Canucks Aren’t Getting Enough From Mikheyev & Kuzmenko

Almost all is well in British Columbia. The Vancouver Canucks sit atop the league in points by the All-Star break and look utterly dominant. Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes? Potential Hart Trophy finalists. Thatcher Demko? Almost a shoe-in for a Vezina Trophy finalist spot. Rick Tocchet? Potential Jack Adams Trophy winner. However, not everything is perfect.

The Canucks simply need more from their pair of Russian wingers, Ilya Mikheyev and Andrei Kuzmenko. The waters have been rocky for Kuzmenko all season, but Mikheyev’s largely been a solid two-way contributor up until as of late. However, if Vancouver wants to be serious contenders for the Stanley Cup, they need to find a way to kickstart these two into playing good hockey.

Mikheyev’s and Kuzmenko’s Recent Form by the Numbers

Brace yourself: it’s ugly. Since the start of the new calendar year, Mikheyev has three points, all assists, in 13 games. Kuzmenko has zero points in 12 games. Remember that these lackluster numbers are coming from two forwards who have largely been playing in the team’s top-six forward group.

Both forwards have been relatively okay on the defensive end of the puck, but offensively, they just haven’t created enough. According to Natural Stat Trick, since Jan. 1, Kuzmenko has created the third least amount of expected goals (xG) at 5-on-5 amongst Canucks forwards with 6.24. Mikheyev sits fifth with 6.85.

Related: 5 Canucks Trade Targets Heading Into the 2024 Trade Deadline

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The real issue with their performance lately is that their poor play has started to affect Elias Pettersson, too. The pair weren’t impactful when Pius Suter was their center while Pettersson was playing with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, and they aren’t impactful now with the Swede sandwiched between the two either. Now, Pettersson is also to blame, something that his head coach called him out for.

“I haven’t liked his game the last three or four games,” Tocchet said. “We gotta get him going. I think he’s got to skate, he’s got to start skating a little bit. I think he’s good with the moves sometimes, but I think when you have speed and make those moves, that’s when he’s at his best.”

Pettersson is capable of driving his own line, but at the same time, it’s hard to drive a line that…