Vancouver Canucks’ problems during power-plays (Part 2)
Vancouver Canucks certainly had the talent and the experience that was required at this stage, but the fact that they suffered this loss still comes as a shock to many.
There were several players in the team who would absolutely kill it when it comes to power-plays, especially when it was 5-on-3 twice. Canucks drastically failed and allowed three goals on the power-plays, another thing that went against them.
At one stage we were talking about the fact that Sharks was giving away too many minutes but it turned out to be totally opposite as Canucks gave away way too many penalty minutes.
In the end, they had to pay for it as the Sharks scored three goals during power-plays to end with a superb performance.
Another aspect in Canucks’ game was that they failed to contain possession and when the opposition was on power-plays, they didn’t know what to do. They were left stunned at times during the power-plays, actually very shocking considering their reputation.
Not being able to score during the power-plays is another thing, but not being able to bag shots with big names in the team is something which needs explanation.
Canucks managed to come up with just three shots on goal during the time when they were up 5-on-3 and this was a major factor that cost them the game.
There wasn’t anything extraordinary about Sharks’ defence. It was pretty much the same as in the first two games but in the third game, Canucks was below par.
On the other hand, when Sharks came across the 5-on-3 play, they were superb and scored a goal.
"I just really saw Patty (Marleau) and Boiler just kind of work it back and forth", said Sharks’ captain, Joe Thornton, who had assists on three of the four goals. "Boiler had a good shot earlier. Hit the crossbar. Patty just laid a perfect pass over and
Boiler got all of it".
Sharks’ fourth goal was also scored during a power-play that boosted its confidence as it started to create countless chances for themselves.
"They were tough to take for sure because we were feeling good about ourselves and we were going good", Henrik Sedin said.
The headline of the game was undoubtedly that the Sharks shifted the momentum in their favour like the first two games, but unlike the first two games, they were able to carry the momentum and scored goals to put themselves into the driving seat.
Sharks was also quite impressive in defence as they cut down attacks regularly and with some brilliant transition play, it was able to come up with numerous counter-attacks.
The positive approach coupled with productive power-play minutes won the game for Sharks that leaves them trailing by 2-1 in the series.
Tags: