With trades starting to come to fruition and many Canucks fans are asking for changes to the bottom six the question I ask today is. Is it possible the Canucks fixed the bottom six in house?
Calling up Jeff Tambellini to play 2nd line minutes has allowed AV to move Samuelsson down to the 3rd line. This move pushes Hansen down to the 4th line. For now this has been a very strong move for the overall performance of all the Canucks forward lines.
As Ben Kuzma is reporting on twitter (@ benkuzma) "Torres back on third line, Glass back on fourth for #Canucks against #Flames. Bolduc on trip, but first to Moose on conditioning sting."
Considering how well Glass and Samuelsson looked the other night this is interesting however I do not argue with AV's coaching style. Going this way to start the game gives Torres the opportunity to prove himself as a 3rd liner while always knowing Glass is working his best to get moved back up. An in game switch of the lines is always possible with AV at the helm.
The fourth line will be Glass, Perrault and Hansen. Glass has been performing well all season for a 4th liner and did a great job when he got the call last game on the 3rd. He hits, he's gritty and will drop the gloves to protect his team. He's also fairly responsible in his own zone and knows when to chip the puck out to relieve the pressure. My favorite part about all these moves is having Hansen on the 4th line. As a "tweener" 3rd/4th liner Hansen style is great on the 4th line. He brings a lot of speed which most 4th lines don't have, he will launch his body at anyone wearing the other colour jersey and he's good in his own zone. Although at the start of the year I thought he might be a good fit on the 3rd line his hands haven't caught up to his feet yet and he lacks some scoring touch. On the fourth line his less than efficient hands aren't a bad thing and the rest of his game can shine.
The spot where I see could potentially change come playoff time is the 4th line center position. Perrault hasn't been noticeable on the ice in his four games with the team. His faceoff percentage has been good overall 55.5% but very streaky. 6/8 vs Chi, 0/2 vs Pho, 2/3 vs Avs and 2/5 vs SJ. Bolduc is getting close to coming back, he'll be on the trip with the team to practice this week and then a conditioning stint in Manitoba. After that I'm sure he'll get a shot to take over the 4th line again. I still don't know if either Perrault or Bolduc are strong enough to hold down that line.
As good as these two lines are with the addition of Tambellini we'll have to wait and see how long he can keep up his good play on the 2nd line. If he falters changes will need to be made again and the rotation of players will continue. Hopefully he can keep playing well and we'll see the lineup settle in for a bit. If the team can keep winning AV won't change a lot to the winning formula. If they start going downwards he will make changes.
Pre game for the Canucks @ Calgary game will be up tomorrow. Make sure you come back for that.
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