Where has the “Power” gone from the Canucks power play? That’s the question many people in Vancouver are wondering. It was just 2 years ago many remember that the Canucks were in the Stanley Cup Finals. They did not just get there by chance; they were carried there in large part due to their power play. In the 2010-2011 regular season the Canucks were converting on 24.32% of their power plays, compared to the 2012-2013 regular season where they’re only converting on 13.59% of their power plays.
Here’s another thought for you Canucks fans out there. Last season, after the Canucks beat the dreaded Boston Bruins 4-3 on January 7th, they were leading the league with a 24.4% power play converting rate. However, after that game they went an ice cold 16-for-117 which results in a 13.6% converting rate. Coming into this year’s lockout shortened season, Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said that the Canucks power play was becoming too easy for other teams to read and that the Canucks need to change up their power play tactics. Unfortunately, even their new tactics have not been working very well.
When their number one power play unit is on the ice, the Canucks Alexander Edler will start off with a full head of steam in to the offensive zone. As he reaches center ice he makes a drop pass, which is mostly received by Henrik Sedin, and from there Henrik single handedly tries to gain the offensive zone with some of his fancy Swedish stick handling skills. The problem? With this style of attacking the zone, the Canucks are putting too much pressure on one player, that being Henrik Sedin in most cases, while the other skaters, are just bystanders waiting for him to gain the offensive line.
What I believe the Canucks need to do is go back to simplifying their power play. The Canucks should simply chip the puck in and send 2-3 players after to control the offensive zone. With a less over-thought approach to the power play, the Canucks should slowly climb back up in the league power play percentage category. Oh and another thought for coach V would be to put that big physical guy we acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in front of the net. Now that’s a thought!
Written by: Hamed Amiri
