The Vancouver Canucks are a very good hockey club.
That鈥檚 been evident throughout the course of the season as the Canucks have been near or on top of the NHL鈥檚 overall standings.
But winning the President鈥檚 Trophy as the best regular season team doesn鈥檛 always translate into a Stanley Cup championship or even a deep playoff run.
Since the turn of the century, only four teams that have finished first in the overall standings have managed to win it all 鈥� the Colorado Avalanche in 鈥�01, the Detroit Red Wings in 鈥�02 and 鈥�08 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 鈥�13.
In fact, in the last decade no President鈥檚 Trophy winner has managed to get to the Cup Finals never mind win it. Only the New York Rangers were able to advance past the second round making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2014-15 before bowing out.
Looking at it even deeper, you鈥檒l find that in the last decade there have been only two Stanley Cup champions that have even finished in the top three in the overall standings.
So what gives?
Sometimes it鈥檚 the fact that a team really hasn鈥檛 faced any adversity throughout the year and is ill-equipped to handle it when it arrives in the post-season.
Just ask anyone associated with last year鈥檚 Boston Bruins.
Sometimes it鈥檚 the inability to play the 鈥榟eavy hockey鈥� that is required to win in the playoffs.
The time and space needed for making high-skilled plays is reduced as the season progresses and by the time the playoffs roll around, that time and space is at a premium as post-season success is based on winning battles and scoring ugly goals.
For Rick Tocchet and the Canucks coaching staff, adapting to that shift is probably one of the bigger challenges they face heading into the post-season.
It鈥檚 safe to say most people within the league would identify the Canucks as a 鈥榮peed team鈥� rather than a 鈥榟eavy team鈥� such as the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.
So how do the Canucks adjust to the disappearance of time and space?
It has to be a collective effort according to Tocchet.
鈥淚 wish we were a little bit better on the boards (and) be a better wall team. We want to make plays. We want to scoot and play fast but I think if everyone can get better by five per cent鈥e鈥檝e got some guys that will never be great wall guys 鈥� let鈥檚 face it 鈥� and that鈥檚 okay. But can they play five or ten per cent better on the wall or win the battle? That鈥檚 the way we are approaching it here. I think if everyone can get better, that鈥檚 how we can get better as a team,鈥� explained Tocchet.
For Tocchet and the coaching staff, that means emphasizing the techniques to be successful in practice and emphasizing it to the point where it becomes habitual in games.
鈥淚 have certain techniques on how to go into a battle and how to be a wall guy but to apply it鈥t鈥檚 hard in real time sometimes. I get it but you got to stick with it in the pressure situations. You have to think technique but it has to come organically. Doing a lot of reps helps and guys have gotten better 鈥� don鈥檛 get me wrong 鈥� from the start of the year,鈥� he noted.
Probably the best example of that has been Brock Boeser, who will never be mistaken as a power forward, but who has improved in winning one-on-one battles along the boards.
This spring is a different animal for the hockey club.
Playing out the string has been replaced by high-pressure games that actually mean something as the team tries to hone its craft with the playoffs approaching.
Case in point was Wednesday鈥檚 disappointing 4-3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Arena.
According to Tocchet, no one stepped up in the critical moments of that game and won some of those battles when they were needed but he also believes that there was a silver lining in the loss in that it was a pressure situation that the players hopefully learned from.
鈥淚 think the more games we can play under pressure, it鈥檚 good for guys to get better. It鈥檚 like 3-2 and you know the puck is coming and it鈥檚 a big play. Either you got to get it out or make a play 鈥� those are the times that you鈥檙e looking at the players and they鈥檝e got to make that play seven, eight or nine times out of ten,鈥� said Tocchet.
OVERTIME
* Tensions boiled over during practice on Thursday at Rogers Arena when Filip Hronek and Conor Garland got into a minor dust-up during a battle drill.
* Based on the pairings at practice expect to see Tyler Myers back in the lineup Saturday against the Washington Capitals at Rogers Arena after a five-game absence due to injury. Myers was paired with Carson Soucy during drills while Noah Juulsen appeared to be the odd man out as he was teamed with Mark Friedman.
* Former Canucks President and General Manager Brian Burke took in the game against Colorado. Burke was in town as the keynote speaker for Thursday鈥檚 KPMG Thunderbird Scholarship Breakfast benefitting UBC Athletics. Burke made a point of stopping in to visit Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
* NHL Network analyst Cory Schneider wasn鈥檛 too bullish on his former team when it came to ranking the top teams in the Western Conference. Schneider had Dallas on top followed by Winnipeg, Edmonton, Colorado and Vancouver. Fellow analyst Brian Boyle didn鈥檛 even have the Canucks in the top five electing to go with Dallas, Winnipeg, Vegas, Edmonton and Colorado as his choices.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 鈥渢he Moj鈥� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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