Canucks make Multiple Move...

The Canucks are 3-12-1 and Manny Malhotra just made multiple changes to his lineups including three of the four forward lines as he shakes things up. The one line that he did not touch is the one with Elias Pedersen sitting on the first line. Everything else he shook up. A center is out, a call-up is in, and the coach is saying that one line is actually doing what he's asking. Plus, we get an update on Braden Coutts, as Sadeen says he will be back in the Abbotsford lineup soon. We're going to break down everything you need to know from today's practice. To understand why Manny is shaking things up, start with the standings. The Canucks have 7 points after 16 games. That is last in the Pacific, Edmonton has 24 points, and even Los Angeles, with 3 fewer games played, has 10. And the way this team has lost, yes I understand they're in a rebuild, is why Manny is starting to feel restless about this group. On October 27th in Anaheim, they trailed 4-1 after two periods, scored four goals in the third, and won 6-5 in overtime. Then in San Jose on October 29th, they led by two after two periods, gave up three goals in the third, and lost that game 3-2. Look at where it went wrong. All three San Jose goals came in the third period, after 40 minutes of leading. Against Toronto on October 31st, they lost 4-2 in regulation, with the shots even at 28 apiece. Two losses in three days. San Jose scored three times in the third period, and Toronto scored twice in the second. So this team can score in bunches or defend the lead, but why not do that both in one game? And that's why the lines were changed today. Here's Monday's practice. Jake DeBrusque, PD, and Brock Besser stay together on the top line. Liam Olgren moved up to play with Marco Rossi and Jonathan Leckermackie, and Drew O'Connor dropped a line. Lechermacki is why that line is worth watching. He had two goals and assists in an overtime win vs Anaheim. A night like that is why Malhotra is comfortable putting him next to the center he wants to build around. He has 13 points this season, tied with Brock Besser for second on the team. Jacob Quillen called up from Abbotsford, skated on the third line with Drew O'Connor and Carlsen. Quillen was in the lineup on Saturday against his former team, and now he's earned a third line spot with Drew O'Connor and Carlsen. Look who moved. Cotter was a second line forward on the team's depth chart before today, and now he's on the fourth. And that is Manny saying that the energy on these lines mean more than just a name placed within it. This is a group that of course wants to get back on a winning track, and right now these line changes could be the key. On defense, nothing moved. Pedersen is playing with Phil Peronik, Oletziak with Tom Villander, and Boyum playing with Victor Mancini. Luke Shin seems to There seems to be a scratch heading into the game. A small note from practice, Filip Ronic turns 29, Luke Shen turns 37, so the old guy's got a skate and a cake. So the top line and all the defensive pairs stay the exact same, but down the middle is where Manny Mahultra continues the search after Filip Hedl went down. Hedl was held out of practice on October 30th, after a heavy upper body hit from Darnell Nurse the night before. Per Ben Kuzma of the Providence, he may have aggravated the shoulder injury from the preseason, and he's already missed 8 games due to it. He's on injury reserves now, and he was still sitting in the second line spot on the team's death chart. Mahaltra kept it short today. He's progressing along. He feels better daily. He's in the gym and keeping himself fit. That's the whole report. Progressing, feels better, working on it in the gym. That's good news for the shoulder, of course, but it's not a return date, so he will not be in the lineup versus Anaheim. Hedl has two points this season and was playing 19 minutes and 53 seconds a game, so it's a real ice time that someone has to cover. And that's a guy coming out of the lineup nearly playing 20 minutes a night, and that's where Malhotra now needs to figure out who to fill in on that position. In practice, that someone is Rossi, a 5-point center who averages 15-51 a night. And if you're looking at this shuffle that happened within this forward lineup going Going into tomorrow's game. This is the. Third time that Manny has had to do this over the past 12 days. On October 21st, that had Drew O'Connor on Pedersen's line and Hedl skating with Jake Dabrowski and Lekromacki. By October 29th, against San Jose, the second line was Jake Dabrowski, Philip Hedl, and Jonathan Lekromacki, again with Hedl in the middle. Now Hedl's gone from the group, Lekromacki is on the line with Rossi Nogren, and Jake Dabrowski is up with Pedersen and Besser. But the one thing that hasn't changed in the two centers, Pedersen at 20 minutes and 8 seconds a night, Marco Rossi at 15-51, and neither is out of the lineup. Rossi has 22 shots on goal and 5 points. Pedersen has 24 shots on goal and 16 points. That's the gap between a line that's built and one that's being tried. So Manny is going into this game and looking at Marco Rossi in hopes to take that second jump in the production that we've seen last season. From the young forward, but with this, it's more of a can you get to the 20-minute mark and play the minutes that Filippito was playing over the past few. And Manny Malhotra spoke about the lines, but the happiest he felt was speaking on the fourth line with Paul Cotter, Sasser, and Gallagher. His words. They did a really good job of doing the things we've asked in terms of getting in on the four check. He added the other half of it. I think the consistency and the energy they brought to the game. Consistency and energy, that's Manny Malhotra pretty much saying that this was the line that he could trust in moments and weren't giving away the puck a lot. Max Sasson scored in the loss to Toronto on October 31st, so it is an only talk. And of course, when a coach is looking to get sparks within lines, a fourth line that gets a goal or at least gets the energy going can push through the rest of the group. The Stars are carrying their end. Pedersen is leading the team with 16 points, 4 goals, and 12 assists. Four of his goals are on the power play, the most on the team, and he's averaging just over 20 minutes a game. Filip Ronic playing the most on the team at 25-47 a game with 12 points. DPD has four points and is playing 18-46 a game. So some of these lines, especially that top one, it's still producing, but this is a team that is still 3-12-1 heading into the game. And of course, with Thatcher Demko on IR after a hip surgery, the net belongs to Kevin Lankanen and Mira Leinen. And that means every mistake that happens in front of two of these guys show up in the box score, and this has been happening a lot in the third period. Lankanen is not having a good season, with an 8-12 save percentage across 8 games and against the league average of an 8-90. 8 games, 38 goals against. That's 160 saves and 38 goals against, a 6.17 goals against average. Merlinan is sitting above the league average at an 8.97 and has two of the team's three wins, and Lankanen has the other. Kevin Lankanen did show up at practice with a new silver goalie setup, which is at least a different look. A lion's shovel can fix the forward checking and goal scoring, but it cannot fix an 8-12 save percentage. Now, of course, we get an update on Brayden Kudsu, who was held out of the Abbotsford lineup due to injury for an extended period of time. He's with Abbotsford, and he's been out with a lower body injury, reported by the Canucks representatives. He's 19. He was one of the Canucks opening night roster players just from last season, so the organization already knows what he can do at every level. Before that, he had three goals and six points in his first six AHL games, and he led all AHL under-20 players in goals. When the injury came out, there was no timeline for his return. But now it's Sadin saying that he will be back soon. So hopefully with him getting back into the lineup, we're going to see more success coming from Avicere like we've seen from Quill in this season. And Avicere's next home games are November 6th and 7th, so that's the next date to watch. But here's what ahead. Anaheim at home on Tuesday, Winnipeg on November 5th, Edmonton on November 7th, and Philadelphia at home on the 9th. Anaheim has 13 points in 14 games, so this is a game the Canucks can probably actually win again. And here's the three numbers that actually matter heading into Tuesday. After that, a Thursday trip to Winnipeg, and a Saturday game in Edmonton where the Oilers lead the Pacific with... And of course, if this lineup starts to gel after the changes, the 3-12-1 record will finally not be the biggest storyline around the Canucks that are, of course, rebuilding, but a team desperate to string together two in a row. And on November 13th against the Rangers, they wear the hometown remix jersey for the first time, six games this season. Remember what this stretch looks like from the standings. Calgary has 12 points, so even the team just ahead of the Canucks is five points clear. And with 66 games left, there is room to climb if the lines settle, the goaltending steadies, but this is a team, of course, looking at the draft lottery. But I want to know all your guys' thoughts down in the comments. What's your thoughts on this new lineup? Who has been the most surprising Canucks this season? If the Canucks end up getting a top three pick yet again, who in the draft do you want them to get? I'd love reading through everyone's comments. Make sure to go down, leave your comments below, because again, I just love reading through them and talking Canucks hockey with you guys. Thanks once again. I've been your host, Mark Pye. Take care, Canucks fans. If you enjoyed it, hit that free subscribe button. I'll keep you up to date with this team. Go Canucks, go.