The Vancouver Canucks took to the ice at practice on Wednesday with some new line combinations.
Since the Canucks are currently on an eight-game losing streak, it’s understandable that head coach Manny Malhotra would be looking to shake things up.
At first glance, it looks like Jake DeBrusk is getting demoted from the top line in favour of Drew O’Connor, similar to how Jonathan Lekkerimäki got bumped down the lineup for Linus Karlsson.
But maybe that’s not what’s happening.
Here are the lines from Wednesday’s practice:
Drew O’Connor – Elias Pettersson – Linus Karlsson
Paul Cotter – Marco Rossi – Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk – Filip Chytil – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Liam Öhgren – Max Sasson – Brendan Gallagher
Arshdeep Bains
There’s no denying that Elias Pettersson has been the Canucks’ best forward to start the season. He leads the team in scoring with 11 points in 11 games and has been making the kinds of creative plays that Canucks fans have been craving from him for the past couple of years.
Beyond the points, Pettersson has been doing a little bit of everything for the Canucks: throwing hits, blocking shots, killing penalties, taking faceoffs — he’s doing it all.
So, obviously, O’Connor joining Pettersson is a big promotion to the first line, right?
Well, sort of.
Here’s the thing: since Filip Chytil returned from his preseason shoulder injury, Pettersson has not been leading the Canucks’ forwards in ice time at even strength. Chytil has.
It’s not even particularly close. Chytil has averaged 17:29 in ice time at even strength over the last three games to lead all Canucks forwards by over a minute per game; Pettersson has averaged 13:43 — three minutes and 46 seconds less per game than Chytil.
In other words, at even strength, Chytil is getting deployed like he’s the first-line centre right now, not Pettersson.
Looking at it this way, it looks less like DeBrusk and Lekkerimäki got demoted from the top line with Pettersson and more like they got promoted to the top line with Chytil.
“Those are the two main assets that are getting him those minutes”
Obviously, with Pettersson’s time on special teams, he’s still playing a lot of minutes. But even if you just look at minutes in all situations, Chytil has played more than Pettersson over the last two games.
That’s because Chytil is getting time on both sides of special teams, too, including on the penalty kill, something Chytil has never done regularly at the NHL level.
When asked why he likes Chytil in that penalty-killing role, Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra was succinct.
“Speed and size,” he said. “If you look at that combination, it allows him to get around the ice quickly, close lanes, use his stick and his reach to deflect pucks — those are the two main assets that are getting him those minutes.”
Those same attributes are likely why Chytil is getting major minutes at even strength. The system that Malhotra is preaching thrives on speed and size, and Chytil is both six-foot-three and quick.
Of course, this deployment might not last. Pettersson has been very good this season, and his minutes are likely to creep back above Chytil’s at some point.
It’s also worth noting that Malhotra has repeatedly emphasized that he is still searching for chemistry in his line combinations, and it’s perfectly reasonable to try some new lines while trying to break out of an eight-game losing streak.
But keep an eye on Thursday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings to see if the Canucks’ first line is actually DeBrusk, Chytil, and Lekkerimäki.