutely rips it past Dostal. What a play. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/EEtE4Tl7hN
— Grady Sas (@GradySas) March 9, 2023
The last Canuck to lead the NHL in shorthanded points was Alex Burrows (seven points) in 2009-10.
Mark Messier also achieved that feat in Canucks colours in 1998-99, while Russ Courtnall and Pavel Bure both tied for the league lead at points during their careers in Vancouver.
The aforementioned Courtnall and Bure are both tied for the Canucks franchise single-season record, with each registering nine shorthanded points in one season.
Bure actually did it twice, once in 1992-93 and again in 1997-98. He tied for the league lead for points shorthanded on both occasions.
Pavel Bure and Russ Courtnall share the Canucks record for most shorthanded points in a season
Pettersson would tie this franchise record with one shorthanded point over the Canucks final 18 games. However, based on the rate in which he’s piling up points while his team is at a disadvantage, would anyone be surprised to see him set this franchise record?
If he did set a Canucks’ franchise record by registering 10 shorthanded points, he would become only the 60th player in NHL history to do so.
It’s been 15 years since an NHL player hit double digits for shorthanded points in a season.
“I think it’s a read,” Pettersson said post-game on Wednesday against Anaheim when asked if the mentality was to think about offence on the penalty kill.
“Like, [you have to] see when there is a chance to play offensively on the PK and read the situation.”
Is Pettersson a good penalty killer?
It’s one thing to pile up the points, but is Pettersson actually good at killing penalties?
For both him and Miller, the underlying numbers under Tocchet are pretty ugly.
Among 343 NHL players that have played at least 10 minutes shorthanded since January 22 (when Tocchet took over), here’s where Pettersson and Miller rank:
- Pettersson: 10.27 xGA/60 (304th)
- Miller: 10.12 xGA/60 (302nd)
However, when you look at the five goals that Pettersson has been on the ice for since Tocchet took over, you can really only hand him partial blame for one.
Against the Seattle Kraken on January 25, Pettersson got caught up a little high in the zone. He tried to tip the puck out of mid-air (which likely would have resulted in a breakaway) instead of keeping track of his man on the ice. He missed the puck, and Jared McCann scored on a one-timer seconds later.
Still, that was just Tocchet’s second game behind the bench.
You couldn’t fault Pettersson for any of the other shorthanded goals against since then. In fact, three of the five were scored while he was covering the other side of the ice.
There have been times when Pettersson has been too aggressive shorthanded, but it seems like he’s doing a better job of finding that balance as his experience on the penalty kill grows.
Pettersson seems to be rounding out his game shorthanded, while also becoming one of the most prolific offensive penalty killers in Canucks history.
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