Vancouver Canucks: Zack Kassian’s Effect on Team Toughness
March 4th, 2012 by Joel Prosser Leave a reply »Newcomer Zach Kassian has had a direct impact on the physicality of the Vancouver Canucks.
In the three games (admittedly a small sample size) since Kassian was traded for fan favourite Cody Hodgson, the Canucks have been noticeably more physical.
In the first 63 games of the regular season, or the Hodgson era if you will, the Canucks threw 1,366 hits. This averaged out to a mere 21.7 hits per game, which ranked them in the bottom half of the NHL.
In the last three games, two of which were very playoff-like games against the Blues and Coyotes, the Canucks have thrown 91 hits, or roughly 30.3 hits a game, almost a 40 percent increase.
Kassian himself has thrown 16 hits in this period, but other Canucks are stepping up to finish their checks as well. Maxim Lapierre had an incredible 10 hits in the March 1st game against the St Louis Blues.
Is it a coincidence that Lapierre and Kassian were linemates in that game?
Players feed off of physical play and big hits by their team, especially when the fans get into it as well. This is why high-energy players like Kassi ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Joel Prosser
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