The Vancouver Canucks are currently ranked 23rd in the NHL in goals for, with an average of 2.79 goals per game. Compare this to last season, the Canucks ranked 6th in the league with 3.40 goals for per game. 
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Obviously, this season can’t be compared to last. We’re now well past the midway point of the 2024-25 season, and though the blame for the lack of scoring can’t be placed on the depth forwards, with this team’s stars also not playing up to their abilities. 
However, where has this team’s depth scoring gone?
To start the season, Pius Suter was on fire. At one point, Suter was the team leader in goals and was on a 30-plus goal pace. In a contract year, he could have earned himself a well-earned raise after what was tracking to be a breakout season. In the Swiss forward&#8217;s previous four years in the NHL, he has recorded 14 goals three times and 15 goals once. It was expected for Suter to slow down, but it’s now been 23 games since he last scored, coming on December 6, 2024, where he buried two against the Columbus Blue Jackets. That drought has taken him from a 30-plus goal pace to now being on pace for 19. 
Suter has struggled to generate anything offensively throughout this drought, but he isn’t the only player fighting through a drought.
Danton Heinen is also having trouble scoring. He has one goal in his last 19 games and has only six on the season. Heinen was expected to be a middle-six forward who could move up and down the lineup when needed, but his lack of production has made it difficult for the team to slot him into the top six when the team has had injuries. Heinen is certainly not known as a goal scorer, being more of a defensively sound forward, but he’s shown throughout his career that he can add some scoring to a team&#8217;s bottom six as he’s hit the 10-plus goal mark four times with his career-high being 18. 
One of the biggest concerns depth-scoring-wise this season, though, has been Nils Höglander. The young Swede is coming off a 24-goal season, with all of those coming from just over an average of 12 minutes of ice time and all at five-on-five. Not only has Höglander struggled to score this season, but he’s had trouble finding a spot in the lineup each night. He’s now getting a career low of time on ice, averaging 11:30 minutes per night. In a full season of play, Höglander has never had below 10 goals, with his only season under 10 being in 2022-23, where he spent most of the year in the AHL and only played 25 games up with the big club. Currently on pace for five goals, this season would be his worst statistical season ahead of a three-year, three-million-dollar cap hit extension. 
As mentioned before, these three players are not at all the reason for the Canucks struggles this season, but having three players that are the calibre of Suter, Heinen and Höglander all having trouble finding the back of the net as of late is a cause for concern for the Vancouver Canucks.
So, how do these players find their grove?
Well, let’s start with Pius Suter. 
Suter has looked a little more dangerous lately when playing on J.T. Miller&#8217;s wing. Miller’s ability to create for his linemates makes Suter more of a weapon on the wing as opposed to having him centre, running his own line in the bottom six. Giving Suter more ice time in the team&#8217;s top six – more specifically, playing alongside Miller and Brock Boeser – was what helped him get on that hot streak earlier on in the year. Keeping Suter on the left wing with those two players might be the best way to get him out of his funk and find the back of the net.
With Danton Heinen, he seemed to find more success playing with the likes of Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood. Having an energizer like Sherwood, who&#8217;s hard on the forecheck and can win battles in the offensive zone, will create opportunities for a player like Heinen to spend more time in the offensive zone. In turn, this can give him more chances to score.
As for Nils Höglander, though he doesn’t seem to be in favour of head coach Rick Tocchet, Höglander could find the most success playing alongside his fellow countryman Elias Pettersson. Pettersson and Höglander seem to have a close relationship off the ice and play with a lot of chemistry on the ice. The two of them playing with either Jake DeBrusk or Conor Garland could be a great fit and would allow Höglander to play with a little more creativity, which a skilled player like him needs to find success. This could potentially help Pettersson as well with how he has struggled throughout the season.
The possibility of everyone in the lineup being in the perfect situation is pretty slim. That being said, getting some of these guys back on track and contribute on the score sheet, would not only help the Canucks but could boost the team’s star forwards, who also need to up their production to save the season.
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The Vancouver Canucks are currently ranked 23rd in the NHL in goals for, with an average of 2.79 goals per game. Compare this to last season, the Canucks ranked 6th in the league with 3.40 goals for per game. 
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Obviously, this season can’t be compared to last. We’re now well past the midway point of the 2024-25 season, and though the blame for the lack of scoring can’t be placed on the depth forwards, with this team’s stars also not playing up to their abilities. 

However, where has this team’s depth scoring gone?

To start the season, Pius Suter was on fire. At one point, Suter was the team leader in goals and was on a 30-plus goal pace. In a contract year, he could have earned himself a well-earned raise after what was tracking to be a breakout season. In the Swiss forward's previous four years in the NHL, he has recorded 14 goals three times and 15 goals once. It was expected for Suter to slow down, but it’s now been 23 games since he last scored, coming on December 6, 2024, where he buried two against the Columbus Blue Jackets. That drought has taken him from a 30-plus goal pace to now being on pace for 19. 

Suter has struggled to generate anything offensively throughout this drought, but he isn’t the only player fighting through a drought.

Danton Heinen is also having trouble scoring. He has one goal in his last 19 games and has only six on the season. Heinen was expected to be a middle-six forward who could move up and down the lineup when needed, but his lack of production has made it difficult for the team to slot him into the top six when the team has had injuries. Heinen is certainly not known as a goal scorer, being more of a defensively sound forward, but he’s shown throughout his career that he can add some scoring to a team's bottom six as he’s hit the 10-plus goal mark four times with his career-high being 18. 

One of the biggest concerns depth-scoring-wise this season, though, has been Nils Höglander. The young Swede is coming off a 24-goal season, with all of those coming from just over an average of 12 minutes of ice time and all at five-on-five. Not only has Höglander struggled to score this season, but he’s had trouble finding a spot in the lineup each night. He’s now getting a career low of time on ice, averaging 11:30 minutes per night. In a full season of play, Höglander has never had below 10 goals, with his only season under 10 being in 2022-23, where he spent most of the year in the AHL and only played 25 games up with the big club. Currently on pace for five goals, this season would be his worst statistical season ahead of a three-year, three-million-dollar cap hit extension. 

As mentioned before, these three players are not at all the reason for the Canucks struggles this season, but having three players that are the calibre of Suter, Heinen and Höglander all having trouble finding the back of the net as of late is a cause for concern for the Vancouver Canucks.

So, how do these players find their grove?

Well, let’s start with Pius Suter. 

Suter has looked a little more dangerous lately when playing on J.T. Miller's wing. Miller’s ability to create for his linemates makes Suter more of a weapon on the wing as opposed to having him centre, running his own line in the bottom six. Giving Suter more ice time in the team's top six – more specifically, playing alongside Miller and Brock Boeser – was what helped him get on that hot streak earlier on in the year. Keeping Suter on the left wing with those two players might be the best way to get him out of his funk and find the back of the net.

With Danton Heinen, he seemed to find more success playing with the likes of Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood. Having an energizer like Sherwood, who's hard on the forecheck and can win battles in the offensive zone, will create opportunities for a player like Heinen to spend more time in the offensive zone. In turn, this can give him more chances to score.

As for Nils Höglander, though he doesn’t seem to be in favour of head coach Rick Tocchet, Höglander could find the most success playing alongside his fellow countryman Elias Pettersson. Pettersson and Höglander seem to have a close relationship off the ice and play with a lot of chemistry on the ice. The two of them playing with either Jake DeBrusk or Conor Garland could be a great fit and would allow Höglander to play with a little more creativity, which a skilled player like him needs to find success. This could potentially help Pettersson as well with how he has struggled throughout the season.

The possibility of everyone in the lineup being in the perfect situation is pretty slim. That being said, getting some of these guys back on track and contribute on the score sheet, would not only help the Canucks but could boost the team’s star forwards, who also need to up their production to save the season.

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