Teddy Blueger Discusses his Early Success with Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood

Teddy Blueger signed a two-year extension with the Vancouver Canucks back in June and he is once again finding a home in this team's lineup.

The 29-year-old centre has won 52.7% of his faceoffs this season and is second on the team to J.T. Miller in faceoffs taken. Blueger continues to prove to head coach Rick Tocchet that he can be a valuable piece to an NHL lineup with the line of himself, Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood.

This trio has been one of Tocchet’s most trusted lines of late and there’s a reason why Tocchet has been sending the trio out to begin periods and set the tempo in recent games.

“Matchup-wise, they can go against the other team’s best lines, leaving Petey and sometimes Millsy against their third and fourth lines," said Tocchet. “If we can get Teddy's line, which they've done a nice job of checking, it should give our best players some mismatches.”

The trio of Heinen, Sherwood, and Blueger have played 46:16 together and have been on the ice for four goals scored and one goal against. They’ve controlled the puck in the offensive zone on a lot of their shifts and if you ask Blueger, that’s by design.

“The best way to limit the other team's chances is to create our own. That's one of our best traits as a line. We are protecting the puck, creating momentum, and trying to make plays in the offensive zone,” Blueger said.

The line currently holds a 52.1% control of expected goals, and that’s even more impressive when you see that they are consistently matching up against other teams’ top lines. When breaking down to ice time against specific lines, Blueger’s most consistent opposition is the opponent’s top line.

The fact that Blueger’s lines have had success this season comes from a continued buy-in from Blueger into Tocchet’s system and structure while he also views communication as an immense piece of support while he is playing with two players who were not on the Canucks last season.

Sherwood and Heinen each have their strengths, and Blueger noted Heinen’s quick trigger with his shot as one of the traits that he enjoys with Heinen on his wing while the aggressiveness on the forecheck and quick hands are somethings that he likes about Sherwood.

The qualities that Blueger mentioned about his teammates may be offensive-minded skills, but he believes the trio gels well in the defensive zone and is continuing to improve as a unit due to their chatter and understanding of where they will each be and rotate on the ice.

“Defensively, I think our strength is good communication,” said Blueger. “As a centre, I have got to be down low quite a bit, but with chemistry, you can see how comfortable the wingers are being down low in a situation where I might need to switch with them as soon as I can, or if I can just let them have the down low area and let the play develop. That is something in the defensive zone that you develop the longer you play with each other.”

The Heinen-Blueger-Sherwood line has developed an identity and in the early part of the season, which has been associated with frustration for their opponents. Sherwood leads the NHL with 64 hits through nine games and is a menace on the forecheck.

Blueger knows that Sherwood is the loud player on the line and loves what he can do as a forechecker but also gives credit to Heinen as a player who has quickly adjusted into the system that Tocchet has established for his players – specifically with how Tocchet wants his team to break the puck out of the defensive zone.

“Anytime you get on a line with a player like Danton, it makes in-game adjustments easier and makes the reads just more natural. We’re not really setting up plays to breakout the puck, but with Danton, we're able to just read and react better as a group.”

Tocchet has been impressed with the trio’s ability to reload in the defensive zone and how the trio moves well to defend the slot.

“They’re pretty responsible,” said Tocchet of Blueger’s line. “They’re doing the stuff that all four lines have to do.”

As the Canucks continue to try and find the best lines to move forward with, having a line with an identity is key. You’ll often hear that teams want to be tough to play against, and that is exactly what this line has been doing on a nightly basis.