The word “bad” isn’t enough to describe the Vancouver Canucks in overtime this season.
When the game goes to three-on-three, the Canucks routinely come up short. They’re on pace to break the all-time record for overtime losses (18), as they have 10 before the midway point of the season.
They lost another game in the extra frame yesterday, in which they completely lost track of their opponents.
PLD ENDS IT WITH HIS SECOND OF THE NIGHT! 🦅
Pierre-Luc Dubois scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT clincher to win it for Washington. pic.twitter.com/CpWH4d0zmg
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 9, 2025
While they can survive and even dominate, with Quinn Hughes on the ice, the moment he goes off, they usually struggle.
All of this losing is part of why they’re fighting on the playoff bubble. With just a few more overtime wins, they’d be firmly in a playoff position. Here are some strategies they can experiment with to fix things and get back on track.
Go with three forwards
The Canucks defence group is weak to begin with, and without Filip Hronek, who is still sidelined with an injury, it’s even worse. They especially lack mobile, puck-moving options, the exact type of archetype that thrives in the open space provided by overtime.
Without Hronek in the lineup, the Canucks lack capable defencemen who can handle the situation. This has frustrated Rick Tocchet.
“Can’t play Hughes the whole game,” the head coach told reporters yesterday.
Without a suitable option, why not try a lineup of three forwards instead? The Canucks have centres who are defensively responsible and have much better passing and skating ability than their depth defenceman.
It’s not hard to imagine a player like Pius Suter being a better option than Vincent Desharnais, who the team rolled out during a recent overtime loss.
Drastically change the personnel
Besides Hughes, there aren’t many Canucks who have impressive numbers at three-on-three so far this season. That’s to be expected for a team with 10 overtime losses, but there are some forwards whose numbers are especially bad.
Brock Boeser is the team’s second-most used forward at three-on-three so far this year. During those minutes, the Canucks have been outshot 11-5 and outscored 5-2. Boeser is a great player, but he’s not the fastest, and sometimes that can be exposed in overtime.
J.T. Miller is another player whose overtime numbers aren’t great, with the Canucks being outscored 6-1 during his three-on-three minutes. Of course, their numbers are going to look bad with how much the Canucks have struggled, but giving players with more straight-line speed — such as Kiefer Sherwood and Jake DeBrusk — more minutes in overtime could be beneficial.
Play keep away while Hughes rests
When the Washington Capitals got the puck in last night’s overtime, they took their time setting up while Hughes was on the ice. It seemed as if they waited for the Canucks captain to tire out and head to the bench before launching their attack.
The Canucks could try something similar. Hughes doesn’t need a ton of rest in overtime, but when he does, why don’t the Canucks just keep the puck and play extremely timid before letting him come back over the boards.
It’s an extreme strategy, but one the team may want to try if these issues continue.