Adam Foote is aware of that fact, and praised his star centre\u2019s efforts before Monday\u2019s game against the Predators.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s such a hard matchup on Petey right now. You saw him defend so well against [Connor] McDavid\u2019s line 5-on-5,\u201d Foote said, referring to the Canucks\u2019 overtime win over Edmonton<\/a> a week ago. \u201cWe\u2019re in a situation with the injuries that it\u2019s hard to get him away from the hard matchup. I\u2019m just so happy the way he\u2019s playing. He\u2019s playing in the mud; he\u2019s playing in the dirt. It\u2019s not easy.\u201d Foote said.<\/p>\n Pettersson led all 12 Canucks forwards with 22 minutes of ice time on Monday and tallied a pair of assists. His first came on a power play when he feathered a pass to Brock Boeser through Ryan O\u2019Reilly\u2019s legs. Boeser found Jake DeBrusk at the front of the net for the 2-1 goal.<\/p>\n Then, in the dying seconds of overtime, he helped Boeser by winning a board battle and crucially drawing both Preds defenders away from the net, before slicing a pass back to Boeser for the winning goal.<\/p>\n The Canucks\u2019 current situation, with so many players in the infirmary, has left Pettersson facing a similar challenge to one he faced in his rookie season: a lack of a supporting cast. It\u2019s never been easier for an opponent to isolate Pettersson as the most important weapon on the ice, particularly in the four games Quinn Hughes missed. Still, he\u2019s finding ways to pick up points anyway.<\/p>\n Detractors will point to Pettersson\u2019s lack of goal-scoring production as an issue, but his confidence has been building since their game against the Dallas Stars on October 16. At the same time, his defensive work has been among the Canucks\u2019 best. Hockey Stat Cards<\/a> has Pettersson at a +0.8 defensive rating for his work at even strength and on the penalty kill, the highest effectiveness rating among Canucks forwards and in the top quarter of NHL forwards.<\/p>\n Foote is seeing the kind of work Pettersson has been putting in and thinks the efforts will lead to more consistent goal scoring as the season marches on. The Canucks\u2019 head coach\u2019s faith in Pettersson paid off with his two assists against the Predators, and the expectation is that he\u2019s only going to get better.<\/p>\n