The Canucks need to start scoring goals first. Thatcher Demko doesn’t score goals, but his work ethic can set them up.
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The team that has dominated away from home has not found the same success at home.
It’s time for this week’s fan mailbag.
“He’s a leader of the team. He’s a different type of leader. You know, it’s just him being around. He’s a glue guy. The guy works awfully hard. I mean, he spent a lot of time by himself working out. He’s here at 7 a.m. working with one trainer. It’s contagious to me the hard work he does. The young guys see this stuff, how dedicated he is. I see that really helps our locker room,” Tocchet said Friday after confirming that the team’s No. 1 goalie is back and ready to play.
Miller is still a little time away, but Tocchet spoke positively about the star, who took a leave to re-set himself mentally. He’s been working out and skating on his own, but he’s not yet ready to return to practice, the head coach said.
The way Miller plays, the production he brings, energizes the team. He’s a loud presence, one that sometimes needs a little managing, but when the team is winning, everyone feels better.
I give them only about a 92-per-cent chance of winning the cup — Trevor Chong via Bluesky
That confident, eh Trev? That’s the spirit.
That is, in the end, the dream in the back of every Canucks fan’s mind. They know the truth is the Canucks will never win. They’ll get close, but then something will stop them from success.
But in their heart, they still hope they’re wrong.
Maybe this is the year. At least now fans can actually vaguely dream of this. This isn’t the lost years of the Jim Benning era.
I think the defence, even with Hronek healthy, isn’t close to championship quality. They still need a top-four defender added, and Willander doesn’t fill that need. — Trevor Spinks via Bluesky
It’s been clear since the summer the Canucks’ defence corps as currently constructed was an unfinished project. They need another true puck mover. Erik Brännström has helped in that regard, but he’s not a second pairing guy.
They need a second pairing guy. Just about every team does, of course.
No, but they got better at bailing — Jeremy Parker vis Bluesky
This is the kind of cynicism we’re after. Jeremy’s not wrong, either. The Canucks are playing alright, they’re picking up points, they’re getting star performances from their stars, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
The numbers show the Canucks are super stout defensively, which is a great base to work off, but they’re still not controlling overall play the way they would like.
And they’re still starting games badly. When their starts become more consistent, when they’re not falling behind every other night, then you’ll know they’re not just trying to keep their heads above water, that they’ve found their way to standing up on the surf board with confidence.