The Vancouver Canucks’ penalty kill is nearing an all-time low.
For them, that’s a very good thing. The all-time low belongs to the Los Angeles Kings at 68.2% — the Canucks are currently below that bar, on pace for the worst penalty kill in NHL history.
But a few games ago, they were a lot further below that bar. After killing all five Minnesota Wild power plays on Thursday night, including a lengthy 5-on-3, the Canucks have now killed off 16 of their last 17 penalties.
That run of Barry-level killing has brought the Canucks’ penalty kill percentage for the season up to 67.6%, just shy of the Kings’ ignominous record.
No one has seen the improvement more clearly than Thatcher Demko, who has had a stark before-and-after view by virtue of the three months that he’s been out of the lineup.
“I thought our PK was awesome,” said Demko. “That’s something I’ve been impressed by my first two games back. We gave up the one in Dallas off the rush but structurally in-zone, I think it’s been great.”
“I know we made some systems changes,” he added. “I went over it with [assistant coach Mike Yeo] just to make sure that I was on the same page with the group…I think it looks really good. Guys are selling out, sacrificing, and making good reads — working really hard for each other.”
Demko did quip, “I’m the only guy on the ice where my job stays the same,” so he didn’t have to make any changes to his game to improve the penalty kill. But it certainly helps his save percentage to have fewer cross-seam passes to deal with.
“More patient. When to be aggressive and when not, so we’re not caught in between,” said head coach Rick Tocchet about the adjustments the penalty kill has made. “The PK was good tonight and obviously Demmer, he’s just solid out there. The puck just thudded — it just dies in him, there’s not many rebounds.”
Ultimately, the Wild power play got shots but few dangerous chances. Even on the 5-on-3, the Wild struggled to find a shooting lane. It was almost as if they were expecting lanes to just materialize out of thin air rather than manufacturing lanes themselves with puck and player movement. Perhaps their video prescout of the Canucks’ penalty kill was out of date.
“Everybody knew their role and knew what they needed to do,” said Kyle Burroughs. “We were pretty dialed in. Getting that 5-on-3 kill — obviously, for me, it was the longest two minutes of my life — but it was good to get that cleared and get a little confidence there.”
Burroughs was so relieved by his teammates killing off the 5-on-3 because he was partly responsible for the penalty kill’s toughest test when he took the first of two penalties in ten seconds to give the Wild a long 5-on-3. The second penalty came off the stick of Pettersson, as he flung the puck the length of the ice, sending it over the glass on the opposite end from behind his own goal line for an unlikely delay-of-game penalty.
“I was very happy they killed that because that was the second game in a row — puck out, I don’t think it ever happened to me [before],” said Pettersson. “I’ll make sure to keep the puck in play and not let that happen again.”
I was also happy they killed the 5-on-3, because it gave me something to write about for this intro after I watched this game.
- The perhaps unlikely player who led the Canucks in shorthanded ice time in this game was Guillaume Brisebois, who played 3:40 on the penalty kill, including some time killing the Wild’s 5-on-3. It’s been a pleasant surprise to see him look so steady in the NHL in this most recent call-up; it really seems like he’s figured out how to play to his strengths and limit his weaknesses. Is he an everyday NHLer? No, but at least he can hold his own as a depth call-up.
- It seems like Elias Pettersson might be the designated player for ceremonial faceoffs now, something which is typically the captain’s job. The Canucks’ First Nations Celebration night kicked off with a pre-game ceremony followed by Pettersson taking the ceremonial faceoff alongside the chiefs from several First Nations. I asked if this was the first ceremonial faceoff of his career, and he replied, “I actually did that the game before in Dallas, but it was the first home game. Pretty cool.”
- The game itself started poorly, with a Wild goal in the opening minute. Tocchet sent the fourth line of Dakota Joshua, Nils Åman, and Jack Studnicka out as a match-up line against Kirill Kaprizov and it immediately became apparent that this was a very poor idea. The Wild were quickly all over the Canucks like Steve Rogers on a hand grenade, leading to Kaprizov sneaking behind Noah Juulsen for a backdoor tap-in of a pass from Mats Zuccarello.
- The Canucks responded on the power play with the type of cross-seam pass that they’ve allowed so many times this season. After Pettersson hit the crossbar with the first unit, the second unit put one under the bar. Vitali Kravtsov snuck down low, giving him a passing lane through the slot to Brock Boeser, who sent a snap shot one-timer top shelf where you put the breakable stuff in the dishwasher.
- That was Kravtsov’s first point as a Canuck and, while he had a strong game overall, Tocchet was quick to praise his linemate, Vasily Podkolzin, who was like a dog on a bone with his puck pursuit all game. “I thought him and Podzy were good tonight,” said Tocchet when asked about Kravtsov. “I thought Podkolzin was very good, he was a bright spot for me…Kravtsy, I liked his skill out there, but Podzy was a bull out there.”
- Even if Tocchet immediately changed the subject to Podkolzin, Kravtsov was legitimately very good. He was strong on the boards, won battles, protected the puck effectively, and put the puck in dangerous areas for his linemates. If he can play like this regularly, he’ll have a spot in a Rick Tocchet lineup for a long time.
- The Wild took the lead back early in the second period off an ill-timed line change by Noah Juulsen. Quinn Hughes thought his partner was back in the neutral zone but Juulsen had approached the bench like an overeager lawyer, replaced by Tyler Myers. That left Kaprizov all alone for a breakaway. Demko stopped his initial five-hole attempt, but Kaprizov chipped in the rebound to make it 2-1.
- “We didn’t have an answer for number 97,” said Tocchet of Kaprizov. “Guys were trying. I mean, he’s a world-class guy. I think we could have played through him a little bit more. You can’t kill him, obviously, because he’s shifty, but I think we could have doubled up a little bit more in the D-zone. I think we played off him too much.”
- After Brandon Duhaime laid what Kyle Burroughs felt was a dangerous hit on Podkolzin early in the third period, Burroughs fought the Wild forward and dropped him with a stiff right. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get too excited about a fight these days, particularly since Duhaime was pulled off the ice to go into concussion protocol and didn’t return to the game. Still, you can bet that Burroughs’ teammates appreciated his willingness to drop the gloves.
- There was a slightly funny moment just before the fight, however. Burroughs was engaged in a puck battle with Joel Eriksson Ek while trying to challenge Duhaime, leading to an odd bit of multi-tasking: Burroughs successfully pinned Eriksson Ek to the boards without even look at him, while jawing with Duhaime.
- “Yeah, it’s a little bit awkward,” said Burroughs with a rueful smile about trying to do two things at once. “It’s tough, because I want to make the play but I also know what needs to be done. It’s awkward but it obviously worked out and they didn’t score while that was happening, so that’s good.”
- There was no last-minute game-tying goal for Andrei Kuzmenko this time around. Instead, with a minute left, J.T. Miller took a holding penalty in the defensive zone while trying to prevent an empty-net goal. The Canucks still pulled Demko to go 5-on-5 in the final minute, but Kuzmenko wasn’t even on the ice. It was a bit of an odd group: Pettersson, Boeser, Connor Garland, Hughes, and Christian Wolanin. No Kuzmenko meant no last-minute heroics.
- One final note: J.T. Miller sure didn't look injured. "He told me after he skated, he said, 'I want to go' and we talked to the doctor and it was safe for him to come back," said Tocchet when I asked about Miller's return. "I like that. He wanted to come back and play and it shows a lot: instead of just sitting out, he wants to be part of this."
- Are there lines to read between in that comment? I honestly don't know.
