The Vancouver Canucks need more from Elias Pettersson.
Game 1 saw some excellent performances from the Canucks’ forwards. Elias Lindholm’s line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua was hard-matched against the Nashville Predators’ top line and won the match-up with two goals at 5-on-5. Freed up from a top-line match-up, J.T. Miller’s line with Pius Suter and Brock Boeser dominated puck possession, with Suter tipping in a Quinn Hughes point shot for a goal.
The same cannot be said for Elias Pettersson and his linemates, Nils Höglander and Sam Lafferty.
At 5-on-5, Pettersson was primarily matched up against the Predators’ checking line of Mark Jankowski, Colton Sissons, and Jason Zucker. Across his 14:37 in ice time at 5-on-5, the Canucks were out-shot, out-chanced, and out-scored.
To be clear, the goal the Predators scored when Pettersson was on the ice wasn’t his fault — Lafferty missed his assignment off a defensive zone faceoff, leaving Pettersson scrambling to cover for his linemate. Pettersson actually had a very strong game defensively, such as this great read to pick off a pass in the slot.
It should also be noted that Pettersson came agonizingly close to opening the scoring earlier in the game, as he nearly jammed in a rebound off the end boards on a delayed penalty. Juuse Saros came back to kick aside the shot and the moment passed by, largely unnoticed.
Pettersson had another grade-A scoring chance late in the first period, as he first set up as a layer of traffic for a potential Hughes point shot, then smartly bolted out to the left faceoff circle to take a Filip Hronek pass in space. He dragged the puck around a pokecheck but sent his wrist shot just wide of the net.
Those were two of Pettersson’s six shot attempts on Sunday night, though just two were on net. If either of those two chances went in the net, it would have done a lot to silence any chatter around his game.
But the simple truth is that the Canucks need those pucks to go in and they need more from Pettersson if they want to go on a long playoff run. That’s particularly true with Thatcher Demko out of the lineup. If Casey DeSmith or Arturs Silovs falter, the Canucks will need more scoring to compensate.
On Tuesday morning ahead of Game 2, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet was asked what he needs to see from Pettersson.
“Just more connected and move his feet,” said Tocchet. “Like, when he gets the puck, go. He’s a talented guy — find that good ice and make those option plays. And then, obviously, the PP, I think he’s going to get some good looks tonight and he’s got to shoot it. He’s got a hell of a shot, so don’t defer — shoot it.”
Pettersson’s best chance on the power play came when he didn’t defer; instead, he just pounced on a loose puck and fired it on net, nearly beating Saros under his blocker. That attack mentality will be key to Pettersson finding another gear.
At 5-on-5, it’s even more important that Pettersson doesn’t defer, as he didn’t get a lot of help from his linemates on Sunday night.
Höglander and Lafferty ended the night with no shots on goal on a combined three attempts. Far too often, the play died on their sticks, with Lafferty’s limitations as an elevated bottom-six grinder becoming apparent whenever the puck entered the offensive zone.
Take this play from the second period of Game 1. Lafferty applies great back pressure defensively to create a turnover, then dashes up ice to create an odd-man rush. But as Pettersson shades to his right to open up for a shot, Lafferty never chances speeds down the left wing to open up a passing lane and ends up instead passing to the trailing Tyler Myers, putting the puck in his skates for an awkward shot.
On another occasion in the third period, Pettersson made a savvy play to pick off an outlet pass inside the blue line and fed the puck across to Lafferty. An opportunity to extend a possession in the offensive zone was wasted when Lafferty fired a puck directly into Roman Josi, who had taken away the entire shooting lane.
It’s not that Lafferty is a bad player. In fact, he had some success on Pettersson’s line at times this season. He’s a solid defensive winger whose speed makes him an asset on the forecheck.
The trouble is, Lafferty lacks the high-end hockey IQ that defines a player like Pettersson and it means that offensive opportunities might be wasted when they’re on the ice together. At least right now, the chemistry just isn’t there for the two players.
Tocchet seemed to agree during Game 1, as he swapped Ilya Mikheyev for Lafferty for several shifts. Late in the game as the Canucks defended the lead, Pettersson skated with Elias Lindholm.
It remains to be seen who Pettersson’s primary linemates will be in Game 2 but Pettersson needs to produce no matter who they are. With the chances he had in Game 1, it seems like he’s inches away breaking out in a big way.
