‘Same story again’: Canucks’ Pettersson and Sasson express frustration after losing streak extends to eight - Canucks Army

Canucks: D Elias Pettersson’s impressive start is more than just passing the eye testAmid the Vancouver Canucks‘ six-game losing streak, there haven’t been many individual positives to come from it. Of course, Finnish netminder Leevi Meriläinen has kept the Canucks in games; the top line of Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki has carried the team’s offence, but the biggest story may be the emergence of defenceman Elias Pettersson. Starting the season on the Canucks’ third pair and hovering between 14-17 minutes per game, Pettersson has earned the trust of new head coach Manny Malhotra. Pair that with the early-season struggles from Zeev Buium, and Pettersson now finds himself on the top pairing with Filip Hronek. But how did we get here? Well, we started to see something change in his game in Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights. In typical D-Petey fashion, he continued to play through contact and excelled doing so. He bought himself extra time in his defensive zone decision-making by using his frame to his advantage.

The clash against Arsenal FC was another game where Bayern Munich drop points late in the Champions League, and it is starting to get frustrating. Bayern Munich now sit at 14th place in the Champions League Group Stage table, and it looks like it will be an uphill battle to qualify in the top 8 at this point. Bayern Munich now have just one win in their last 4 fixtures, and the upcoming schedule is not getting any easier. Nonetheless, here are the Match Awards for the game:Jersey Swap: Declan RiceWhat a player and what a performance. The midfield juggernaut can do anything, and that was evident in his display both in attack and defense during this match. Rice was the thorn in Bayern’s side all match, and scored the goal that stole the point on the road for Arsenal. Talk about a player that any club in the world would want on their team. Der Kaiser: Manuel NeuerWow, does it feel good to nominate Neuer as ‘Der Kaiser’ today. However, this award is not one of nostalgia or pity as Neuer is the deserving man today. While Neuer hasn’t shown that he is able to be consistenly relied on to deliver big performances, you can’t help but smile when he does.

CSmith1919 Chuck Smith is the site manager for Bavarian Football Works, where he began writing in 2017. He is the author of The Daily Schmankerl, the longest-running daily Bayern Munich column in English, and also writes The Weekend Warm-Up. In addition to covering Bayern Munich news and providing commentary on Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga, and the German national team. He brings more than 30 years of sports-writing experience to the site. Over the course of his career, he has written for numerous newspapers and websites. Bayern Munich made do without Luis Díaz in the starting XI against Arsenal tonight, but there is some positive news regarding the Colombian winger’s fitness. Head coach Vincent Kompany explained that Díaz had been struggling toward the end of Bayern Munich’s match against RB Leipzig, raising concerns that he may have picked up an injury. With a congested schedule leaving little time for recovery, the coaching staff has opted to be cautious with one of FC Bayern’s most important attacking weapons. “We’re going through a period with little time to recover. Sometimes, that means one game can have an impact on the next.