Since the 2021-22 season, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson are first and second among Canucks forwards in power play points.
Miller has 30 goals and 114 points over those last three-and-a-bit seasons, while Pettersson has 33 goals and 91 points. Both are in the top-25 in power play points among NHL forwards in that span of time.
With that in mind, it’s been very strange to see the two forwards split up on the power play over the last three games.
The two centres have been taking turns on the first power play unit. Against the Colorado Avalanche, Pettersson took the reins on PP1, with Miller bumped to PP2. Then, against the Utah Hockey Club, the roles were reversed, with Miller on PP1 and Pettersson on PP2.
Finally, against the Vegas Golden Knights, they took turns within the game: Pettersson was on PP1 for the Canucks’ first power play, then Miller was on PP1 for the second power play.
"We're just trying different things right now"
It’s tough to know exactly why the Canucks are doing this because head coach Rick Tocchet hasn’t exactly been forthcoming. When I asked him about Miller being bumped to the second unit against the Avalanche, Tocchet suggested it wasn’t a big deal.
“It’s just something we all talked about,” said Tocchet. “Millsy and the other unit knew what was going on, so there’s nothing to that.”
With few members of the media traveling on the road, Tocchet was only asked once more about the two being split on the power play after the Utah game and he was similarly dismissive.
“We’re just trying different things right now,” said Tocchet.
Without a clear reason being given, speculation has run rampant in the Canucks fanbase, fueled by the unusual situation of Miller’s personal leave and rumours in the media of a rift between Miller and Pettersson. If the two players can’t even be on the ice together anymore, it stands to reason that the rift must be particularly bad.
Only, Miller and Pettersson have been on the ice together.
Somewhat lost in all the hubbub of the rumours and speculation is that Tocchet has looked to draw water from an old well in recent games, reuniting the Lotto Line of Pettersson, Miller, and Brock Boeser.
It’s only been a couple of shifts but it has been intentional, with Tocchet putting the Lotto Line together after penalty kills against both Utah and Vegas in hopes of building off the momentum of a successful kill to create some offensive pressure.
If the rumoured rift between the two is truly so bad that they can’t be on the ice together, it would seem strange to, well, put them on the ice together in such a crucial situation.
It suggests that there’s another reason why Miller and Pettersson have been split on the power play.
Getting Miller and Pettersson more time with the puck?
Here’s my theory and it is just that — a theory, not based on any inside information: the Canucks want to give both Miller and Pettersson a chance to prove the power play should run through them.
Both Miller and Pettersson are playmakers who like to have control of the puck. The power play has run through Miller for several seasons now, which has reduced Pettersson’s role to that of a trigger man, with the threat of his one-timer forcing opposing penalty kills to mark him closely, which opens up opportunities for his teammates. The issue is that also means Pettersson doesn’t always touch the puck much on the power play.
Whether because of lingering effects from his tendinitis or some other reason, Pettersson’s shot isn’t the threat that it has been in the past. That means he’s not scoring as much, which has trickle-down effects for the rest of the power play, with opposing penalty kills able to reduce space for Pettersson’s teammates.
Finding a way for Pettersson to make more of an impact on the power play with his hockey IQ and passing means he needs to have the puck more but that doesn’t fit well with everything running through Miller on the opposite side of the ice.
How do you get both Miller and Pettersson more time with the puck? Split them up and put them on separate units. That way, the play can run through each of them in turn.
In other words, perhaps the Canucks really are just trying something different and it's just awkward timing given the outside noise in the market right now.
The Canucks' power play was successful during Miller's absence
Here’s something to consider: the Canucks’ power play was actually pretty good when Miller was away from the team. In those ten games that Miller was out of the lineup, the Canucks’ power play went 8-for-31 — a 25.8% power play percentage.
In the games with Miller in the lineup, the Canucks have gone 13-for-60 — a 21.7% power play percentage.
That may not be a huge gap but it’s the difference between 7th and 15th on the power play in the NHL this season.
It also made a difference to the Canucks’ record. The Canucks scored a power play goal in seven of the ten games Miller missed and four of those games went to overtime, giving them a 5-0-2 record. The only three games the Canucks lost in regulation in that stretch were games in which they failed to score on the power play.
You have to wonder if there’s an element of trying to find out what worked with the power play when Miller was absent and where he fits in the scheme now that he has returned.
Miller has been brilliant on the power play for the Canucks but it’s hard to deny that something just isn’t clicking this season. Miller averaged 7.94 power play points per 60 minutes last season; he’s averaging 4.95 this season.
Pettersson’s scoring rate on the power play has also dropped off, though not so dramatically as he didn’t have as far to fall. He’s gone from 6.02 power play points per 60 last season to 4.53 this season.
Getting both Miller and Pettersson going on the power play has to be a priority for the Canucks, as it could be a major difference-maker this season, as they’re not exactly lighting things up at 5-on-5. The Canucks are averaging 2.55 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, which is currently 20th in the NHL.
"When things don't go our way, we start becoming individuals"
There’s one other thing to consider: the game that led up to this split.
The Canucks went 0-for-2 on the power play against the Boston Bruins on December 14 but it wasn’t just the zero in the goal column that was the problem; it’s that the Canucks only had two shot attempts and only one shot on goal on those two power plays and gave up multiple dangerous shorthanded scoring chances.
It was ugly.
“We went rogue a little bit,” said Tocchet after the loss to the Bruins. “What happens with that unit, when things don't go our way, we start becoming individuals. That happened last year. For the most part, the power play has been actually pretty good lately the last two-three weeks, we just went back in that mode. Maybe because we're down three-nothing, something didn't work early, and then, all of a sudden, we start trying to be individuals. You can't be individuals even when you're down three-nothing.”
Perhaps these last three games have been about sending a message to two of the most important individuals on the Canucks’ power play: no more going rogue. Find a way to contribute on the power play, even if it’s on the second unit with the likes of Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood instead of on the top unit with Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk.
Whatever the reason for splitting up Miller and Pettersson, it’s not working. At least, it’s not resulting in goals on the ice; perhaps it’s accomplishing some auxiliary goal that we don’t know about.
The Canucks are 1-for-7 on the power play in their last three games, with the lone goal coming from the second unit with Pettersson on the ice. He didn’t pick up a point on the goal, however. Instead, it was Danton Heinen from Quinn Hughes.
Hopefully, the Canucks’ power play starts getting results again, either from continuing this experiment or ending it. The latter would likely be preferable, if only to help put an end to the speculation of the rift between the two players.
