Canucks coach Green respects his Edler With fellow big-minute blueliner Chris Tanev shut down for the season with an injury, the Vancouver Canucks are likely to lean on Alex Edler – especially with two of the team’s final five games on the schedule against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, Jeff Paterson writes.

VANCOUVER – Travis Green knew Alex Edler’s minutes were mounting in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. But late in the season and late in the game that didn’t stop the Vancouver Canucks head coach from adding to the veteran defenceman’s workload.

Green and assistant Nolan Baumgartner, who handles the Canucks defence, left the 31-year-old blueliner on the ice for a 4:14 shift with under five minutes to play.

And while there was a TV timeout to break up that marathon stint, the shift also included two full minutes of penalty-killing duty as Edler and the Canucks did all they could to protect their lead. On the night, Edler played a season-high 30:41 seconds – including 11:27 of the third period.

“We monitor it,” Green said Wednesday about the excessive ice time. “Every period we get the time sheet and we see where a guy is at. I like it that Eddie played a 30-minute game and a solid game. It’s a challenge and Eddie hasn’t creeped up that high this year. Anaheim didn’t play their fourth line a lot, so it became a three-line game and Baumer had to play Eddie and Stech (Troy Stecher) a lot.”

Edler finished his night playing 26 shifts, registering two shots on goal, four attempts and a team-high six blocked shots. It was the 24th time in 65 games this season that Edler’s ice time crested the 25-minute mark and the 10th time in the past 13 outings that has occurred. Since Jan. 1, Edler is seventh in the National Hockey League in overall ice time and 12th in average ice per game at 25:00 precisely.

With fellow big-minute blueliner Chris Tanev shut down for the season with a fifth separate injury, the Canucks are likely to continue to lean on Edler – especially with two of the final five games on the schedule against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

He may not play 30 minutes a night like he did on Tuesday, but he may not be far off, either. Most nights, Edler is demonstrating a level of passion for the game that hasn’t been seen in a few seasons. Outside of an early knee injury that cost him 12 games on the sidelines, he has been healthy and productive at both ends of the ice.

With five goals and 30 points, Edler leads all Canucks blueliners in offensive contributions and his next point will match his best output since a 49-point campaign in 2011-12. Earlier this season, he moved past Mattias Ohlund and became the franchise leader for points by a defenceman. He leads the team in blocked shots with 187 and is second in hits with 146.

Green, who has spent much of the season meeting with players trying to reach them on a variety of levels, made it clear early on that he had high expectations for Edler and felt that a return to the past was the best way forward.

“I believe in communication and talking to players and telling them how you feel,” Green said. “With Eddie, I wanted to see him be aggressive. I wanted to see a little bit of the ‘old Eddie’ where he was hard on guys and went after guys to be physical and I think that has brought the rest of his game up a notch. When you’re looking to be that kind of player, it’s funny how all of a sudden your feet are moving and you’re getting up the ice.

“I like how he’s engaged and you can tell he wants to make a difference right now – and he has all year.”

For his part, Edler knew his minutes were mounting on Tuesday, but didn’t give the 30-minute mark any thought until the final buzzer had sounded. While exhausted after a solid night’s work, he was energized by the end result and the fact the team has won three of four games after enduring seven straight losses.

The late-season victories hardly ease the pain of a third straight spring without playoff hockey, but Edler’s just trying to do his part to lead by example as the Canucks integrate younger players into the lineup.

“Sometimes when you play a lot, if you feel good, you don’t know how much you’re playing,” the soft-spoken defender explained. “But I got caught a couple of times there last night, so I knew my time was going to be up there. I love being out in those situations when the game is on the line at the end. When you’re up, somehow it’s easier to play. You feel like you work harder when you’re losing.”

According to hockey-reference.com, Edler’s 30:41 was the third-highest regular season total of his 12-year career exceeded only by a pair of games that included overtime. For a game settled in three periods, Edler had never logged more ice time than he did on Tuesday.

With five games to go, expect more nights of Green turning to Edler and asking him to lead the Canucks in ice time. Soon enough, he’ll have a long off-season to rest up and recover.