[MUSIC PLAYING] Canucks Central Wednesday at Stadricho Satyarsha. And yes, we're in the Kintek Studio. Canucks Central is friends on Pacific Vancouver's premier Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep Superstore on 2nd Avenue between Canby and Maine, or at enzymepacificcrisler.ca. Lots to come on the program. But first and foremost, I need to gloat and bask in the glory of a well-selected odds-boost pick yesterday for the Canucks win over the Buffalo Sabres, a Connor Garland goal. And it happened-- how long did it take? It was like the least sweaty I'd ever have to be on an odds-boost pick. Yeah, just like Icarus, I flew too close to the sun, making fun of your fire picks. And obviously, he scores on his first shift. First shift, he scored. Couldn't believe it. Man, for as bad as my take up Beto Vetchkin was the other day. The Garland goal just-- well, it was a big dub. Hey, just like a good teammate, we couldn't just have you have a take blow up in your face. So the next day, I figured I'd have one too. Now, and fairness to you, your odds-boost selection also won. So in general, the moral of the story is we gave you a lot of winners yesterday. We did. Now, that does not matter, because the ridicule-- and people came from me right away. It was pretty funny. It was like I got so many people in my mentions. People were watching on the pregame yesterday. They were just waiting. They were waiting, man. They were just waiting for Garland to score that goal. I got boom. 40-06 into the game. Yeah, unreal. It's great, though. It's great. Like, honestly, sometimes you get owned and you get owned bad, and that was me yesterday. It's too bad. Joe Aotani's interpreter wasn't listening to our picks. Are you sure you wasn't? Are you sure you wasn't? Hey, listen, it's show hay. If you want somebody to place winning bets for you-- I'll take access to your money. You can trust Reach, at least. Man, that guy's only getting paid in $2 million this year. So it's really not even that much. Really, you need him post-career, just when you want to use his studying, man. All right, let's get to the open. [MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to the open. Oh, that's your home. Are you too good for your home? Answer me. Yeah, 650, 650 on the Dunbar Lumber text message inbox. J.T. Miller, not too good for his home. He was back in his home. His office, the left half wall on the power play. And maybe it's a bit weird that we start the show and our big take is about the Canucks going 1 for 5 on the power play against the Buffalo Sabres, which at the end of the day is like 20%, which is, I guess, above average. It's kind of mid in the NHL these days, but-- Yeah, yeah. It's more about the process. We're always about the process rather than the results here on Canucks Central. And the process looked as good last night as it has at any point in the regular season for the Canucks power play. It looked dangerous, really dangerous. And that first power play was one of the best power plays I've seen in months. They created three great-aid looks, and they all were created off the stick of J.T. Miller. And it was off him, operating on the left half wall. It's like, hm, you know? And he'd be back on the left half wall. I guess that's really positive, right? But the other thing that really opened things up was having Pew Souter, who surprisingly played on the first unit power play, considering the day before in practice was a Lice Lindholm on the first unit. And we thought that he would get on the first power play unit. But it's Pew Souter that gets on. And what have we talked about a lot in terms of the play they've been missing since they traded Bullhor about on that power play? It's the bumper shot, the left-handed shot. So all of a sudden, yeah, Pew Souter left-handed shot. Yeah, I have J.T. Miller back on the left half wall. That's a very familiar setup. And the first look they get is J.T. to Pew Souter, who gets a good shot off from the bumper spot. Levi has to make a good save. And then what that does is now that I respect the bumper shot, we open the back door play to Elias Patterson, who just misses, whips on the chance. And then because all of a sudden, now they're worried about the bumper play. Now they're shading on to worry about Patterson. So Besser is open. And what does J.T. do? He finds Besser. Now, neither of those chances go in, but they're all great chances. And one of them should have been a goal. And they all happen because you have the two left-handed setups off the half wall and in the bumper spot. And it just continued all night. The only chance is that J.T. created. I know the one power play goal they end up scoring is kind of a scramble play after four and four ends. And then the power play begins. There's a Patterson Garland two-on-one that happens. And then they create the chance. Patterson scores on the rebound from there. But J.T., it was kind of one of the bigger questions we had about the power play. And just sort of wondering, are they galaxy-braining this thing right now by not having J.T. there? And did Tockett just want them to get uncomfortable and try to figure it out? Given that he's always talking about guys getting uncomfortable and trying to get their feet moving. And maybe this was a way for them to get their feet moving. I don't know what the exact reasoning was behind them moving J.T. Miller away from the left half wall. But it's clear, the best thing for this team and this power play is to have him there. Yeah, if you're experimenting in the lab, you probably want to do that now, as opposed to doing that, once the playoffs. Game one of the playoffs, yeah. So whatever itch you needed to scratch, I think they've scratched them all. Hey, what about this on the power play? They tried everything, right? Well, they tried everything. You can't be like, hey, you guys need to ramp up now, not game one of the playoffs. And then also be like, here's Garland on the punch of your power play. But you said it. But I agree with what you're saying. Right now, we're at the point now where there are 14 games left coming into last night, now 13 left. And it's all hands on deck at this point. Try to figure it out, get everything together and hopefully you can hit the ground running on the post in the postseason. And things are aligned well for them here, right? Like if they don't have success in the playoffs, it really comes down to them. No, no, obviously who knows about injuries and all that. And none of us know how that may or may not shake out, right? But all things being equal, they have a light schedule, not in terms of opponents, but in terms of games. Look at the schedule Edmonton's playing right now. At the end of the season, teams don't have practice time. Teams can't re-energize and regroup. It's kind of a mad dash to the finish line. It's a very rare situation where the Canucks have the type of schedule they have, especially with the many home games as they have. Like that rest, it's a perfect setup for the postseason. You could not draw up a better setup for a team heading into the playoffs to schedule the Canucks have. And now you're getting the first power play you're going again if you're trying to do that now, right? I think at the first power play, you're going. You have the schedule lining up the way it is. Man, you're setting yourself up for success and you better take advantage of it. It's, you know, I've said it a thousand times. We've talked about it over the last number of weeks. All Edmonton's got all those games at hand and well, the Canucks have, what, 13 games remaining on the season right now. And they got to play those 13 in 29 days versus Edmonton who's got to play 16 in 29 days. See how much more daunting that feels? Like 13 in 29 days is fewer than a game every other day. Whereas 16 in 29 days is more than a game every two days. So it's, it's going to be a lot more difficult for the Edmonton Oilers. They didn't look great last night against the against the Montreal Canadiens. So, you know, that whole gap at the top of the Pacific is still very hard for Edmonton to overcome. And for the Canucks to use this power play time to get the extra power play time, really hone in on their game, I think we'll do them wonders. But this power play, you know, I talked about it yesterday with Pedersen. He is, if he doesn't get going, the Canucks may as well be cooked in the first round of the playoffs, you could say the same thing about the power play. However many opportunities you get, you are going to have to take advantage of them. Because this power play is one of the things that can put the Canucks over the top on some of these other teams in the Western Conference. Hey, if you get Vegas in the first round of the playoffs, you're going to need that power play to be a difference maker for you as it has been for much of this season. We know, we now know what the Canucks are and what the Canucks are not. Yeah. And as much as yes, they scored a ton of goals. They're not a high volume chance creating goal scoring machine, right? In terms of how they come about things five on five. And if they're five on five goal rate, again, is amongst the best in the national highest. Still have the most goals for in the Pacific Division. They do, right? All these things are true. But in terms of how they play and we're seeing their games and how they're now playing lower scoring games, we know defensively that's a real cue to their game. Goal tending is the backbone of their game when Demko's healthy and playing at his best too, right? And to Smith, give him credit, you know, three games now. He only has three points to show for it. But I don't think that he's been at fault for much that's gone wrong for that team or things around him. But nonetheless, we know goal tending is a big strength. And if they're going to do anything in the playoffs, they're going to need the power play to be big. If that power play can get back to being legitimately a top five unit in the league in the postseason, then they have a legit chance. 'Cause I don't know if the way they're playing, especially close games against a team like Colorado, five on five, if that's going to be enough. You know, like, I don't love that matchup. But if your power play gets alive. Yep. No, you're in the dance. Now you got a chance. And the power play hasn't been going when they played Colorado a couple of weeks ago and other moments, right? They had that power play when it was three, three against Colorado and it just didn't generate anything, right? So you've got to have this power play going. And it's like the more you look at this Canucks team, even last night for as many chances as they created, now they are missing another score. Linholm continues to struggle. He's now 12 games. He's got one point in his last 12. No goals in any of those games either. And he's also a minus five. So your one big deadline acquisition hasn't necessarily worked out. How are you going to be able to overcome that? Well, your power play can continue to fill in the gaps. We know this team isn't going to be a juggernaut offensively five on five, but the way their defensive game is rounded out here as the season is coming to a close. They may be one of the top tier defensive teams in league with the way that they're playing. The Canucks make no mistake about it are a tier one defensive team. Yeah, they are. Offensively as much, again, as much as the numbers right now tell you what they are, if you look at their trend, a lot of it was really built up stacked up from early parts of the season. It's just about being honest about what you are, right? Yeah. When Patterson comes alive though and JT Miller comes alive, then five on five, it's a different story. And I think Patterson in the back half of the season has been a lot cooler than he was earlier. And that does change the complexion quite a bit. But the man advantage, that to me is going to have to be the key here for this team. Because I'm very confident about the defensive game, the goal tending, their commitment to playing the proper way, the goal scoring five on five, that drying up concerns me. I'm far less concerned if that power play looks dangerous. One of the defensive things I wanted to bring up I don't, it's not that to make this a coursey thing, but shot attempts per 60 against. Since the all-star break, we've used the all-star break as this like, hey, the Canucks have stunked since the all-star break kind of measure. Since the all-star break, shot attempts against per 60 minutes, Canucks are second best in the league only to the Carolina Hurricanes. Shot attempts, shot attempts. Because I've noticed it last night, like midway through the second period, Buffalo, or at the end of the second period, Buffalo had like, what, 10 shots on net? - Yeah. - And it seems as though recently that's been a trend, where they're not giving up a ton of shots, and the numbers back it up, they're among the best in the league, it's shot suppression, shot attempts suppression, in the entire National Hockey League. There's your, at least one measure of their elite defensive abilities as a team right now, that they are showing even in one of the toughest stretches of their season where they are just 10, seven, and three. Now, you mentioned Miller and Patterson. And Patterson was great last night. You hope that he can continue that, and continue to show more of that elite player that we've come to know so well. The one that earned the contract that he was given a couple of weeks ago by the Canucks to remain with them for the next eight years. But, I don't think there's much of a debate anymore that J.T. Miller to this point has had a better season than Elias Patterson. - Yeah, I don't think anybody's going to really argue with you about that. - He has just been, like when he went down last night, and it sounds like he's going to be okay, I know Rick Talkett mentioned after the game that there might be a checkup of some kind today, but he's fine. - He's fine. - There's just an engine to J.T. Miller that gets the rest of the team going, it feels like. There's an engine that's been with him since the all-star break during this tough stretch where J.T., I know you hate this term sometimes, but drags the team into the fight. He's the one guy that's been going consistently for a lot of this stretch for the Canucks. At the same time though, you still notice it and you notice it in the results that as good as he's been, he needs Patterson to be there with him to have sort of that Batman and Robin type feel where they can both make a big impact on the game. - Yeah, I think you're right. Like in terms of each guy being on their own line and driving, that's a huge part of it. But also on the power play specifically, J.T. is the key. - Yeah. - It's Batman and Robin with him and Patterson in terms of the two centers. On the power play, it's like Batman and Robin is him and Quinn Hughes. - Yes. - And I'd still say that Quinn, as incredible as he is, and I think what, you know, I gotta be careful here because I do think in general, when it comes to Quinn Hughes, he does so many incredible things that are so normalized, and he's so calm and cool with how he handles and manipulates space that it looks very easy and it's not nearly as easy as he makes a look. It's not. - We're almost desensitized to him. - We are. - Like we've watched too many horror movies. - Yes. - Oh yeah. - Another, he's not getting popped off after the video. - There's another ankle getting sawed off. (laughing) That's a little creepy. - Look at that frightening creature. What is that, a Demi Gorgon? - Ooh, so scary. - Demi Gorgon. - Good strangers things, chow. But yes, I think he makes it look far easier, but the real key to the power play to me is still JT. - Yeah. - 'Cause he's the real danger, right? Like in terms of setting up the grade A chances and also his shot. Whereas as good as Quinn is, he's the quarterback, but it's kind of like JT's everything else. - Well, how many teams have that like the two quarterback system almost? - Yeah. Where one is Quinn Hughes and the other is JT Miller and you've got to account for both. - Yeah. - That can make that devastating pass or even a devastating shot, which Quinn Hughes is added to his arsenal this year. - Yeah, it's just that JT's shots, obviously. - Yes, a lot more. - You know, no tear above. And him attacking downhill is one of the most dangerous things on the power play across the league. - Yeah. - And then not to mention his play making. Like JT, in terms of a power play ability, what is he top 10 in the league? - Yeah, I don't think there's too much question. - You know, like he's one of the top, like you can talk about where he ranks among centers, five on five play, and I know even the discussion we're having now about obviously, you know, JT's been the more impactful player than Patterson. The analytics, so to speak, a lot of it will shade towards Patterson dramatically in terms of five on five play, two-way play. So if someone would make the argument that if you look at the analytics, so to speak, you know, it's, it's Patterson that they like better. But in terms of power play ability and being a maestro on the power play, like JT Miller is easily tier one in the national hockey league. There are nine players in the league. Since JT Miller became a Vancouver Connect, there are nine players in the league that have more power play points than he does. Three of them play for the Edmonton Oilers, as you would imagine. Nugent Hopkins, Leon Dreyseidel, Conor McDavid. Couple of them play for the Colorado Avalanche, Nathan McKinnon and Miko Rantenin. And then there is a trio of Panerin, Stankos and Posternock. Those are the players that have more power play points, more power play production than JT Miller. And a lot of them are teammates. So it's just, it's essentially like... - Power play one in Tampa. - Yeah. - And like power play one in Edmonton and Colorado. - Yeah. - And then it's JT Miller. And that's again, he is a top 10 power play player in the league. I don't think you're at all wrong about that. And for Quinn Hughes, you know, him being that secondary power play guy, when he passed the record the other night, you know, most points by a defenseman in Vancouver Canucks history. He beats his own record for the third straight season. (laughing) It's like, I was joking, like every, like he's already, I mean, every point he gets is a new, you know, franchise record. You gotta announce that every single time. - Yeah, announce it every game with another franchise record. - With another two points tonight, it's a new franchise record. I started thinking like, so Hughes has three more years remaining. So he's probably going to add another three years that he is a top 10 scoring season at the very least as a Vancouver Canucks. If he extends, if he remains a Canucks for like, beyond this current contract, you're looking at a guy who's going to like, own the record book for the Vancouver. It's going to be hilarious. You're just, so what are the top 10 scoring seasons by a defensive and a Canucks? Who's this guy, Quinn Hughes? - Quinn Hughes? - He owns all of them. It's going to be like Gretzky and all of his records in the full record book. But that's kind of where Quinn Hughes is. And last night, the hit on Victor Olafson was just perfect. - Chef's kiss for another cherry on top for the Vancouver Canucks. - Yeah, and I mean, the only thing, the only record that I'm concerned about him breaking is the all time goals by a defensive in a single season for the Canucks. Adrian and a coin had 23. - Yeah. - But given the way Quinn has developed his shot, and his shot, like he's cooled off a bit, right? Like he's, you know, it looked like he was going to hit 20, and that's really tailed off. Maybe it's going to be more 15, 16 range perhaps. - He has 13 right now. That's the one record I wonder, but can you break that one? And honestly, before this season, we probably would have said, no, he'll break every record, probably won't win 23 goals. Are you putting that past him? - I don't know. I mean, I even heard him last night with you guys on the post game show, and he was saying like, it just feels like nothing's going in for me right now. He's getting his chances. I didn't think he could upgrade his shot to the level that we've seen it upgrade this year. So who am I to say that there can't be another level that it gets to, or he finds more ways to attack goal tenders in the next off season. Connect Central Roundup, couple of things. Team day off today for them. So we will hear from the coach and the rest of the particulars tomorrow when they get ready to face the Montreal Canadiens who were overtime losers to the Edmonton Oilers last night. Tanner Pearson was a healthy scratch for the Habs last night. So not sure if we're going to have a Tanner Pearson revenge game. I would imagine they put him in for the big game in Vancouver. - Yeah, I'd imagine he probably does get in, especially after them playing last night and everything. - Could this be his last season in the NHL? - Like, I'm sure he's going to give it another go. - Yeah. - But is it going to have to be a PTO? - He might be kind of towards that. He's going to be in his age 32 season next year. - He's not too old, but it's just, you know-- - 12 points in 48 games. - It's been a tough go for him. - It has been, you know, and pace was never the biggest thing in his game. And given the injury he went through and the entire ordeal, perhaps having a regular off season can help him a lot. - Yeah. - You know, but I wonder if he's going to be, someone gives him a league minimum contract, like, or more of a PTO type. I just hope that he can continue playing, but the hope had been for Montreal when they acquired him as much as it was a salary dump that, hey, maybe he ups his value. And maybe we flip him at the deadline. He's a playoff type guy, right? - Yeah. - It would make sense. And it was like, it was nothing there. - Well, respect the guy around the league. So maybe some of these teams that are looking for more pros to add into their rooms, especially if they are going to be in heavy rebuild modes. Tanner Pearson could be a fit. Was tough the way that it ended for him in Vancouver. So hoping for the best for Tanner Pearson. Don't know if we'll see him tomorrow night though, at Roger's Arena. Also, Vegas losing five three to the lightning last night. Their point percentage now. So the math is still in their favor set. Not saying the Vegas Golden Knights are going to miss the postseason here. But they have a 581 point percentage. Minnesota is closest to them at 551. They play the LA Kings tonight. And St. Louis is at 543. Vegas has been a sub 500 team since the beginning of January. Minnesota, what was the number you gave me before the show? There's six, two, and two in their last 10, and they're 12, five, and three. - 12, five, and three in their last 20. - That's pretty good. It's not bad. I guess they're making it at least a conversation right now with the Vegas Golden Knights. - They've made up 10 points on Vegas over those 20 games. Vegas over that time is eight, 11, and one. - Oof. - Eight, 11, and one whereas Minnesota is one, 12. So that they've made up 10 points on them. - Yeah. - Is, like, I'm not so sure. Is Vegas that much more daunting than Nashville as a first round opponent? Is something I've been wondering about? Like, at some point, Vegas has been essentially a 500 team for half the season now. At some point, you are who you are. Are you not? I know they've got a lot of guys injured. Do they all magically show up for game one of the playoffs? Maybe Mark Stone does. Maybe Hurdle comes in at some point here in the next week or so and gives them a shot in the arm. And then you feel a lot differently about the Vegas Golden Knights, but. - So they had a great start to the season, right? Remember, it was them in the Canucks for the first 20-some games. It was, they were incredible. This incredible start to the year. Well, since then, they've essentially been a 500 team, right? So I think they, let me bring this up right now. I'm gonna go from this point on. So let's say after game 20, so at game 20, you know, they had an incredible record. Since game 20 in the National Hockey League season this year, the Vegas Golden Knights are 22, 21 and 5. - So to your point, they've essentially been a 500 hockey team? - They're a non-play-off team. - They've been a non-play-off team for almost 50 games. - For, yeah, for 47 games. - Yeah. - 48 games, sorry. For 48 games, they've been an under 500 hockey team. - That's a tough look. I don't know how worried I am about Vegas anymore. I mean, you gotta be careful when you say things like that, Dan. I should know from yesterday too, but they're in a lot of trouble. Like, I think they're in more trouble than people realize right now. - We'll see how this progresses. Minnesota has the LA Kings tonight. Minnesota playing on the second half of a back-to-back, but it's a massive one for them. And also a big part of the story. Minnesota and Vegas do have two meetings together this year. So, and Vegas has a definitively more difficult schedule than Minnesota does. - It's a lot better not covering a team that's in that hell right now, right? Like, you know, as far as the Canucks, I mean, we would have taken that given they haven't made a playoffs. - Meaningful games in March was the bar this year, you know? - But like, given the stress-- - Meaningful games during the nine-game homestand was the bar when we started the season. - Given the stress that you're seeing there and the stress we've endured over the years covering this team, especially late in the season, it's nice. It's nice. Like, even if you don't finish first, like, it's just nice and that happened to worry about, like, missing the playoffs. - Kevin Woodley is going to join us, his take on Kasey Desmith and how he's played to start his era in the starters net with Thatcher-Demko out hurt. Also get a scouting report on Montreal and more to come on Canucks Central. Catch up on what happened in Vancouver's Force with Halford and Bruff in the morning. Be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
