With the NHL regular season nearing an end, it’s that time of year where teams are either trying to get set for the playoffs (either preparing for a run or scratching their way in), or simply playing out the stretch, and when it comes to the Vancouver Canucks, they most certainly fall into the former category. With every game requiring a playoff mindset, the need for depth players to step up to the plate becomes immensely valuable, and for Vancouver, two guys who have certainly done that are a couple of Swiss defensemen named Luca Sbisa and Yannick Weber.
Sbisa, Weber Stepping up for Canucks
These are two players who needed to bring their game to another level for not only the benefit of the team, but also for personal reasons. Sbisa, a maligned figure in the Vancouver sports scene, desperately needed a stretch of solid hockey to avoid losing his spot in the lineup, short-term and long-term, to one of Ryan Stanton, Adam Clendening or Frankie Corrado, while Weber was in danger of having his future as a member of the Canucks come to an end. Safe to say that, after the recent play of the both d-men, neither scenario is likely at this point in time.
Up until this past month, both Weber and Sbisa were posting CorsiFor percentages below 50% (49.4% and 47.13%, respectively) which ranked among the worst on the Canucks roster. However, from March 1st onward, both players were able to increase those numbers to 50.34% and 50.23%, which puts them both within the top half for Corsi among Canuck skaters. Weber in specific was able to elevate his play to new heights, putting up a goal differential of plus-five, the best among Canucks through the month of March, while also playing 18-20 minutes a game, a sharp increase from the 14-16 he had usually played earlier in the season.
Improved possession numbers aside, both players have been able to use their strengths to their advantage over the past calendar month. Sbisa, widely regarded as a physical defender, has put it together on a consistent basis of late, posting a streak of 12 games registering at least a single hit, which came to an end in Vancouver’s recent contest against the Colorado Avalanche.
Meanwhile, Weber, signed as a free agent in the off-season of 2013, has turned it on offensively of late, putting up three goals in his past four games (two of which came on the power play), and bringing his season total up to nine, a career high for the 26-year-old and tops among all Canuck defenders. While perhaps not a direct correlation, the Canucks have scored a power play goal in five consecutive contests, which traces back to about the time where Weber’s offensive streak saw its emergence. While his size is still a question mark leading up to the post-season, there is no doubt that if he keeps on producing, his spot in the lineup is secure beyond doubt.
The Canucks’ defense has been a revolving door all season long, with Sbisa, Weber, Stanton and Clendening all being rotated in on a regular basis, and usually slotted alongside one of Kevin Bieksa or Dan Hamhuis (the top pairing of Alex Edler and Chris Tanev has been the only one set in stone). Each of these players has their own unique issues, and Weber and Sbisa are certainly not immune to that, but it appears that for the first time in a long time, the Vancouver Canucks have some stability on the blue line.
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