5 observations from the Canucks’ first 5 games

Finding that energy right off the opening faceoff is going to be key to winning games down the stretch, and not turning it into a habit is a necessary standard to set now.

Make no mistake, coming from behind to win games is cool and fun! But it also exerts a lot more energy to accomplish, creating a battery drain that’ll come back to haunt players in April and May, when they need those reserves most. All we’re asking is for the Canucks to sprinkle in a few stronger starts so they can save their legs in the long run.

Not too big an ask, right?

2. Conor Garland is an underrated MVP

Conor Garland might not be the most lethal shooter on the Canucks, but he has been everywhere so far this season. It’s no surprise he’s tied with Quinn Hughes for the team lead in points with four apiece.

His efforts against Dallas were among his best, completely putting Casey DeSmith and the Stars through the rinse cycle when he’d take the puck to the net.

Then late in the second period, he finally got rewarded for it.

Putting Garland on Elias Pettersson’s wing is a move few coaches have dared make based on their respective sizes, but the truth is they complement each other perfectly. Garland can retrieve pucks, drive the net and create plays like the best in the league, and once Pettersson starts to find the back of the net, they’ll create a lethal duo. If Adam Foote is worried about the size differential of the lines they’re lining up against, that’s what the left wing spot is there for.

Right now, Garland and Pettersson should be stapled to that top line together.

3. The Castle Fun Park Line

The praises of Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson can’t be said enough. Wyatt talked about them plenty in the last two Stanchies, and for good reason. The ‘Castle Fun Park Line‘ has brought the kind of speed and tenacity in the offensive zone that the Canucks were missing in their first three games, and was crucial in their back-to-back wins against Dallas and Chicago.

Sasson has a goal in each of his two games since being called up, and has provided the spark for a line forged in Abbotsford. Bains has surprised early, making adjustments to the NHL level that weren’t there in previous stints. If this intensity rubs off on the rest of their teammates, it’ll only serve to make this team better.

4. Elias Pettersson is finding his game again

We touched on Elias Pettersson earlier with regards to Garland, and EP40 is rediscovering what makes him a great player, slowly but surely. The best example of it came in overtime against Chicago, when he split the Blackhawks’ defenders and deked out Spencer Knight, but Wyatt Kaiser got in the way just enough to disrupt the puck at the last second.

Ninety-nine times out of 100, Petey buries that puck, but not that night. And if you’re someone like Pettersson, who’s been endlessly critiqued for the lack of scoring over the past year, it’s hard not to let the idea of being totally snake bitten creep in.

You have to look at everything else you’re doing right instead, and Pettersson was great against the Blackhawks . Here, on a play started by Garland keeping the puck in, Pettersson draws all the Chicago players into the corner as Victor Mancini sets up near the slot. Then Pettersson sees his lane and saucers a tape-to-tape pass that Victor Mancini just couldn’t finish on.

Away from the puck, he’s also putting his body on the line to win hockey games, as shown through plays like this gutsy shot block late in the third against Dallas.

If you only look on the box score, I know you’re going to be disappointed. But it’s only a matter of time before the point totals match EP40’s efforts.

5. The goaltending is still good

Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen, the rocks that you are.

To the shock of a few, the Canucks owe a lot of their 3-2 record to the stellar play of their goalies. Both netminders are sporting save percentages well above the early league average (which is currently .898 by the way, yikes), with Demko at .929 and Lankinen at .912. If it seems too early to be bringing stats into this, then the eye test speaks for itself.

Demko’s play against the Oilers last week is a big reason the Canucks only lost by two goals, robbing Edmonton of scoring on a number of opportunities. As the defence around him was shaking out some rust covering the net front, Demko picked up the slack.

And when Leon Draisaitl had a wide-open net to shoot at late in the game, it suddenly didn’t matter.

As for Lankinen, while he hasn’t made as many five-alarm saves as his teammate, he was rock solid on Friday against Chicago. His save in the second period on a Connor Bedard breakaway ended up as a key turning point in a game Chicago seemed to be in solid control of.

It’s fair to say both goaltenders are going to need stronger run support to win games like this down the line, and relying on Demko and Lankinen to bail them out regularly can’t be part of the equation long term. But for now, as the Canucks figure out what kind of team they’re going to be, they’re getting the type of puck-stopping that wins games in June as much as it does in October.

What do you think, Canucks fans? What are your five observations after the Canucks’ five games into the season?