[Music] Welcome to In the Booth on SportsNet 650, your official home of the Canucks. I'm Brendan Batchelor joined as always by my colleague and color analyst for the Canucks broadcasts. Randy Janda, we do this show every week. It lives as a podcast and you also hear it right here on SportsNet 650. And another relatively quiet week for the Canucks. Randy, since we last spoke, they've played three games. They beat the Calgary Flames four to two last Saturday night. Then they lost back-to-back games, back-to-back close games, against Western Conference playoff teams in a 3-2 loss to the LA Kings on Monday and a 3-1 loss with an empty netter to the Dallas Stars on Thursday. So lots of things to get into from this past week, but let's start with the last two games in particular, which I think it's fair to say, although they were both different stylistically, both had playoff fields to them and both had things the Canucks can take out of them as they prepare for the postseason in a few weeks. Yeah, this is getting ready for playoff time. In that Kings game, you can criticize the 1-3-1 all you want, but that's going to be something you see in the playoffs. The LA Kings do it well. They stick to their identity in the Canucks. You know, we had some trouble getting back in that game. They had a late push-batch, but that's a playoff game that, you know, had the animosity, had the defensive structure, the importance of the first goal that we see in the playoffs. Also, you know, was stayed true in that game. So to me, that Kings game was a, oh, if you run into this team in the playoffs, you know their identity. Can you break through the middle of the ice? Can you establish control in a game in the LA Kings? The Canucks have played them well in certain stretches, but there's been two games now that the Kings have been able to dictate the pace, dictate the tempo of the game, and against the Stars a very different game. You know, Dallas plays run and gun. This is not the Dallas Stars of two or three years ago. They would lock it down and sit back and Jake Audinger would take shots from a distance or from the perimeter, and they'd rely on good defense and getting goals on the power play. No, this is a team that has one of the most balanced lineups in the NHL and has seven 20 goal scores. And in that game, it was a very even game. I thought Vancouver had, you know, a good amount of, you know, confidence in that game, but it was a special team's battle, which in the end, Dallas ends up winning. Vancouver ends up losing. Yeah, and so coming out of this week, I don't know if concern or worry are correct terms to use, because they're both close games that both go against the Canucks for different reasons, and they had different stylistic feels. And look, you're not going to go 16 and 0 when you make the playoffs. You're probably not even going to sweep in the first round. So these are things that are going to happen to you when you get into playoff type games. But coming back to the words I don't want to use, like, if we're going to go back to the old fashioned worryometer here on Sportsnet six feet. Oh, yes. Love it. Where are you at on the worryometer after a couple of losses to teams that you could very well see in the postseason? Yeah, it's not as much as I love the Calgary win. These two games matter because you're starting to ramp up right now. You're supposed to really, you know, settle on your identity and rely on your identity to win games. And defensively, the Canucks have been there. But in terms of worryometer, I'm going to go -- I'm still going to be low. I'm not -- I know some fans are higher up or past the five mark. I'm still like a four, but these games do matter. They matter on the front that, you know, these are the styles of games that you're going to play in the playoffs, whether it's Dallas and then being aggressive and then, you know, really taking advantage of A, the transition attack, which it didn't, I thought the Canucks did a good job of that, limiting what Dallas was able to do. But, yeah, special teams. That's a top 10 power play. You give them chances. They're going to be able to score on you. And with the LA Kings, that's a style hockey that they play. Can you break it down? So I think it's maybe a four right now, but it's increasing based on the fact that if you lose to Vegas in a similar fashion, if you lose to the Kings again in a similar fashion, if you lose to Vegas twice, really, then it's going up pretty significantly because this is supposed to be a rehearsal for this team. And I'm not focusing on the Calgary Flames game. I'm not, you know, focusing on the Anaheim Ducks game and the Coyotes game that's coming up here. It's these games that you got to say, all right, we're setting the tone. We're having a rehearsal. Warriorometer is still low, but batch these games matter because it does set the tone for future matchups. Yeah, I'm even lower on the Warriorometer than that. I'm like a three right now. Just because I think this is good experience for the Canucks to have now and you would rather lose these kind of games and learn from them in March rather than lose these kind of games when they really matter in late April and into May. And I think the Canucks will learn a lot from the way that the games have been played this week and will have a greater understanding of all of the things that Rick Talkett has been preaching about getting to the inside and sticking to the staples and being patient and, you know, the things that we've heard him say all year are now things that become much more true than they were in October November, December because of the way the game changes and how teams tighten up and the way that they defend and how much more difficult it is to get to the middle of the ice. And I think that's where the conversation should go next here because that's something that Rick Talkett was really banging the drum about heading into the Dallas game is getting to the inside, sacrificing to get to some of those scoring areas. And, you know, I asked him about it after the game and he said, you know, some guys did a good job. Some guys didn't. And he kind of highlighted Dakota Joshua, you know, providing the moving screen on the Canucks loan goal of the game, which by the way was a great setup by Connor Garland to find JT Miller in the slot. But there's Dakota Joshua cruising through the middle, just providing a bit of a presence and a worry for Jake Ottinger and for the Stars defense. And it backed them off a little bit, gave Miller some more room and provided a bit of a screen. And so it's one of those subtle plays that, you know, isn't going to be broke down on the highlight reel, but is exactly what the coaching staff is talking about. And with this team, I'm not especially concerned about scoring, especially at five on five. They've been one of the best scoring five on five teams in the league. But all of that said, there's no coincidence that we've seen, you know, a three, two game and essentially a two, one game. It went three one with an empty netter this week against two teams that they very well could see in the postseason because the style changes and the Canucks have to be ready to adapt their style in order to have success. And I think they've done a good job of it defensively. Like I don't see them giving up giving up a lot. You know, they hold the Dallas Stars who are the top five on five scoring team in the NHL off the board at five on five in the game on Thursday night. So the defensive side of the puck doesn't concern me right now. The fact that they're doing that with Casey to Smith, you know, that also doesn't concern me because at some point you're going to get Demko back here next month and he's going to have an opportunity to get his game rolling and you hope that you have him nice and healthy going into the postseason. But it's more the offensive side of things and the ability of this group to get to some of those hard scoring areas as the game tightens up. Yeah, and that was I think that's kind of I wouldn't say a worry, but that's the most important part of the playoffs. Are you able to break down the middle of the ice? Are you able to attack and it's got to be a three or four line attack? Ideally four lines. That's what, you know, team like Vegas did last year's Stanley Cup champions. But when you start looking at the five on five play batch, you're right defensively against Dallas, they were solid. They weren't given out much. There were teams, you know, players on that on that Vancouver Canucks team that, you know, stuck to their structure. But when you start looking at high danger chances for five on five, one line had five and they also gave up five. And that was the, at least Patterson Neil's Hoglander Brock Besser line, which is a line you rely on. So the fact that they were able to create five high danger chances outside of that. Two lines went 04 in that game, which was a little bit of a with Sam Lafferty and, and Neil's Hoglander. There's a bit of a remix of a line. I don't worry about that one, but really there's only one other line that had a high danger chance. And that was Pew Souter of a Silly Pod Coles and Iliya McCabe. So when you start looking at even the JT Miller and, you know, Sam Lafferty line, they weren't able to create much five on five. So, you know, some of those chances that we saw in that game against Dallas were late on the power player with the extra attacker out or just, you know, some decent chances, but they weren't able to generate what you'd expect in the middle of the ice. So that's one of the areas where I look at both Dallas, Vancouver and Edmondson top three teams and high danger goals this year. A lot of that work was done at the beginning of the year up until the new year and really up until the ball star game. Since then, the Canucks have had some trouble at the game's chain. So defensively, they're looking good, you know, to give up 13 high danger chances against a star's team. That is a good team is, is there's nothing wrong with that? But to have 10 yourself, that's the one I look at to say against teams that can defend that are going to keep you honest. Are you able to, you know, have those middle drives? Are you able to create space for some of the players, your teammates, and the Vancouver Canucks haven't been able to do that as much of late. So it comes down to one or two things. It comes down to attacking and transition. It comes down to being aggressive on the forecheck and having your forecheck at home. And it also requires, you know, players kind of, we we lauded this last week when Sam Lafferty, if you remember in a transition attack, was able to drive the middle of the ice and was able to, you know, set up eventually the key to the door off for a goal off the rush. That's what the Canucks need more of right now where, you know, they're attacking the middle of the ice and not only creating opportunities for themselves batch, but opening up the ice for their teammates. And we just haven't seen that from Vancouver in the last two games against, you know, two really strong Western conference teams. And Rick Talkett alluded to this this week when he talked about the fact that, you know, yes, they had a very high shooting percentage and lots of things were going in for them early in the year. But part of that was because they were in the right areas. And, you know, you can't have the lucky bounce of a puck hitting you in the ass and going in the net if you don't have your ass in the right place, which I think beats an asshole accounts the same, right? Exactly. And especially in the playoffs, like you have to score goals like that, you know, jam plays in the crease. Like think about the goals that the Kings scored against them this week, like Anze Kopatar finds a loose puck in the blue paint before the Canucks defense is able to. There's, you know, the the Fiala goals, obviously a nice one that's created in transition. So that's a little bit different, but the Kings in particular, you know, aside from what we talk about defensively, where they just totally shut the game down and make it boring. And that's the way they like it. They created some scrambles around the Vancouver crease. And there were some flurries where the Canucks defense was having to clear rebounds and box out and do all of those sorts of things. And as we talked about, like, I'm not that worried about the defensive side of the puck because we've seen them for the most part manage those kind of situations pretty well. But on the offensive side of the puck, how much chaos are they creating around the opponent's crease at the moment? And to me, the answer is not enough right now. No, for sure. And the key here is going to be whenever you start looking at playoff matchups, and I know Canucks fans have been doing that for the last two weeks, you know, styles make fights, right? And we've talked about LA extensively. I think Vegas has that element to them. Remember, going back to last year, they really just essentially shut down the middle of the ice in front of Aidan Hill, where you weren't able to go through it. That's the norm for a lot of teams, even the way that Florida played in the Eastern Conference going in as the last seed, eventually making the Stanley Cup final, you know, they were really effective and were able to do that with Radkogutus last year. So, you know, there's other defensemen that played a key role there too, but defending the middle of the ice. How can you win that war of attrition? How can you go there? And essentially, you know, it comes down to a getting shots through, but even before that batch, the way that you're able to work on those pressure points, the Canucks do need to get back to that. And yes, they were doing it at the beginning of the year, but it was a very different style of hockey, right? One out of 82 is in a lot of ways easier because teams are essentially saying, all right, we got Vancouver tonight and then we're going to Calgary and you're just kind of thinking about the next game. You're not thinking about it too deeply. Now you have teams that are prepping themselves, they're ramping up for the playoffs and that one of a seven game series, it's a very different animal where, okay, you might be successful in game one. The opposition is going to adjust and you have to adjust back and that can, you know, really decide a series if it essentially comes down to which team makes adjustments first and Vancouver right now has to make an adjustment to their game. And I'm not even talking about making the playoffs. They'll make the playoffs, but they've actually look in the rear view right now. Edmonton's not that far off, so they got to get on it here. I'm not worried, but at the same time, you got to start refining your game and getting ready for mid April. So there's a couple of things we need to touch on here that you allude to. The first is Edmonton being in the rear view mirror and at the time of recording on Friday, the Oilers sit six points back of the Canucks with two games in hand. So if they win their two games in hand, they are two points back and there is still a head-to-head meeting between these two teams remaining before the end of the regular season. So in terms of moving into a tie with the Canucks in the standings, the Edmonton Oilers control their own destiny. Now, the likelihood is that the Canucks would still have the tiebreaker to sit atop the division in that hypothetical scenario because they've got 39 regulation wins and the Oilers only have 34. The Canucks have 45 regulation and overtime wins and the Oilers only have 42. So, you know, I guess there's a chance that the Canucks really hit a skid here in the final nine games of the season that the Oilers could catch them in some of those tie break categories as well. But, you know, this is now a situation where the Oilers are hot on their heels and it's going to be interesting to see, you know, if I'm the Canucks, I shouldn't really be worrying about that. You're trying to get your game in order. You're trying to talk about all the things and figure out all the things that we've been discussing here thus far on the show in your own game. And you're not really going to worry about what's happening with Edmonton on the out of town scoreboard for the most part. But, you know, I think we'll learn something about this Canucks team, not just from how they finish off the regular season, but how they fend off a team that's nipping at their heels here a little bit because that's not really something that we've talked about with Vancouver at all this season. Yeah, this was a team up until recently that was at the top of the Western Conference for 70 plus straight days, right? So they've had it pretty good. They had that cushion where they were able to allow themselves some flexibility looking at the remaining schedule for both of these teams. 541 points percentage, the opposition of combined opposition for Vancouver. So, it's about, you know, middle of the pack, below middle of the pack. It's not a very tough schedule, but Edmonton's got a slightly softer schedule where they've got a 537 opposition points percentage. And a couple of those match up start San Jose. You got the Ducks just like Vancouver does. You got Arizona twice just like Vancouver does. And you have Calgary on top of that. You've got St. Louis. But, you know, so it's not all that different of a schedule. So, I wouldn't really give either team an advantage here. But, you know, you got to take care of business in the Canucks. I'll give them this. They've been very, very consistent in, you know, the word coming out of their camp to say, hey, we focus on ourselves, whether the team is good, bad, middle of the pack. It doesn't matter to us. It doesn't matter to us. It doesn't matter to us. It doesn't matter to us. We're trying to refine our game. And, you know, they've been talking to talk, and they've been walking the walk for most of the season, but you got to make sure that you do keep Edmonton in the rear view because, yes, in the end, it doesn't matter big time as far as you're still making the playoffs. But, you know, home ice advantage, if you make that second round, for instance, it's going to be very, very important. So, I don't think you have to necessarily really, I think, confident. And, you know, they've been really consistent. Up until, I would say, about a month, month, and a half ago, they were the most consistent team in hockey. You want to make sure that you're right some of the things that you've been doing since the All-Star break, and I think this, even, you know, even though the winning the division in the big scheme of things, that's not what you play for. You play for the Stanley Cup. I think there is a sense of pride in saying, hey, we've set the standard in this division, and we want to, we want to complete this. So, yeah, of course, you keep an eye on that rear view, because Edmonton, you know, they haven't been the most consistent team either. They'll drop a game to some of these seller dwellers in the West, but you want to make sure that you finish ahead of them because you've done it all year long. For a couple of reasons, and, you know, one you allude to, you want to have home ice advantage if you're able to advance to the second round, the other thing ties into the second part of this conversation that I wanted to bring up, and you touched on briefly, when you said styles make fights, you want to avoid having to play the LA Kings in the first round, and it looks likely at this point in time that, you know, the Kings could be that third team in the Pacific. Technically, Vegas is ahead of them by a point right now. The Kings have a game in hand, so we'll see how all of that shakes out, and, you know, we can move the conversation forward to talking about what teams you might want to face, what teams you might want to avoid in the first round of the playoffs. The only other thing I'll say about Edmonton is the Canucks face them in their third to last game of the regular season as we get into the month of April on Saturday, April 13th. If you're a Vancouver, you would like this conversation about the division to be put to bed before you get to that point, so that that's not this huge clash with a chance at first place in the division on the line, and you've got to worry about, you know, you finish the season against Calgary and Winnipeg the following week, and those games really mattering to fend off the Oilers, and make sure you finish atop the division. You want things to be settled and put to bed before then, because that's where you can reap some of the benefits of the great season you've had, where potentially you can rest guys, potentially you can manage minutes, you can get some younger players into your lineup, and you can help yourself gear up for the playoffs. Getting back to the conversation about opponents, and we were kind of talking about this off the air before the game against Dallas, who do you want to face if you're the Vancouver Canucks? So to me there are three, probably four legitimate potential first round opponents for the Canucks. I think we can rule out the Oilers as a first round opponent as long as they don't go in the tank here or you know, completely fall off a cliff in their final 11 games of the season. We're talking more about them potentially catching the Canucks than facing them in the first round. Either of those teams are going to be one or two, so they're not going to play just the first round. Yeah, exactly. So that rules them out. So then you're looking at the LA Kings, so I just mentioned the Vegas Golden Knights, the Nashville Predators, and now I'd even say there's an outside chance of the Winnipeg Jets, because the Predators are only four points back of them in the Central Division, and we know Nashville in spite of the fact that they had their point streak snapped by the Arizona Coyotes the other night is the hottest team in the NHL right now. So I still think there's a chance Nashville could reign in Winnipeg. So I think Winnipeg, you know, maybe we don't talk about them quite as much because they're probably the least likely first round opponent, but I think you have to put them in there in that conversation with Vegas, Nashville, and Los Angeles. And I think to start off this conversation, let's try and find common ground and things that we can agree on. And I think it's fair to say we can agree as I alluded to already that the team you want to face the least out of all of those clubs is the LA Kings. Yeah, they're, you know how I love my boxing analogies. They're kind of like the crafty South Paw that you don't know where its angle they're going to hit you from. You're so focused on fighting right-handers that the lefty comes out and you're like, sorry, what did they do? They might be a little boring. They might be a bit of a street brawler, but it doesn't really matter. LA, I want no part of that matchup in the first round anyways. Let Edmonton or let one of the central division teams have that matchup. See if they can be broken down by one of those teams. That's a tough matchup. So let's talk about the Nashville Predators and, you know, I haven't checked it today, but up until recently, that was mathematically the most likely first round opponent for the Vancouver Canucks. And if the playoffs started today at the time of recording on Friday, it would be the Vancouver Canucks as the winners of the Pacific Division, but now sitting behind Dallas in the standings facing the top wildcard team, the Nashville Predators in the opening round of the playoffs. And you and I kind of have differing opinions on this matchup. So I'll let you lay out your case first and then I'll respond because if I'm not mistaken, you actually think this might be the most favorable matchup that's out there for the Canucks. Yes, and for the same reason I don't want the LA matchup like you do, I think the matchup and the style of the team really matters. And listen, I got to acknowledge what they've done since the All-Star break. They've picked up the third most points behind New York and Carolina. They have the highest points percentage defensively. They're much better than they were. They're putting up goals, but Batch, when I look at this team, I look at, you know, other teams that we've been discussing. And a lot of folks will probably be saying, hey, okay, you're ignoring Winnipeg or Winnipeg. Yes, they haven't been consistent. They might fall into a wildcard spot, but one of the areas I don't like about playing Winnipeg is they have firepower and they've been going, they've been, you know, going well. They have defensive structure when they're playing well. And most importantly out of all of that, they have Connor Hellabook. When he's on a heater, which he can catch pretty quickly as we saw at the beginning of the year, you don't want to be facing him in a series. He could steal that series himself. So, you know, from the benefit of knowing what Connor Hellabook can do, I want to stay away from that matchup. UC Sorrows is a good goaltender. He's one of the best when he's going, but with him, I think the Canucks do a couple of things well when they're going. They're able to, you know, they're one of the best teams screening the goaltender this season. They've seen Brock Besser do that, and with a smaller goaltender, if you're able to get in his way and win that you can take away the ice and you aim high. And I think the Vancouver Canucks have done an excellent job of doing that with the caveat. Of course, you have to hit the middle of the ice. You've got, of course, some high power offense and some defenseman that can create offense there, but in a shot-for-shot battle, but also a team that has defensive structure, I still look at Vancouver as having the advantage in both of those situations. In a top six versus top six matchup, I love what Ryan O'Reilly does. I love what Phillip Forsberg does, but, you know, when J-Team Miller's going, Elias Patterson's going, I'm leaning towards that, and, you know, Quinn Hughes versus Roman Yossi, I think Quinn Hughes can influence the game at this point more than Roman Yossi, and Sorrows and Demko's going to be a heck of a battle, too. So I'm leaning on that. It's going to be a tight one. It's one where it's not going to be easy. I don't think any Western conference matchup is, but when it comes to the style of team that Vancouver is and how they can lock it down, but they've also got offense in their team, I just like that matchup against Nashville better. So there's a couple of things I'll say about this. The one side of the coin that kind of defends your argument is, Canucks are 3-0 against the Predators at the season series this year, and they outscored them 13-6, but the last time they met them was in December, and two of those three games were in October. So early on in the year, when everything was clicking for the Canucks, and the game is completely different in October than it is in April and May. So I don't know how much you can read into that, but if you want to take that as a check on the side of, you know, it would help facing the Predators, the Canucks have handled them very effectively lately. My argument about not wanting to face them is twofold. One, it has to do with the goaltender, Yossi Sorrows, and I agree, Connor, a great goaltender as well. The other part of it is not wanting to face the team that's hot, the team that's rolling, the team that's ready to go, and has been playing its best hockey heading into the postseason, because you don't have to look back too far in Canucks history to remember a season where the Canucks were the president's trophy winners, and were knocked out by LA in the first round because they had had a heater in the second half of the season, and the Kings went on to win the Stanley Cup that year. And, you know, there were a variety of different issues in that series, and I'm not going to sit here and try to relitigate what happened more than a decade ago with a very different Canucks team, but that's my concern facing the Predators, and that's why I would almost rather face Winnipeg in the first round, and, you know, I think we'll come around to the Golden Knights eventually. They are the team that I would actually like to face the most in the first round from a Canucks perspective, and we'll talk about them in a moment, but Winnipeg, yes, they've got a great goaltender in Connor Hellebach, just like the Predators have a great goaltender in UC Sorrows. And, you know, I think if you play either of those teams, there is a somewhat significant chance that you can get goldied in certain games in the series. But the Jets have been struggling, the Jets have been stumbling, the Jets were a team that was at the top of the conference on the top of the division, and they've fallen back to Earth. I take the team that's trending in the wrong direction and battling through some things nine times out of ten over taking the team that's on a heater and rolling and feeling confident about their game, because a lot of the time the playoffs are not about who was the best team in the regular season, like how many times recently have we seen the Presidents Trophy winners disappoint in the postseason, or not win the Stanley Cup? Like it's pretty rare for the Presidents Trophy winner to also win the Stanley Cup, but how often do we see a team like the Florida Panthers last year, who just barely sneaked their way in because they're playing great hockey down the stretch to battle into a playoff spot, and they go on a long run? I can see a world where the Nashville Predators are this year's Florida Panthers, and that's why I want to avoid them if I can. And that's a fair point. One thing I would say is that it's still, you know, at the time of recording, it's March 29th. We haven't reached the playoffs, and they had a great run, but we got to see if they can continue it, because a great example of that is the Winnipeg Jets, right? A very hot team at a certain stretch, and guess what? Even prior to this slump, they lost five in a row, and they came down to Earth when they played Vancouver a few months ago. So this is something that I look at and say, "Yeah, Nashville, you know, potentially a scary team right now, but we still got a couple of weeks until the season's over. Can they keep it up?" I look at that roster, and I say that first line is dynamic. Ryan O'Reilly's been a heck of an addition, Philip Forsberg. We know what he is. Gustav Nyquist has done an excellent job being a 60+ point player on that team, and yes, they've got sandpaper through the rest of the lineup, some mixed in skill, but I just like the Vancouver matchup better in terms of if you can get, and this is a big F, right? This is a Nashville team that is fully healthy. Vancouver obviously is not right now. If you can get some version of Elias Lindholm, and you add that to your top nine, I like Vancouver better. Obviously, I like Vancouver better, so I can understand that, but timing is a great point, but we're not there yet. They are hot right now in two or three weeks time. Is that still the case, Patch? I guess we'll wait and see. On the Vegas front, though, I'm glad you brought them up. Yeah, and timing is the key word for Vegas, too, because they could conveniently time it that they get Tomás Hurdle and Mark Stone into their lineup just in time for the playoffs. So they're kind of a wild card in this conversation because you don't really know what team you're going to face in the first round of the playoffs. If you're getting the team right now that has struggled a bit and has been essentially a 500 team since their hot start that doesn't have Mark Stone, that doesn't have Tomás Hurdle, then I like the Canucks chances, but adding those two players to your lineup potentially for game one of the playoffs, which I guess we'll see what happens in terms of injury recovery, completely changes the complexion of that roster as well. So I don't even, as much as I say, Vegas, they're probably the team I want to face the most based on the way that things have trended for the most part over the last month or two. I'm talking about a team that could look completely different come the postseason. Well, that's where my logic is right now. Let's not take current form. Let's take the best case scenario, the best form for all of these teams we're talking about. When they're at their best, who is the easiest or toughest matchup? And I think when Vegas, yes, they've been very inconsistent, but they also beat Vancouver really handily earlier on this season when they were relatively healthy. That's Vegas at their best. If they get back to that, I don't want to be in a seven game series against them. They're physical, they've got four lines that can roll, they've got dynamic talent, and now they've got players that haven't even played with their team, which is a negative, but if they're able to get healthy in a seven game series in April 20th, 21st, 22nd, whatever the start date may be for Vancouver, I'm not liking that matchup. Same goes with LA. We've seen what they can be at their best, and that's a frustrating team. I would even argue with Winnipeg, and that's why I have Nashville as the least of them, because we've seen their best. I think at their best, they're still the more manageable team to play against in the seven game series. And one thing we haven't really talked about here, Batch, I think LA brings it, but definitely Vegas. In a seven game series in the first round, if you are playing a team that is rolling, that's going to give you a fight. The physical toll against an LA and a Vegas is going to be very, very different from one against, I think, Nashville. Nashville's got some bruisers on that. Luke Shen, Colton Sizzins can play that game to a certain extent, but in a seven game series against Vegas, that physicality is going to ramp up. So, you know, in that scenario where they do get right, you know, do you want to deal with Ivan Barbershev and players like that, Keegan Colosar in the four check, Braden McNabb pinching up and diving into the neutral zone and setting the tone over a seven game series, that is a grueling, grueling series. And if you make it out of that series, you're going to be walking out with a limp because it's not an easy, easy series to play. Yeah, and the other thing that the Golden Knights and the Kings have is veteran Savvy, guys that have won Stanley Cups, guys that know what it takes to last in the playoffs and have success in the playoffs. So, maybe starting to come around on your Nashville take and ultimately we have no control over it. So, we'll have to wait and see how things shake out over the next couple of weeks. It doesn't matter who it is. We're going to be on the call. It doesn't matter. We can't be selective. Yeah, exactly. So, we're way overdue for a break. So, we'll step aside and come back in a moment. We'll get into some listener questions. We called out to questions from you, the listener, and you responded as you always do and we'll conduct the Rose ceremony as well. It's all still to come on in the booth on your official home of the Canucks Sportsnet 650. Welcome back to In the Booth on Sportsnet 650. We are your official home of the Canucks. If you've missed any part of this show and are listening on the radio, you're in luck because it lives as a podcast as well on the Canucks Central podcast feed. If you subscribe to that, you get in the booth every week with myself in Randeep. You get Canucks Central every weekday with Satyar Shah in Dan Riccio, and you get every Canucks post-game show with Sat and Bick Nazar as well. So, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode as we have the Canucks covered from tip to tail on the Canucks Central podcast feed. All right, Randeep. We said we'd get into the mail bag from the listeners, so let's do it. As always, we reached out on Twitter for X or whatever we're calling it, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, looking for questions from the listeners, and they responded. Let's start with Arash, a good friend of the program, Arash, who co-hosts a local Canucks podcast with our other good friend, Ryan Shapp, who sent us in some really good questions, pucks on net, make sure to follow them, listen to them, they do great work. Arash writes in and asks, "What's one storyline that you don't think either fans or media are talking enough about leading up to the playoffs?" So, I know you've got one, Randeep. I've got one as well. What's the thing that jumps to your mind here when you think about a storyline that we need to be talking about more for the Canucks ahead of the playoffs? Okay, so there's been a lot of talk about Elias Pedersen in this market, right? Prioritism from signing his extension after he signed it, but I want to zero in on one thing that I'm watching every single game as the game's wind down here is, is he winning his matchups? That's what the playoffs are all about. Are you, whether you're hard-matched or not, are you in a situation to A, do you remain neutral, or are you in a position to dictate and, you know, drive offense in your game? And two-way game is so important against, you know, some of the good teams in the playoffs, but defensively being responsible. But, batch, to me, it's, "Are you winning those matchups?" And I think there's been some real consistent play at the beginning of the year from Elias Pedersen, where he was just going off. And this was a guy that was winning every single matchup. But here in the second half of the season, we started to see some cracks in his game where that inconsistency is setting in. So, one of the bigger storylines for me is, against those, you know, tough teams, against those teams where, whether it's a Colorado. We saw him outplayed by Casey Middlestadt in that game in that line. You know, against Dallas, there was a pretty much, they played a decent game, but was it a conclusive win for that line? No, not necessarily, right? And he had the benefit of having Brock Besser on his line. So, are you able to, you know, influence the game and be that game-breaker occasionally for your team, because you're going to need it, but at the very minimum, are you, you know, controlling possession, are you more in the offensive zone? And that, to me, this is, you know, one of the themes that I'll be watching here. We've seen Elias Pedersen pick up points in, you know, games, against some of the really good teams this year. You look across the board, he's basically a point-per-game player against the really strong teams across the NHL. But that doesn't necessarily represent the fact that he outplayed them five on five. And that's one of the areas I'm watching here is to say, okay, you know, he is one of the more skilled players in the league. And we've seen that. We've seen him Vancouver for a long time. But when the games get real, when they tighten up, are you winning your matchups? And that's what, you know, a really important storyline for me heading into the playoffs. Yeah. And I think it's going to be fascinating to see what the matchups look like and what the lines look like by the time we get to the postseason. And don't worry, we're going to circle back on this initial question from Arash. I'm going to give my storyline that I think we need to be talking more about. But it ties into a question from Ernest who writes in and says, "Is talk it mixing up the lines both in practices and in games to throw off other teams who are pre-scouting them for the playoffs?" And my answer to that question is, no, I don't think he's doing that. I think he's legitimately just trying to figure out what the best way to deploy the players he has is and trying to figure that out as soon as possible heading into the postseason. So, you know, we saw the lines in the blender against Dallas on Thursday where Patterson was with Hoaglander and Besser and Miller was moved away from Besser really for the first time in a very long time. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if we see talk it moving and shaking and working with the lines and figuring things out or trying to figure things out as we wind down here in the regular season because I do think there is a world in which the lines that talk it would like to use to hard match or whatever line GT Miller's centering and the Joshua Blueger Garland line if he keeps them together. So, I do think there is a world in which Patterson isn't necessarily being used in a quote-unquote matchup role or even potentially a quote-unquote top six role. And that may sound harsh for a guy that just signed the massive $92 plus million contract extension but there could be benefits to that if they can carve out favorable match-ups for him and his line mates further down the lineup. But even if they're able to do that, there is then an onus on him that, okay, now because you're not playing against the top two lines of the other team. We're not using you in that hard matchup situation. And look, I still think it's very possible they do. I'm just looking at hypotheticals here. If they get him away from those hard match-ups, then the pressure is going to be on him to produce because then theoretically you'd be playing the third line of the other team and that's an opportunity for you to generate offense. So you definitely have to control play if that's the way things play out. Well, let's look back at the Dallas game where they were matched up against Matt Duchain, Tyler Sagan and Mason Marchman. Like that's a very playoff ready line and you're right. If you end up going with JT Miller, Teddy Blueger and maybe even a lies Lindholm and depending on who he's playing with, maybe you turn that into a shutdown line. If it's McCabe and Lindholm and you're saying, "Hey, Elias, we know you have some physical limitations but one thing you can do really well is defend." Maybe that's your shutdown line or a variation of it. It does open up Elias Patterson, but I look at that Matt Duchain, Tyler Sagan, and Marchman line that they were going head to head against. And yeah, they broke even on that one. There was no real conclusive win for either side. But that's a line that over a seven game series, that's a battle batch. Like that's not an easy line to play. They've got some sandpaper and Marchman. They've got Duchain, who's one of the more improved players in the NHL. And Tyler Sagan, who on his day, yeah, the body's breaking down a little bit, but still dynamic enough to win your games and be a difference maker. You know, that's the standard that a Hoglander or a Besser or whoever that winger is on that right hand side, they have to hit that consistently enough. And with Elias Patterson, it's going to come down to him because one of the things you expect from players as they turn into that upper echelon player in the NHL is, "Do you make those players around you better?" We've seen Neil's Hoglander over the last couple of weeks drive that line. I think as you inch toward the playoffs, whatever the matchup might be, if you get a soft matchup, you definitely have to produce then. But even in these head to head against second lines across the league batch, that's something that, you know, now you're in that stratosphere of starting next year. You're paid a lot of money. Whether you like that discussion or not, you got to win your matchups. And that's why I look at even that Duchain line to say over a seven game series, can you bring it every single game or, you know, win that matchup in a series, whether it's, you know, Dallas, whether it's national, whether it's Winnipeg, whoever it may be. And I think that's the big challenge for Rick Talkett and, of course, Elias Patterson. So we'll see how the line combinations continue to develop here over the rest of the regular season. But I absolutely agree with you. I think that is a topic that probably needs more focus on it, not just in terms of who does Patterson end up playing with, but in terms of will they be able to rely on him to control play and drive play really when the games matter coming next month. My storyline is one that does actually get talked about. And it's hard in a market like this with the coverage of this team to find a storyline that doesn't get discussed to some degree. But I'm going to choose a storyline that I think needs to be talked about even more than it already is because of how much it could impact the Canucks ability to have success in the playoffs. And that is the power play, which, you know, I think the Dallas game is a perfect example. We already talked about it. You hold one of the top teams in the league scoring at five on five off the board at even strength, but Dallas finds a way to get two power play goals and, yeah, disciplines a part of that. The Canucks gave them five power plays. You can't do that against a team that has a top 10 power play. If you want to have success, but the Canucks go over on the power play. And not only do they go over, but they don't look very confident. They don't look like they're going to generate much. They're not building momentum. Rick Talkett called the mechanical after the game. And it's not like this is just a blip or a small sample size stretch where we're talking about this power play not being good. We're going to take it to a larger sample size and I'll be it. It's not the biggest sample size you can find, but go back to the start of February. So since February 1st, the Canucks have a bottom four power play in the National Hockey League. And, you know, that game against Dallas on Thursday, we already talked about how much it resembles a playoff game. So guess what? If that's a critical playoff game and you go over on your power play and don't create momentum to get into penalty trouble or you have some calls go against you and the other team snaps a couple of power play goals home, that could be the difference between winning and losing a series. And that's why I think it needs to be talked about more, not because we need to put more spotlight on these guys that they need to get things going and they've been struggling, but because if they don't, it could not only cost the Canucks playoff games, it could cost them a series. And the word mechanical is such a good one for this because it's exactly that. It's not fluid. It's not something that they're working off reactions or what the PK is giving them. They've got their set plays or their set positions that they work off of. And, you know, one of the areas that they're, I think the biggest problem right now for this team is, of course, you've got Quinn Hughes at the top. You've got, you know, J.T. Miller and Elise Petterson on the flanks and you've got Brock Besser as the net front, but the bumper spot right now, they're looking for something there, but it's not there. Pew Souter, you know, I think he's, I'm one of his biggest fans this season. I think he's been able to add a layer to this team. Just imagine if he wasn't there and you're not able to get the versatility from him on the wing at the center position, but at the bumper spot batch, it's not a perfect fit and you're looking for a lefty to be in that spot, a guy that can provide that shot kind of like Bo Horbat did in the past. It might be time to try somebody else there because, you know, they haven't really been able to find that. So if you're looking at other lefties, is it Vasili Podkolzen? Is it potentially Dakota Joshua? Maybe you switch with him and you get a righty like Brock Besser in the spot. You get Dakota to play the net front. I just feel like they're, they're so used to trying to set up certain shots that they're searching for the middle of the ice and the bumper guy to open up these options and I get it. If you make the bumper a threat, that's going to open up room for J.T. to get that shot off or that pass off or it's going to get Elise Petterson to get that shot off as well because PKs are going to have to come to the middle of the ice a little bit more and respect that shot. But right now, it just feels like they're trying to force it in right now and it's everything is telegraphed because that middle bumper guy's not a threat. And this ties into another question we got in from Callie Kanak who writes in and says, "I love Souter's overall game, but is there a reason he's firmly ensconced on PP1? Is there something so terribly wrong with Hoaglander's game that he can't play there?" And it's a good question to be honest because, you know, really since Horvat left, they haven't found someone that has been at home consistently in that bumper spot and has been a legitimate shooting threat and scoring threat with any level of consistency, as I said. So I do wonder if there are other guys that they could be looking at there and, you know, you certainly have to include Niels Hoaglander in that conversation, especially after the 20-plus goal season that he's put up to this point. Yeah, the prerequisite right now is you want to left in that spot because that getting that pass from JT Miller, you have that shot open. It's a minimal delay, if anything, and you can get that shot off or you can pass out of it back to JT, potentially the point as well. So for me, yeah, Pew Souter, I think he's been given a good run at this. Visily Podkolz and Niels Hoaglander, "Is there a way to incorporate Dakota Joshua?" Maybe that's a playoff fix. Remember, the Vancouver Canucks struggled when Dustin Bufflin was in front of the net. Roberto Luongo remembers all of that. Is there a way where you're saying, "Okay, maybe it's not a lefty at the bumper spot, but you do a switch there with Brock Besser playing that area." He's done it before. He's had some success in the high slot. He's got a much better shot. It's recovered this year. We've seen it. So it requires experimentation, but there's also something Vatch that you're talking about with this team. It's also between the years. The really good power plays. I'll reference Dallas on that first power play goal that Rope Hins scores. Sure, Vancouver is tired on that play. But the way that they were whipping around the puck, that wasn't a design play. They weren't looking for anybody in particular. They were taking what the PK of the Vancouver Canucks gave them, and they played with confidence. They found the spot. They went down low. Eventually, Patterson is on the ice flailing a bit, and it creates a 2-1 down low, and they're basing it off a reaction. That's not a set play. Vancouver needs to get back to that right now. It's just like they're looking for that perfect play. So as much it is about personnel and having the right guy in the bumper, it's also about the star player is essentially saying, "We've got to be more instinctual rather than, "Hey, this is my spot, and I've got to create from this spot." All right, we're tight for time. Thanks for the questions. For those of you that we didn't get to your questions, apologies. We'll try to fit them in on the show next week, but it is time for the Rose Ceremony, Randeep, and you can do the honors. Who are you giving your Rose to this week? All right, I'm not going from a player perspective. I'm actually going to give my Rose to the Vancouver Canucks. It's kind of a special day here. Six years ago today, the very first South Asian community night, and it was held by the Vancouver Canucks. I've been helping them plan it for the last six years, and, you know, it's awesome to see more teams starting this. Five years later, they're incorporating this across theirs. The Calgary Flames are having theirs this weekend on hockey, and Canada, Punjabi, but it's a night where you can celebrate the community and their achievements. So just want to give my Rose to the Canucks, because they started this six years ago, and it's really something that is a welcome addition to the world of hockey. Yeah, absolutely, and it's great to see how the initiative has grown from just being something that started with Vancouver, that is something that we see teams across the league now embracing and not just having South Asian community nights, but community nights for a variety of different cultures and people that they want to be more inclusive of in this great game that we all love and all follow. For my Rose, I'm going to stick on the ice, and I'm going to go with JT Miller, who scored the Canucks loan goal against Dallas. He's on a three-game point streak right now, and regardless of which way the tide is going, whether the Canucks are winning or losing, whether they're struggling or doing well, JT Miller to me has been the most consistent player on this roster this year, maybe with the exception of Quinn Hughes, but even then Hughes has had some quiet stretches. Miller just continues to produce and produce, and I think too often we use the Rose ceremony as kind of like an unsung hero award, where we use it to talk about someone that isn't getting enough love in the market, whereas JT Miller is having his name chanted by the fans, but I'm going to give him my Rose this week, because I think he deserves it. I think he's been great, and he's going to be the straw that stirs the drink for this team heading into the postseason in a few weeks as well. All right, Randy, before we get out of here, Hockey Night in Canada, Punjabi on Saturday night, what do you guys have coming up on the show? Game one this week, Buffalo versus Toronto, and game two. As I mentioned, South Asian celebration night, it's going to be LA versus Calgary, so I get to do another LA Kings game. Can't wait. Oh, that should be absolutely entertaining. Meanwhile, the Canucks idle on Saturday, so I'm going to have the night off. I'll be putting my joint up and watching all the games, but note the early start. It is a 1230 matinee game on Sunday, Easter Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks. We will have the call right here on Sportsnet 650. The pregame show gets underway at 1130 in the morning, and the puck drops at Rogers Arena just after 1230. So join me and Randy for that on Sunday, and we'll talk to you on this show again next week. You have been listening to In the Booth on your official home of the Canucks Sportsnet 650.
