Here’s the October 26 edition of the mailbag, where we answer your questions posed on Twitter using #OvertheBoards. Tweet your questions to @drosennhl.
What’s the biggest problem in Vancouver right now? — @punmasterrifkin
The Vancouver Canucks don’t defend hard enough and the consequence shows up on the scoreboard at the end of every game. They’ve lost seven straight games to start the season (0-5-2) and dare I say the most recent, 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes at home on Monday, was the most egregious. No, the Canucks didn’t let a game lead slip away like they have in their first five games, including a two-goal lead in their first four. They were in the game until the end thanks to a lucky rebound off the Hurricanes cross Jesperi Kotkaniemithe face that directly led to JT Miller scoring at 10:40 of the third period to cut Carolina’s lead to 3-2. But Monday’s score was good for the Canucks. They were outshot 39-16, including 15-7 in the first period and 15-3 in the third. They didn’t always seem connected through the neutral zone, offensively or defensively. The Canucks didn’t look like a team that could shake things up. Instead, they looked like a team waiting for something bad to happen. He did it early in the third, when the Hurricanes advanced Sebastien Aho and quick jesper scored 37 seconds apart in the first 87 seconds of the period to give Carolina a 3-1 lead, allowing them to suppress the Canucks even further. Fast’s goal came out of his skate. The bad luck, the bad rebound, the kind that happens to teams that go like the Canucks. But Aho scored because the Canucks center Elias Pettersson didn’t complete a backcheck, the kind of play we see too often at the Canucks. And when that happens, there seems to be nothing stopping the cycle from continuing, making it almost impossible to create a winning environment. Winning teams don’t let the cycle escalate.
Losing skids sometimes take on a life of their own and that’s how the Canucks feel. They don’t have the look or feel of a team that knows how to win a hockey game. Of course, these players know how to win hockey games. The Canucks have good players, but they’re human and when things go wrong over and over again, players end up wondering if they’ll ever be okay. A goalscorer in a crisis will tell you that his nightmare is never being able to score another goal. The Canucks are in crisis and their nightmare is that they will never be able to win another game. They will eventually, but they will have to work for it.
Video: VAN Recap: Miller scores twice in Canucks loss
Are you worried about the Avalanche’s depth so far this season? It seems that apart from the top guns, which have been good, they can’t find any secondary scores. — @jlwillert15
Not really. The Colorado Avalanche scored 24 goals in a 3-2 shootout win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday; 13 forwards Valery Nichushkin (Seven), Nathan MacKinnon (three) and Mikko Rantanen (three) and 11 from eight other players. Cale Makar to zero. The defender scored 28 goals last season. Gabriel Landeskog did not play. The striker has undergone knee surgery and is out for 12 weeks. I’m not concerned about the Avalanche and their scoring ability, but we all knew the backup center Nazem Kadri and the 87 points he had last season would be a challenge. And it has been so far. The Avalanche need to find a productive No. 2 center after Kadri signed with the Calgary Flames as a free agent. They don’t need someone who is a point-per-game player, but they could use someone who can provide some offense. They will find that player before the 2023 NHL trade deadline on March 3. Until then, especially with Landeskog released, the Avalanche will not be a finished product.
Do you think the New Jersey Devils are finally turning a corner and coming out of their “endless” rebuild? — @matt12r
It’s still the goalie in New Jersey. The Devils are averaging 18.2 more shots on goal per game than they allow (39.7-21.4). Their power play is struggling (15.0%, 24th in the NHL), but their penalty kill is excellent (90.5%, sixth in the NHL). But that won’t matter if they can’t keep the puck out of the net at even strength. Of the 22 goals they’ve allowed this season, 16 have come 5-for-5. I didn’t think the Devils solved their goalie problem by acquiring Vitek Vanecek of the Washington Capitals and making him and Mackenzie Blackwood their pair. It was far from a sure thing and it is already proving to be a problem.
But while the Devils’ talent, young legs and skill are apparent and impressive, I wonder who’s running this team? Who is going to step into the locker room and make every other player in the room hang on their words? Who will convene the only player meeting when necessary? I’m not talking about the coach. Lindy Ruff knows what her job is. He must coach the team and individuals, play the style that suits the staff, limit mistakes while getting maximum effort, and pray that the goalkeeper holds up. He’s a veteran coach and he knows what he’s doing. He’s fine if you look at the numbers apart from the goalkeepers. But from the outside, the Devils don’t look like they have a veteran vocal frontman. Forward Jack Hughes is 21 and doesn’t yet have enough currency as an NHL player to be that guy. Nico Hischierthe Devils captain, is 23 and doesn’t seem like a rah-rah type. Ondrej Palat, 31, is the most decorated player in the room, a two-time Stanley Cup champion who appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals four times. The former Tampa Bay Lightning forward was a great free agent signing this offseason, but he’s a quiet player who leads by example. Dougie Hamilton29, is a solid veteran player, but the defender has never been known to have a loud voice.
If you look at the top teams in the NHL, they all have undisputed and obvious leadership groups, core players with strong and respected voices. The Devils don’t seem to have that. That doesn’t mean they can’t round the corner on a rebuild, but I don’t think they’ll become a Stanley Cup contender until they find the group that will be the heartbeat. evident from the team.
Video: NJD@NYI: Hughes uses soft hands to open the scoring
What new stadium/arena innovations are coming? Retractable roofs? Windowed suites in the first row? More than 18,000 seats? Better visual effects? What can be done to attract more fans to arenas? — @theashcity
Attendance eclipsed 20.7 million in the NHL last season and that includes altered capacity in Canadian arenas as it was the third season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m curious what the attendance will be this season, when the buildings will ideally be allowed to operate at full capacity for all 1,312 games.
But your questions always make me think. Retractable roofs would be fun, if only for the ability to play a night game under the stars weather permitting. It’s not happening anytime soon and it’s going to take an innovative arena owner or management company to go that route, but I love the idea. Glass suites in the front row will never happen. These seats are too valuable and limiting the ability to set up a suite by the glass would not be financially responsible. Some arenas have suites under the lower bowl stands, but these are not in view of the rink. Fans step out of these suites and get premium seating at or near the glass. Increasing the number of seats in an arena will increase supply, but teams will always want demand to be greater than supply, so I don’t see that happening. The visual effects are more for television, ie advertisements on the boards and graphics that offer different stats other than the traditional score and shots on goal. The arena experience varies from team to team, arena to arena, but call me old school because I’m always in favor of the best visual effect in a game to be the game itself.
Here are some other ideas I have to improve the arena experience for fans:
— Fans select the game’s three stars through mobile voting.
*– Mid-term interview in the arena on the bench with a player and/or a coach.
— Series of live concerts during intermissions. Not every intermission and not every game, but music and hockey go well together, so let’s add to the show by including another show to watch.
– An interactive fan experience outside of the arena, essentially a smaller version of what the NHL does at all of its major events, including outdoor games and the All-Star Game.
— Connor McDavid plays one game for each NHL team. Well, OK, this one is obviously a joke, but I’m sure every fan has imagined Edmonton Oilers center McDavid skating for their team at some point.
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