This is the Canucks Central post-game show. Golden Knights game the main cover line again. The triangels with room left circle to the net. Shoots have gone through to Smith, they score. (dramatic music) The Los Angeles holding a game in hand. When he was with the shot for the left point, he scores. Seeing I-Rister for the line by Quinn Hughes, there was traffic in front of him. The cannot captain has his second of the game to make it five to three. With instant reaction from the players and coaches. Sousie with a shot off the left wing of the big of zone. Let's stop here, come the Golden Knights the other way. Colis are right wing in front of her, how did he scores? (dramatic music) For the second time tonight, the Canucks can see less than a minute after scoring. And the Golden Knights make it six to three. Have your say on the official home of the Canucks. Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network. (dramatic music) Canucks fall six three against the Golden Knights in Vegas. Tough performance, not a great start to this three game road trip. And this is the Canucks Central Post game show presented by the number five orange on the home of your Canucks. Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network. Satya Arshah with Bick Nazar. We are gonna welcome in Randy Vjanda into the conversation in just a moment. Get your thoughts into our Dunbar-Lumber tax sandbox. 650, 650, you can also grab a phone line. 6040, 280, 0650, you're toll free. 1-888-275-0650. It wasn't good enough from the Vancouver Canucks tonight. A bad start, they were down two nothing early in this game. They made a bit of a push to make a 2-1. The next thing you know, they're down again. 3-1, 4-1, 5-1. And anytime they made it a little bit closer, right? They finally got it to 5-3 early in the third. And then seconds later, they give up the other goal. And then after that, like any type of-- - They make it 2-1, 20 seconds later. - Yeah, it's cycle scoring. Yeah, so it's like every turn, it looked like they were getting back in this game, Vegas really pulled away from them. And in the third, I thought, you know, the game pretty much died when they gave up that 6-3 goal. Like there was a feeling, okay, you made a 5-3, maybe there will be a fun finish to the third. And then literally the next shift, they give one up. It's just not good enough in big moments. And the Canucks come out losers here tonight. And Randy, like, I mean, I put this question to people on Twitter and, you know, people are getting their thoughts into our tax sandbox already, 650, 650. You're getting a lot of this first round exit, but, you know, every time the Canucks lose, it seems like those things come up here. But regardless, you're getting a lot of that. But what's your main takeaway from this game? - Yeah, you get, you know, you make mistakes early on in a game against a really good team in Vegas that has been not their best this year. You're going to get burned. And that's exactly what happened, guys. You cannot make multiple mistakes. You cannot have mistakes that-- multiple mistakes on a play as well. And get away with it against teams that are going to the playoffs. And the Vancouver Canucks on a lot of nights this year are that team that, if you make a mistake against them, they're going to come down the ice and beat you. But tonight, it was Vegas who is now on a seven-game point streak, who is starting to look like themselves. And as they get-- eventually, they're going to get healthier. In the opening few minutes of the game, guys, if you make some egregious mistakes, that's a word that Rick Talkett has used in the past. I think it fits for that first period. You're going to get-- you're going to get burned. So my takeaway is start on time against good teams. Otherwise, this happens. Yeah, for me, it's a significant lack of composure right at the start. And there's the Eichl opportunity early before the goal even happens. And then, can kids do this myth? Just bring a puck in. That's a lack of composure. Can, in call, make a stronger play at the blue line. That's a lack of composure. And it leads to all these issues. And you get the goal. You say, hey, we've screwed up for the opening nine minutes of this game. But we get a goal, get out of jail free. 20 seconds later, lack of composure. That to me is what stands out when you're getting to this point of the season. And especially going into the playoffs, you're going to need composure. Well, there's so many momentum swings in the playoffs. And this was a classic example of, OK, you make that one mistake. Whether R.C. Vance can't get it deep, he doesn't have a stick. He's trying to kick it into the zone. The Canucks are changing, goes back the other way. You're right, Casey to Smith has that chance to cover it. Can not, Anthony Manta ends up scoring. It's a tough break. It's not great. But how do you respond to that? You respond by, unfortunately, a dive, a pinch by Ian Cole. There's no cover going back the other way. Boom, 2-0. But composure is one thing. Where are you able to deal with the momentum swings within that period? And this is something that this team, against the team, especially at Vegas, that is going to tear you to shreds, really, if you give them that opportunity. And guys, that's what that first period was about. They are a cup champion. They understand the ebbs and flows of a playoff game of a high-intensity game. Can you understand them as well? Can you cope with them? And you know, that 2-1 goal, I like that shift because it was Keegan Colesar ends up drilling Elise Pedersen. He's got, you know, fire in the belly after that one. They end up scoring a goal with a good battle of Hoaglander and a Brock Besser. And what happens after that? Rather than building off of that, Vegas comes back and you have three forwards low in the zone, goes to a transition attack. And boom, there you have it. Michael scores. And after that, Vegas doesn't really look back. I know it becomes 5-3 later on in the game, but here in the first period, you've got that life. You've got a little bit of something. You've showed some heart. You've showed some battle, but that evaporates within 20 seconds. So for sure, the composure is the word that I would talk about as well. But I think, you know, for the playoffs, the volatility of those moments, of the momentum swings, is so something that we watch as fans and people that cover this game to say, hey, you remember when Vegas against Florida and the aggressive four checks and the momentum swings? Like for this Vancouver Canucks team, you got to get used to that already. You got to deal with those right now, because this is the level of, you know, intensity that you're going to see times probably 5 or 10 in the playoffs. So you got to start dealing with that now. Otherwise, it hits you real fast in round one. Yeah, and I, you know, it wasn't like it was one of those games where, I mean, hey, the connects were down a lot, right? And then they had a better second period. I thought, obviously, the third, you know, once, you know, they exchanged goals, they kind of petered down and it kind of died off as the game went on there. But it wasn't like they didn't have pushback. It wasn't like everything was horrible all night. Like there are certain parts of their game, but obviously when you're trailing, you are going to get things going more in your way, right? Yeah, the start was it. That was it. But also the thing that was most discouraging to me was the types of chances they gave up tonight. Because over the stretch of this, you know, now 26 games since the All-Star break, yes, the results haven't been at the level that they were prior to the All-Star break. But, you know, when looking at their overall process, like it hadn't been that bad. It done a lot of good things defensively. They've been better defensively. They're giving a fewer chance. They've actually generated some more chances than they did earlier this season. They're just not kind of scoring as much. Their special teams, obviously, power play has really been kind of lagging behind. But they weren't falling apart a lot. There weren't a lot of games were giving up odd man chances. There weren't mistakes upon mistakes happening. And that's something you could feel pretty good about. Like overall, structurally, they've been strong. This was a game where structurally they fell apart a lot. And that's something that just can't happen. No, it doesn't. And it was a game that more than anything. I think it resembled that first Vegas game where it was easy for Vegas. And although Vancouver had some good moments, in that first Vegas game this season, it was all Vegas. This was, you know, the team got better. But, guys, you start looking at, you know, score effects eventually takes over as well, where you're so ahead that you kind of take the foot off the gas. And I think that's what happened with Vegas in the second period. After that five minute penalty that Zadoraov has, you can see Vegas kind of saying, all right, we're in a pretty decent spot here. But they did punch back when they got hit for that goal by Quinn Hughes. So, you know, I think for Vancouver, a couple of things here, guys, where, you know, we talked about the ebbs and the flows of, you know, the momentum and the composure. But, against a team that is Ken Carview in transition, and the Canucks have defended well in transition this season, but in this game where you sometimes over commit on a play or you have a bad read, are you able to recover in time? Are you able to make sure that you don't compound mistakes? And against teams like this that are so, you know, they have that killer instinct. And Vegas had that. Jack Eichl's all over the place, even on that short-handed chance at Carlson, I believe hits the post. You know, Vancouver was giving up those opportunities. So, for me, you know, a team that's defended well in transition for the most part of the season, against a strong team like Vegas, they weren't that tonight. They were pretty permissive through the neutral zone, especially early on in the first period, which is something that I'm sure the coach has in mind to say, hey, if you're a third-man high and you've got all of a sudden three players deep in the zone trying to be aggressive and win battles, but you're not helping yourself defensively. And that's something that happened a few times in that first period led to transition attacks the other way and didn't help out this team. - One thing that I know we're going to talk about later, and I'd love to get your impression on it here, Randy, is I feel like we know what this team's identity is, right? They're meant to be a defensive first, and by and large, they've done a good job of that, especially post-all-star break. One thing I'm struggling to understand right now is I'm not sure I'm prepared to know what the lineup looks like game one of the playoffs. It still feels like we're in a bit of an experiment here with Garland and Joshua with Miller and all these different moving pieces, and we don't really know what the three D-mount on the right side are going to be. Sometimes it's Susie, sometimes it's Cole, could it be Julesin? It still feels like a lot still to be worked out in the remaining six games here. - For sure, it does. - You know, I think on the back end, that's a real valid question based on what are your best pairings, and, Vic, we talked about this, I feel like a month ago, of Zadorov and Cole. Like, what do you think of that pairing today? Zadorov obviously didn't play for the two-thirds of the game, but Ian Cole had a rough one in the first period. He had a rough one in this game, and Noah Julesin, I'm sure there's gonna be calls. There probably already calls already in the text and box to say, "Hey, get him back on the right-hand side." That, to me, I'm not sure what the best pairing there is on the third pair, because those are penalty killers. Those are guys that are, you still rely on heavily, and all three of those guys, based on a meritocracy, you know, play prominently, but here's the thing, right? Ian Cole, he's a good shot blocker, but if you block the shot and you aren't able to clear the zone and stays in your zone, that's a problem. Nikita Zadorov, you're wanting to change the game physically. Here, you weren't on the ice five-minute major, and in misconduct, you're not in the game. Noah Julesin, when he's played, you know, sure there's maybe lulls in terms of, could be a drop off a game here or there in his game, but he has been a key penalty killer. So to me, you know, that third pair is still incomplete. I'm not really sure what to think of that. When you go to the forward group, the big real, I think, player that we have to talk about in Ponder about is Elias Lindholm. With Lindholm, you probably have a little more balance where you can play him down the middle, and then all of a sudden, you can use Pew Suter, you can maybe, in that top six again, gives you a little bit of balance, who's played well with Miller and Besser, so that frees up maybe Joshua Garlin-Blooger, third line, you have nine forwards that you can at least look towards right now. I'm with you, I don't really see that. I think J.T. Miller and Joshua and Garlin is the line that's working right now, and in certain nights where they're able to win offensive zone possession guys, but outside of that, I know Hoaglander gets a goal today, but is that a ready-made, ready-to-go-play-off line with Patterson, Besser, and Hoaglander? Like, to me, it feels like it's a work in progress, or this is what we're doing for now. So, yeah, Lindholm is the guy that I'm looking at, because without him, it's tough to find that balance, that perfect fit, and a lot of that depends on his health. - Well, the thing to that they need more than anything is, Patterson just has to be better. - Sure, absolutely. - You know, we can get into individual players here, and we're gonna spend, we have, hey, we have a long post-game show coming up, and you know, grab a phone line, 604-280-0650, you're toll free, 1-888-275-0650, and a ton of reaction to our Dunbar Lumber text inbox, and ran deep, as you would imagine, a lot of Patterson questions, Brandon and Poco says, if disappearing ink actually existed, then Elias Patterson wouldn't need it, was the one, and it's a good joke for 60, I get it, and how did our 11 million dollar man play, you know, question mark and everything, so a lot of criticism for Patterson, and I mean, and people that have listened, you know, to us, you know, over the years, and especially this year, they know, you know, we've been pro Elias Patterson, of course, right, we defend him, even yesterday, you know, I came to his defense, saying, it hasn't been as bad as people make it out to be- - Oh, man, I got some things for people later on in the show, but nevertheless. - Yeah, there's stuff, right, there's stuff, it's not as bad as people make it out to be, but he needs to be better, and I think, in this game here tonight, it wasn't like it was all bad, he doesn't get an assist, but does good work on the Hoaglander goal digging the puck out. I mean, Fuller Perot, I could decide not to take an extra five minutes to shoot the puck, maybe he has another assist to set him up, I mean, so it wasn't like all bad, you know what I mean? But I think we're all waiting for him to kind of arrive on the scene yet again, and until he does, like, it's gonna be touch and go here with this club. - For sure it is, and listen, your top two lines, and by that I mean your top two centers, because J.T. Miller, with what he does, picking up another point today on that Hughes goal, the first one, he does what he needs to do, he's, and it's not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination, but he's still picking up points, and you get that consistently, he's up to what, 95 points this season. With Elias Patterson, yeah, at one point, he was about to be the first Swedish player in NHL history to get back to back 100-point seasons, he's dropped off of that, and there could be reasons, right? When you take a maintenance day from practice, that implies you're dealing with something, I know a lot of players are dealing with something at this point of the season, but you are still one of the franchise players on this team, you're a top two, three player, Queen Hughes, J.T. Miller in that conversation as well, where the team relies on you to pick up those points, so yeah, this is a situation where Patterson's going to have to be better as this team gets closer to the playoffs. The two, you know, plays you mentioned, whether it was that Niels Hoaglander goal, I liked his response when he plays angry, he gets drilled by Kolosar there, and then he's engaged, he takes the puck off Kolosar right after that, and then keeps battling to score that goal, that was, you know, a moment to say, all right, a little bit of more of that, if you're engaged like that, and you can't play a full, you know, 2022 minutes of that, I understand that, but I'd like to see more of that, where he's saying, he's playing a little ticked off, he's playing a little pissed off, even later on, on the power play, when Hughes ends up scoring that goal up to make it five two, you know, he's battling in front of the net, so there were some good things here. Do you see it more often? Do you see it consistently enough? That's going to be key here, because, you know, we know guys, we've watched a lot of Stanley Cup playoffs hockey, the fans have, the listeners have, everybody has, you're not going to make it that far, unless you have two lines clicking, and generally that's the top six, if you can get a third line going as well, then you really have a strong chance of making far in the playoffs, but for this team, they do need Elias Patterson to produce, and I thought Niels Hoaglander was better in the Anaheim game, you noticed him in this game as well, he gets the goal, but that line, and especially driven by Elias Patterson, of course they're going to have to ramp up their game here, and, you know, Arizona's not going to be an easy game in the sense that Arizona competes, and after the Anaheim game, we can understand that nothing is given to you easy in this league, but that LA game, especially looking at that game, your top six is going to have to perform, otherwise Dan O Copitar, those guys, we know they're kind of like, they'll just kind of swarm you, and they'll really, you know, play that one, three, one, and force you to force you to do something stupid, and then attack the other way. - It kind of gets lost in the shuffle because the game was kind of out of hand before it even happened, but the Zadorov Major, is that a major for you? - I think in today's NHL, yeah, it's a defenseless player, there's head contact, under that rule, yeah, I understand why it's called, I know there's some people, even during the intermissions, a few of my buddies texting me saying, how is that a call? But the letter of the law in today's league, if the numbers are there, if the player's defenseless, and also guys, 9.1 seconds left in that period, I think that's a play that comes from frustration, of course, and, you know, that's why I don't like that call because I'm, or the play, because it's just, you know, in that case, that's just anger, right? That's just, you're trying to send a message before the period's over, and anytime the board's going to the, or the head goes into the boards like that, referees have the discretion to call that in today's NHL. - Yeah, they do, the thing with me is like, and the thing is, I've always wanted to see them be tougher on those calls, but they haven't been, and then, you know, they call this one, it's inconsistency of it that, you know, drives me crazy. So for me, it was harsh based on the standard that has been set in the National Hockey League, and, you know, other players you can always turn towards or whatever, I mean, it kind of is what it is, but we all kind of know, I mean, at that point, that's not where the Canucks had a loss that game. Now, the Phantom High Stick Call, that's a bit of a tough one, but again, like, we talk about the Canucks man advantage here, right? They scored one goal, had a double minor, had a double minor, had a four minute power play, couldn't convert on it, like, your power play has to come through, like, yes, there's some bad calls going your way, and it's too bad they got scored on right away as well, hey, you want to take one goal off the board, okay, sure, take one goal off the board, you're still lost by three, and if you score a couple power play goals, maybe it's a different night. - For sure it is, and, you know, that four minute penalty that they end up taking on the JT Miller getting caught by the high stick there, that's the one where you have to score there, right? You have to produce something, and, unfortunately, for the team, they weren't able to do that, guys. And, you know, even on that play, throughout that four minutes, William Carlson got the best chance, I know JT Miller hit the post, but that two on one, it's a wide open net, and to Smith, it's tough for him to make that save, but Carlson probably should've had a goal there, so the power play is one thing, and, you know, you mentioned about Philopronic, I know it wasn't on the power play, but the delay on that shot, where Pederson's set him up, and this is one of the things, I think, with this team, and Rick Tockets mentioned it as well, that, hey, sometimes you shoot, and you play for the rebound. You have a three on two in that situation, guys, and I'm bringing this up, 'cause, Sat, you mentioned it about a minute or two minutes ago, but that play was, sometimes you just overthink it. You're trying to take that extra second, you're trying to kind of roof it, and Noah Hanifen gets to stick in the lane, and it's not even a shot on goal, and a lot of that's going on in the power play, so you have to play to a little bit more instinct, you have to play to, you know, the more the broken play, as Tocket mentions it, but I just wanna see the confidence in that shot, and Philopronic, on his day, probably has a heavier shot on this team, but you gotta hit the net, you gotta shoot it with confidence, and really, you know, lean into it, and, unfortunately, he just took way too long, and that's something we're also seeing on the power play way too much of. - Yeah, absolutely, yeah, before we let you go, Casey this myth tonight, and it's funny, because the first goal of the game happens after he makes an incredible save on Dorofoiev, who's been, you know, absolutely red hot. I think he's squirted a bunch of games, and a role has three goals in his last five games, I guess now four in his last five games getting this one here tonight, so he's been on a bit of a heater recently, so a great save on him initially, but then it's one of the most oddest plays I've seen the goaltender make, where they just, like, pass it through their own glove, essentially, like, it was, and I guess the ice is, you know, a bit more flush coming off early in the game, and maybe it slides a little bit quicker through it, and that's kind of what happened there, but, man, that was quite the mishandle from Casey this myth, and then the level overall how he played tonight, like, what were your thoughts on the goaltending? - Yeah, I think that first goal was, you know, I can understand what he's trying to do there, the execution is simply not there, shovels it over a mantha who's got a better angle than Dorfiv and ends up scoring that goal, so it's unlucky right off the bat, but, guys, you know, as strong as a game, like, he didn't have a strong game, and I'm with you there, there's probably a couple of moments that he wants back, especially that one, he wasn't helped out very much either, right? With the March or so goal, there were odd man rushes in that first period left, right, and center, especially in the opening few minutes, where it's not a game that Casey Dismith is gonna go back and say, you know, hey, I end up giving up six goals on 30 shots, even strength, you give up four there, you're not happy with that, but I also look at some of the plays around him, you know, we can focus on, we can focus on even the defenseman, you know, on that three-one goal, when you've got three forwards deep in the offensive zone, and the puck goes out the other way, you don't win those puck battles, the defenseman are skating backwards, they're in a tough spot, and then on top of that, you've got the goaltender that is facing a three-on-two or a two-on-one. Yeah, I feel for him, I feel for Casey Dismith in that opening period, because there's only so much you can do, so it wasn't as strong as game, but I think across the board, guys, there was a tough one for the Canucks, and, you know, later on in the period, and later on in the game, he makes some saves that, you know, give his team a bit of a chance, as they were hemmed in even later on, when Vegas won to step on the gas that they did, they, especially with that, what was it, the sixth goal of the game, where it looks like the Canucks have an opportunity, but Dismith made some saves, but unfortunately, I really posed back to that first period. You have no confidence when it feels like you're just hung out to dry on a few of those goals, and he wasn't strong on the first one, but I don't really blame him on, you know, the second, third, and fourth of Vegas goal. Yeah, I know I'm with you on it. Randy, great stuff tonight, and we look forward to chatting with you tomorrow, pre-game, and we'll hear you during the game and talk to you post-game. Hopefully, after a better performance in Arizona against the Coyotes. Yeah, I'm curious to see you, and hear what the coach says today, so we listening as I head out of here, and also on top of that, this is the old Craig Sager line. Burn it, boys, burn it. The first period, and just focus on tomorrow. Yeah, death by fire. All right, great stuff for Randy. Cheers, boys. That is Randy Jana called the game alongside Brendan Bacheloret tonight at 6-3 Canucks loss in Vegas against the Golden Knights. It's sat in Vic on sports net 650, 604-280-0650. We are gonna go to the foam boards in just a moment, but Vic, before we do that, the text message inbox is pumping, and a lot of frustration and angst tonight after a tough loss. Oh boy, and look, it's justified. It's a 6-3 loss, but it's pretty hot in the inbox, despite the rain earlier today. This one, David North Burnaby. So you use a curling term to Smith, look shaky in the hack right off the hop. He's played some solid games, but the team desperately needs Demko back ASAP. When he's good to go, shout out today of working in the curling term, shaking the hack, that's a strong one. Gimme Julesin. Cole was on for four first period goals against, disliked his play for about a month now that is an unsigned text, and Ryan from Pemberton. Canucks will not win the playoffs without power play, power play, power play, and Rick needs to use a timeout more. We are still vulnerable team that needs resets throughout the game. Thanks. That is Ryan in Pemberton. Yeah, there's a lot going on here, and man, a lot of people are upset and don't think the team is going to be good in the postseason. And you know, I was joking about this after the other game. It seems like every loss, they're going to lose in the first round. Well, the stakes are increasing, right? And the emotional investment in each game is increasing. 100% I get it, but so much for like negative media, you know? I'm just saying. Seth, come on. Seth, come on. People are already annoying. You don't kind of turn it back on them. The media is so negative. And yet I'm here and you're here. That meme of the guy who's faking his heart attack, he's like, call an ambulance, call it. But not for me. That's what Sadja did right there. I just think it's funny, you know, how negative. And people like Jay and Poco's like, you know, even your critique of Patterson is like a slap from a napkin. You're not being cool enough. Like, I mean, I just said he needs to be better. What do people want? Do you want us to tar in fact? Like, here's two things for me. Number one, this team has 100 points through 75 games, right? They've had a fantastic season. They're not playing great right now. And sure, you can have concerns, legitimate, I get it. But have they played at a point where the players on this team deserve fire and brimstone for most in terms of our critique? I think it was justified during years where they're playing horrible and well below expectations. I punched this desk a couple of times. I mean, I lost my mind a number of times, for sure. But it's because there are a lot of bad things going on and it builds up. Like, this is a successful campaign. Like, to me, my criticism of individual players, even guys who aren't playing well, whatever, and the team in and of itself, isn't going to be that dramatic. Not right now. So like, yeah, Patterson hasn't played well. But I'm not going to sit here and try to tar and feather him. That's not what I am with any player on this team based on the season they've had. So if you want blood, if you want us to bludgeon somebody, it's not happening. Not right now, at least. Like, they haven't had the type of season where anybody deserves a bludgeoning on the air about what's going on right now. I understand the frustration. But there is a conversation to be had about Patterson, Vic. Yes, it's true. Well, so here's what I want to say about the Patterson thing. On a night like tonight, when Jack Eiko, for me, was the best player on the ice. I know March, so I had more points. Jack Eiko was the best player on the ice tonight. And there's a stark contrast between how Eiko looked and Patterson looked, OK? You're going to put that out there. And so the demand is we need our best player to look like that. That's what fans are going to say. Or our highest paid player, best subjective. And he didn't. He just didn't look like Jack Eiko tonight. And so Eiko crushes the game. Vegas will nights win 6-3. Connects a plan from behind. What I don't understand is-- and this is where I kind of push back on the conversations-- is like, what mistake did you see that Patterson made? Like, what mistake today? Like, grievous errors leading to goals. There wasn't one. Elias Patterson was responsible for. There wasn't one. And then the plays you mentioned, like he enters the zone, picks the hole perfectly, takes a pass from Queen Hughes, slides it to Philopronic. At that stage, there's nothing Elias Patterson can do. He can't put it in the net for Philopronic. He makes a great touch pass to Brock Besser on a two-on-two zone entry. Besser threads it through to Nils Hoaglander. So this is Patterson making a play in the neutral zone to open up space for his players. Besser puts it through for Hoaglander, doesn't take the pass. Patterson can't take the pass for Hoaglander. But he does something to set up that play. The Queen Hughes goal. Patterson's in front of the net. Distracting Logan Thompson. He's right in front-- I have one in his kitchen. Ice turned to you and said, is that going to counter-- are they going to challenge for goaltender interference on that call? He was right in his grill. He's in the crepe. But he does a great job not touching him. Yeah, and he actually does a great job. And also Logan Thompson there just didn't push forward enough for it to be an issue, right? But nevertheless, he's in a spot. You want him screening the goalie. Those are tough areas of the ice, too. And look, I'm not going to sit here and say, like, oh, he was amazing. He was nowhere close to Jack Eichal. But this idea that-- there's text coming in. It's like, it's 100% on Patterson tonight. No, it's really not. They got crushed. The fourth line was out there. A lot against Jack Eichal and Jack Eichal, eight this evening. Right, crushed them. Crushed them, absolutely crushed them. All right, we'll get to more text messages coming in here in a little bit. Let's take a phone call. Let's go to Sean in New West, who's been waiting to get on. Sean, thanks for hanging on. What do you have for us tonight after a 6-3 Canucks loss? Hey, guys, thanks for taking my call. I mean, there's really not much to say about this game. In the first period, the game was kind of-- I mean, decided really with some mistakes and stuff. But I really thought that actually had some good pushback in the second period after getting that goal-- getting a goal there and then just third preyed even as well. And then they let that goal in like 30 seconds left. But I mean, I'm not really that concerned, honestly. I mean, last year, the Canucks had like 75 points at this point on the 2nd of April. They're at 100 points right now. You're not going to win every game. I mean, yes, it's concerning the loss last. What is it, three out of the last four games? I mean, but you know what? It's a long season, right towards the finish line here. Getting ready for the playoffs. Pedersen, I think he's battling some sort of injury. Not to make excuses, but you can tell. Something's bothering him. I think Tock had said something along the lines of he needs a maintenance day or something along those lines. So really not that concerned. I don't think we'd be fancy to be concerned, because we know what kind of player he is. I think what guys like-- you know, some offense here. And, you know, maybe you're big. And maybe you said what you're be concerned about is what the rock is going to do this Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, the Cody Roads. That's what people should be more concerned about. And that's all they're going to say. Thanks for the phone call. Sean in New West calling in. Is WrestleMania this weekend? Is it this weekend? I don't know. I don't know what's going on. I don't know. I imagine that's what he's referencing. Yeah. 100%. 100%. All right. Keep your thoughts coming into our text then box, 65650. You can also grab a phone line, 604-280-0650. You're total free, 1-888-275-0650. This is the Conoc Central Post game show. We'll hear from the head coach as well, after a 6-3 loss in Vegas against the Golden Knights. It's sat and bick on Sportsnet 650. And it's brought to you by the number five orange. The game is over. But is your night really done? More coming up next on Sportsnet 650. This is where you taught Canucks. You're listening to the Canucks Central Post game show on the official home of the Canucks. Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network. To the line for Hannafin, down to the right side for Stevenson. Tried a centering pass, blocked by Lafferty. Couldn't get it out again. Marches up, passes left circle for Michael. Back to the line. Hannafin with the drive, he scores. Nella Hannafin with a bomb from the top of the point. Beats Casey to Smith in its Vegas 4 and Vancouver 1, with more than five minutes left in the first. Nella Hannafin makes it a three-goal leap for the Vegas Golden Knights. And this comes down to an opportunity for Ian Cole to get it out of the zone. Marches owe pressures, pressures him just enough where he's not able to get it down the middle of the ice and down 200 feet. And what happens is Vegas keeps it in the zone. They pass it around. Lafferty almost breaks it up again. But unfortunately, yet again, they can't get out of the zone. And Nella Hannafin was with a one-timer, 88 miles per hour. And zips it right by Casey to Smith. A bit of a screen in front of him. But that to me comes down to unable to get it out of your own zone when you have looks. Rick Talk is not going to like that one. Not great. Canucks lose 6-3 in Vegas against the Golden Knights. And this is the Connect Central Post game show presented by the number five orange on the home of your Canucks Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio networks. That's Earshaw with Big Nizar. We are going to get to the thoughts of the Canucks head coach Rick Talkett coming up shortly as well. And like Randy mentioned, there's going to be more than one thing the coach I'm sure wasn't super happy with. But I'm not sure he'll tear a strip off of him. I'm not sure. Well, we'll see though. Well, he's probably had 40 minutes to come down. He has to have some time like relax. Don't lose your mind completely. All right, let's hit a couple of texts. We'll take a phone call and we'll get to the head coach. What are the people saying on our dumb bar lumber text inbox? Steve Owen, sandwich. Do you guys think PD was invisible or relevant or barely noticeable, one we didn't read earlier? But we touched on that very briefly. This one, they're not that good. 650 needs to top piping them. They overachieved in the beginning and now come back to Earth. Lucky to win two games in the playoffs. Two games. This one, Ashton and Surrey. Tough one to watch, bad defense, bad start, bad officiating, transition, defense, kill them all night. Vegas found the weak side guy with speed all night, created odd man rushes. I love Patterson, but yet again, a passenger tonight that is Ashton in Surrey. We got time for one more? Yeah, do one more. All right, not to pin the loss on to Smith, but there was a couple he might have saved on some texts. I agree with that. I'll do this one here. Angry fan and North fan. You guys are missing the point. You see all the top teams with their top players showing up day in and day out. He doesn't have to blow up the game with a massive mistake to be talked about. Geez, guys, he's talking about Patterson. And we'll talk more about Patterson as a show goes on. We said he needs to be better. I started off the entire Patterson conversation about they need better for Patterson. Yeah, again. The agreement, it was more about putting the performance in context. And the thing that's been missing, and we'll talk more about this as a show goes on, you outline a few chances you created that could easily turn into goals. And help create the first goal as well for Oakland. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It doesn't get an assist, but helps create it. But nonetheless, the thing that has been absent is the threat of him scoring goals. The thing you didn't mention was him being a threat to your goals. That needs to happen. We'll talk more about that as a show goes on. But keep your thoughts coming in to our text in the inbox 656. And again, on the night when Jack Ikel is seven shots on goal. Yeah, exactly. I understand the criticisms tonight because Ikel was so fantastic. You got to elevate. Absolutely. You got to match. Other players are great. Great players elevate their game. We need to see that from Elias Peterson. And we'll get to more of your thoughts. But let's go to the foam boards. Let's go to Richmond, where we have Sam on the line. Sam, thanks for calling in. What do you have for us tonight? Gentlemen, how are you this evening? Doing great, man. How are you? Good, thank you. So where do I start? First of all, that was where to start. First of all, I was a minor hockey league for about 12 years. And the officiating in that game was abysmal. I don't understand how Kelly Sutherland can absolutely and him being from DC is allowed to referee game. That was a couple of terrible calls by him. But that's beside the point. On the cannot side of it, Petey, as everyone's been saying, Petey's been a total no-show. I actually saw a Canucks media member write about how good Peterson was in January. But again, that was January. He's been totally invisible. And I don't know what they have to do with him. Maybe scratch him. I don't know, maybe that will get him going. Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's an injury. I honestly don't remember the last time watching and actually saying, wow, he's actually totally changed the game and what a difference maker. My question for you guys, and also to think about it, why doesn't talk? It'd take any more time out. It was like 3-1-4-1. And he didn't do anything, not that he could say anything on the bench, but maybe he could. Oh, also, I wanted to get your thoughts about other teams catching up. Maybe not so much Vegas, but Edmonton. And that's really getting worrisome. Anyhow, thanks, gentlemen. Thanks to the phone call a lot there. Let's try to hit some of it as quickly as we possibly can. On the officiating. Yeah, I mean, I'd say again, maybe not a great game in that regard. It was fine. It was still 4-1, when Zadorov-- Exactly. --takes that finally. Or 3-1. Exactly. And yeah, I'm here for talking. Yeah, Hanifen was here. And we mentioned there was the Phantom high-sticking call, which led to a goal as well. I mean, that's the most irritating one, isn't it? The high-sticking call. And then the Canucks go down a man, and then they score, right? So it's like, that's a tough one to take. It was a phantom call. There wasn't a high-stick on the play. Agreed just missed by the officials and the Costa Canucks. And it's been a couple of times when the official missed the icing, too, on-- PDG. --to a goal going the other way. And the official apologized. So there have been clear mistakes, which have led to goals. And I understand that it's frustrating, right? As far as-- Yeah, well, say it's not just against the Canucks, right? No, I think this is an issue across all sports, to be honest. --to be honest. Right now. And yeah, you're right. I think there's a greater conversation to be had there. Using timeouts, I mean, sure, but I mean, the Canucks went-- it was 2-0 and went down 2-1. And then they get a power play, like it is 3-1, right? Like, it's one of those things. Look, in a game like that, I'm not sure. The timeout is helping. Because look, they fought back. Hoaglander scores, it's 2-1. Yes, you have a goal right after that. Are you going to call a timeout after Eichol scores? It's just odd. And at some point, you have to let the players work it out themselves. Rick talking can't be there every single time. Especially while we're talking about things like timeouts. And I understand you're on the road, match ups, and all that. After a goal, you put the fourth line out, and then you put their studs out. Yeah, well, it's one of those things, too, for me. Talking about that and some timeouts, like that's management of a game. I think also, like, that was what, in the second period, after five, and then Cush get a power play, it was like-- No, no, this is the 2-1 goal. The 2-1 goal, right, right, yeah. 20 seconds later, the first guys out there is the blue line with Colson and Baines out there against Eichol. And we'll get to Baines, like we'll talk about that as well. I think there were some struggles there tonight, obviously. And I mean, there are players that struggle more, too, like, you know, Ian Cole is a guy tonight. Significant, what a really tough night. We'll mention, you know, Casey this myth a little bit as well. But all right, we'll get to more of your text. Oh, just really quickly. We've touched on this quite a lot, because the last caller was talking about it can Edmonton catch there. Oh, right, right, right. We've talked about this in a great detail. We're happy to refresh it every time it comes up. The Canucks still have a five-point lead. Two games extra that they've played. They also have five extra regulation wins. That's the first tiebreaker. So, yeah, Edmonton can creep closer, and obviously they still play against each other. So, in theory, Edmonton has their own control here. But it's still a lot of work for Edmonton to do. And they play six games in the last nine nights. Yeah, they have to have about two or three more back-to-back's coming up as well. So, basically, look at it this way. If the Canucks go four and three the rest of the way, they get to 108 points. For Edmonton to get to 108 points, they would have to go at least eight and two. Their final 10 games? Nine games. Nine games, sorry. Yeah, sorry. Eight and one-third last nine games or go 7-0-2 or 7-1-1. They have to pick up an extra point than Vancouver. So, as long as Vancouver wins four games rest of the way, they should be okay. If they win five of their final seven games here, then there's no conversation to be had. Like, you know, Edmonton maxes out 113 points. So, I think Edmonton's out of position now where-- They're gonna draw points. They're gonna draw points, but they would have to, essentially, close to win out their games to overtake Vancouver. And Vancouver should be able to win three or four of their finals. They should be able to. So, they get Calgary. They get Arizona twice. And they should be able to beat. I mean, to me, I don't look at LA as a team that's unbeatable. I know people are scared of LA, but I think that's a game they can certainly win on Saturday as well. All right, we'll get to more of your thoughts, but let's hear from the Canucks head coach after a 6-3 loss in Vegas against the Golden Knights. Here is Rick Talkett. Well, for spirit, if you're mistaken. Yeah. Yeah, the penalties and a couple of man rushes. I didn't think four or five guys were ready to play. And then we had our moments in the second and third, but obviously that first kind of put us behind the equal. A couple of times, you guys crawled back to within reach positions and gave one out by the way. Yeah, two-one. They scored 20 seconds later. Five-three. They scored, what, 24 seconds later? Yeah, can't happen. Why do you think the team was so loose at the start? I don't know, but it's about three or four plays. You've got to go through people. We were going through people. In this game, that's a good wall team. They're a team that holds on to Poxie. You have to go through people that were caught in between. So there was like four plays where if you go through the player, they probably don't get the odd man rush. And then you dive in, you don't get a piece anyway. That's how you get odd man rushes. So I don't know why they weren't ready to play. I know you've been kind of sounding the alarm for a while about finding another level. And in some of the games where the team hasn't been at its best, it defended really well. It didn't give up much. But the playoffs are around the corner now. Is it starting to become a concern that the team is still clearly well below where it needs to be? I think as an individual, you look at your game. And how can I play better? What can I do to contribute to the team? If everybody does that, you hope the next game will improve on that. Because like I said, some guys are going to look at their shifts and what can I do different to help the team? We know the system, obviously. But then it comes to there's a penalty kill. Can we be a little bit more aggressive on the wall to get that thing out? I think we're a little light getting in there. I just thought we were a little light everywhere. And that's not the type of game you want when you're getting this stretch drive. So we've got to find it quickly. What do you say to them as a coach to get them to do that, especially with this tight timeline? I didn't go in after tonight. Hopefully they talked about it. But we've got to regroup tomorrow. We've got to get these guys energized for the good in Arizona. You've got to get the negativity out of yourself now. But as a player, it's not so much negative. You've got to look at yourself how I can be better. We've got some individuals that they've got to start to have that fight a little bit more will right now. You can't save it for two more weeks. It has to happen now. It's hard to turn it on and off. What is there that you can do to bring that out of them that you haven't tried, maybe, at this point? Well, you just continue to town the message more individual meetings. You just keep on preaching the right stuff. That's all you can do. There's probably things on your mind other than the high-sticking call early. But I remember a couple of weeks ago, you said, guys who snapped their heads back, it should be review. Well, I told Kelly-- Kelly's a good ref. I told him that. That's what happened. That stuff bothers me. What are you going to do? Hopefully, he's got that in his pocketbook and feel known next time. I don't know. Does it feel worse when the team scores, or is that? Well, yeah, I mean, it sucks either way. But it's one play. But still, I do hate that. He's snapping your head back. That is Canucks head coach Rick Talkett. And I mean, Talkett hasn't been really critical of officials at all. And he just relayed what he said to Kelly Sutherland. He said that wasn't a penalty. He snapped his head back. He hated it, and it sucks that it happened. And maybe as forceful as he's been, it's like hopefully he learns from that. You want to blow up to see-- That was Talkett's nice way of saying you screwed up, pal. Here's a free idea for Rick Talkett. When you're in those scrums and everyone's putting the microphones in your face, snap your head back. Just answer every question, snap your head back, and then answer the question regularly, and it'll go viral. You think so? It'll absolutely go viral. Just snap your head back. Sorry. Yeah. Ian's putting the recorder in his face, and just snap his head. Yeah. And Eddie's right. There was a real resignation to his voice, too, when talking about that. Sounds like Al Bundy there, just buzzing. Yeah, he wasn't happy. And you know the comment to me that stood out the most, Bick, was we were light in a lot of areas. That's a nice way of saying a bit soft. Not soft. He didn't use that word. Man broke up to the Thesaurus. Thesaurus, like, what else can I light? That's a good word, light. Yeah. And then, you know, mention in greater detail earlier that you have to go through people. Yes. And complimented Vegas on being a good wall team, which we know is something he absolutely values. But repeatedly mentioned, have to go through people, paired with saying you're a light. Well, you know what? You know, one thing we should do here real quick, too, other post-game show. I know people don't want to relive the moments, but let's kind of like go through some of the goals real quick here. Like, the first goal happens. You know, Bane's loses his stick, can't get the puck deep. Goals offer a change. Now, I understand him going off for a change. I don't think it's great because of the time. The puck didn't get deep enough. But he doesn't have a stick, right? It's end of a shift, like I kind of understand. The second player also goes off, and the next thing you know, the connects are caught going the other way. Quinn Hughes, who's usually, and this is funny, we were talking about Quinn today on the pre-game show. I'm sorry, on Canucks Central, if you missed it about, you know, how good he's been this year. It's available on podcast. And one of the things we talked about was like, physically, he's been strong. Like, he's not going to overpower anybody, but he's not getting blown up around the ice. Like, he's not getting knocked over. If he loses a puck battle, sure, 'cause he's not the big, it's going to happen, but he's even improving that aspect of things. But he's not steady. He's not really solidified with his footing. And DeRofia just kind of goes through him. Like, it's, you know, that-- - It's a great play by Carlson to quick up it. - Yeah. - But, yeah, DeRofia, and not only does he go through him, Quinn Hughes lets him behind him, which we've seen a couple of times this season. And so he's behind him, and you're battling in a bad spot, and powers right through it. And he's stumbling a little himself. Is it induced by the contact? Is it just 'cause it's how he happened to skate on that play? Whatever it is, DeRofia has no problem going through Quinn Hughes in that play. Engineers the breakaway for himself, and obviously, Casey Dismuth takes care of the rest for Anthony Manta. But, hey, on that play, there's contact for you to help make a play. Doesn't go through him. - No, exactly. And then, you know, the second goal happens, Jonathan Marshall so scores. And correct me if I'm wrong, that's the same play that Ian Cole steps up with the blue line. - And we use the term passive in the second animation. He's waiting for the puck to come to him. Rick Talkett likes to talk about defending moving forward. Now, you're on the other side of the ice, lefty on the right side of the defense, but he makes a very passive play out the puck goes. And also, the back pressure on this play, Brock goes towards Ian Cole, rather than covering free in Cole. And so suddenly, as soon as Cole loses that puck, nobody's there, and it's open ice the rest of the way. And Jack Eichl was fast up the ice, cutting through the middle. Shay Theodore, fast through the ice, cutting through the middle. And Marshall almost times it up with two guys going to the front of the net of getting Theodore to cross the Smith's face. He shoots it a bit earlier, but there's two guys coming downhill and keeps you to Smith, away from the puck. I imagine he's keeping an eye on that and Marshall picks that corner. - Yeah, and then, you know, obviously, the connect scored with some good work by Elias Patterson and Brock Besser, Hoaglander jumps on the loose puck in front of the goal, makes it 2-1. And then Jack Eichl scores, not too long afterwards, what, 20 seconds later. And this is a play where Baines, in the offensive zone, loses a puck battle. The puck play goes the other way. And on the entire back check, nobody stops at the rail. We know the coach talks about stopping at the rails, getting into the middle. - But even before that, Baines loses a puck battle against Nick Hake. - Yeah, he can't get the puck deep again. Like he's at the board, but he can't get it deep, and you're out against Eichl. - He's trying to protect it, I get it. But you just said it, situationally, you have to know you're out there against Jack Eichl. Just knock it deep. Just knock it deep. Get your body behind it, knock it past Nick Hake. Lafferty's below the line, he's waiting for that play. Blueger's coming into the play to go support Lafferty low. That puck squirts in the middle, Eichl beats Blueger to it, and suddenly he breaks that threshold, and it's four on two the other way. - And Blueger's slow to pick up two in the middle, and I think he doesn't get the-- - Well, he's going towards the net, and suddenly he's got to stop track back. And not even just track back, catch Jack Eichl. - Yeah, and you're never getting-- - You're not catching Jack Eichl. And I mean, Baines gets back, and I get what he's doing, he's going towards Marcheso, but it's kind of a play where you have to go towards the middle of the ice on that back check, or as opposed to going to Marcheso, who throws the puck out front and in Eichl's scores. And I mean, those are a couple of the plays and they score it on the power play too, but those are some of the goals, and as the coach mentions, being light, and there's some of those moments there, like that's being light. - Well, the William Carlson goal. - Will the William Carlson goal? Yes, dismiss, got to squeeze that one? - He beats Cole. But go watch the two, the plays along the boards at the top. - Yeah. - Pugh, Sooner, and Ian Cole there. First of all, Carlson beats Cole obviously to the net, but Pugh, Sooner, against Anthony Manta, loses the battle. And Manta just rather casually just does a big sweet pass all the way across to Petranjolo, but it was pretty easy for him to whip that pass all the way across. But Sooner's trying, but he's not getting any sort of leverage on Anthony Manta on that play. - No, and those other plays, they make a difference in the game. And I think that's where a lot of frustration from the head coach comes. All right, we are gonna get to more of your text messages. Let's take a phone call here before we hit the break. Let's go to Richmond, where we have Ryan on the line. Ryan, thanks for calling in. What are your thoughts here tonight? - Hey, I love, I love you guys show. - Thank you. - You know, 100 points and 25 games, why are we crying? You know, the inexperience on the ice is less than the inexperienced in the fan base off the ice. Okay, who is there? 2003, Cluche lets in six goals. We're down one nothing. This fan base today would be jumping off the Alex Fraser Bridge, right? Okay, like 2010, we beat Chicago in Chicago 5-1. We think we're gonna win the cup. We lose a series in six games, just chill. We have a great team. Pedersen, 13th in the league and scoring. He's having the crappiest year to everybody. 13th in the scoring, name of Vegas player in the top 25. Like, we're gonna be fine. Pedersen just needs to shoot. Shoot the damn puck. Miller, Besser, don't separate them. That third line in Garland, Blueger, Joshua, do not separate them. P.D. Hoaglander, when Lindholm comes back, put them with those guys, they'll figure it out. They're great players. And we don't even have her goalie right now. Like, just chill, chill Vancouver. We'll be okay. We may not win a cup, but we'll be okay. - Hey, Ryan, great phone call, Matt. Thanks for the shout. - Well, I want to pair that call with something that Patricia texted us. Sorry, we gotta go. - No, no, we don't have to go. No, no, no, let's go, go ahead. - Okay, Patricia from Burnaby Texted In, when can we hit the panic button? So this is all trending towards what happens at the playoffs, right? - Yes, of course. - And so naturally, I always say, until you lose a home game, in the playoffs. - That's it, right, I don't know what's gonna happen these last seven games, but your level of concern is paired with what you think the team can expect to achieve in the playoffs. And so what do we always say? When you lose a game on home ice in the playoffs, that's when you start the panic. - Yeah, yeah, and you're not there yet. So, yeah, hold on, hold on, I gotta chime in. Do you panic if they lose game one at home when the Canucks will have home ice advantage? - Yeah, panic and you lose your advantage. - Well, not panic, but like the levels of concern really start to rot. - If the Canucks lose say three, two, two, whoever, is that a panic moment? - You've only got three more chances to screw up. - I don't know if it's a panic moment. For me, it depends on how a game gets. For me, it's like, I'm not gonna give you the answer you want. It really depends on the game. - This is hard to panic. - No, I'm not gonna say, you see it all the time, teams lose the first game at home, win game two, steal the game on the road. Next thing you know, you're back two to game five. - But if you're the one seed, that's a problem. - Yeah, and yeah, that's a problem. - I'm not sure if I'm panic. - I'm just saying the manner in which you lose game one at home when the Canucks have home ice in their upcoming playoff series. - Yeah, you know, how much is it? - That's where I'm going. - Yeah, I get it, I get it. - But you lose home ice when you lose the first game, that's what I'm saying. - I think advantage is a little bit of an overused term. I do. I get the match up thing and playing at home for a game seven is fine, but I think it's a bit of an overused term. - Yes, but it doesn't get reset until you go win in their barn. So it's fair to be a little concerned. - Yeah, I just, even if you win game two, you've lost the split. My personal opinion is I think the term advantage in that sprays is overused. - This is gonna be connects fans on April 21st. - Everyone's got to, even Bix got to relax a little bit here. He's like panicking about game one. - I think when you lose home ice, it's fine. - Yeah, I do think everyone needs to chill a little bit. It doesn't mean there aren't reasons why, you know, you could be concerned about things that get it, but yeah. - Because Sat trying to talk in a soothing calming voice. - I'm just saying, I thought Ryan made a number of good points. And not just 'cause he was being kind. - The waves of hope will serenade you. - I'm not trying to sell hope to you, to anybody. I'm just saying, you can panic now if you want. Who am I to tell you how to behave and how to act? Be if however you want. I may make fun of it from time to time. That may happen, but all right. - I might cast like you even more. - All right, keep your thoughts coming into our text. Then box will take more of your phone calls as well. 604-280-0650 after a 6-3 Canucks loss in Vegas against the Golden Knights. This is the Canucks Central Post Game Show presented by the number five orange of Vancouver legend. They've got sports too. More coming up next on SportsNet 650. - This is the Canucks Central Post Game Show. - Join the discussion on the official home of the Canucks. SportsNet 650 and the SportsNet Radio Network. - Canucks get what they needed if they want to try and paddle back in this game, which is an early goal in the third period to make it five to three. - Susie with a shot off the left wing of the Vegas zone. It stopped here from the Golden Knights the other way. Colis are right wing and Prefer, how did he scores? For the second time tonight, the Canucks can see less than a minute after scoring. And the Golden Knights make it 6-3. Another counter punch. - You know, we got to regroup tomorrow. Gotta get these guys energized for the against Arizona. You gotta get the negativity out of yourself now. But as a player, it's not so much negative. You gotta look at yourself how I can be better. We got some individuals and they gotta start to have that fight a little bit more will right now. You can't save it for two more weeks. It has to happen now. It's hard to turn it on and off. - That is Canucks head coach Rick Tockett. After a 6-3 loss in Vegas, not good enough. The coach needs more from the team. Seven games remaining before the post season. Can the Canucks right the ship ahead of then? This is the Canucks Central post game show. Satyar Shah with Biknazar and home here Canucks Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet radio network brought to you by the number five orange. Keep your thoughts coming into our text in the box, 650-650. We are gonna take a couple phone calls as well as 604-280-0650. Kena Northfan says, "I guess if you don't care about winning a cup, we should all chill. This fan is done with a decade of moral victories that we now seem to give to the individual players to cough 11.6, cough, play better and we will chill. Also, it's about how you lose. This was an ugly loss, Kena Northfan. - But nobody pitched moral victories tonight. - No, I mean, we talked about, the thing is, like I said before, I think sometimes people equate criticism with like being overly critical, right? Like, or like, you know, bludgeoning a player or, you know, being snarky. Like, literally said, Patterson has to be better. They weren't good enough. A lot of things they have to do better. But just because that's happening now doesn't mean to me, they're gonna lose in the first round. If you believe that, great, awesome. And if you're holding on to the past 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, 50 some years, however many years you've been watching the Canucks and however many years you feel like you've been struggling, you know, the way reality works is, it's indifferent to your struggles today. What's happening today does not take into consideration what you've been going through as a fan. Now, I know that's frustrating, but it doesn't change the reality of what this season may or may not be. And I understand it's frustrating sometimes because it's your team, you've had the failures, but this season lives in and of itself on its own. It's an entity in and of its own. It doesn't care or respond to what happened the last 10 years or whatever. And if you hold on to that, you can do it, but it's gonna be heavy, man. You gotta drop some of that baggage, you know? Like, it's hard to live in today's moment because today's moment doesn't care about yesterday. - Can I move on? - Anyways, yeah, move on. - Jazzy T and Kuwila, I think the Canucks and their fans need to pump the brakes a bit. This isn't an elite team. They've overachieved beating weak opponents in the Pacific Division. Maybe they should take on an underdog role a little more rather than pretending to be something they are not. A couple of more here. You mentioned the bludgeoning one, Saber Rob. No bludgeoning here, lads. Bane's not looking like an NHL or tonight, but Colzen looks like he belongs. Love the head snap back by Patrangelo. Not why Rick Talkett has the fourth line out versus the Eiko line so often 'cause they not avoid that a bit more. Some of it was just unfortunate happenstance. Long stretch of penalty kills and power plays puts the Canucks fourth line on the bench for a long stretch they get out there after the Golden Knights line has been on the bench for a while 'cause of penalty kills. So it gives them an opportunity to go up against that line and yeah, it's unfortunate. The one that bugs me is the one after the Hogan under one. Was that a moment you could have put the McKay of group out there instead? 'Cause you can kind of predict when the Eiko line is gonna go out there. Something like Bruce Cassidy is not gonna use them. So immediately after goal, he responses to the fourth line and they get their goal right away. - No, absolutely. - But sorry, on the beans thing, we've talked about this a lot. I'm really excited for the player, okay? The thing I didn't wanna see is go going. - Yeah, going up and down. - Going up and down. Hey, here's a nice little reward. You're back down, it didn't work. And oh, okay, we need you here. Oh, it's not working, but I didn't wanna see that. I thought the prudent thing was finish the year. Maybe give them a one game reward. Hey, you've done so well. Here's a five days of NHL money. Maybe you could have done that. But to me, it's finished the year in the NHL. Work on your game in the summer. We're excited to see you battle for camp next year. We'll see what happens. And the first game was encouraging. Probably the first two games were really encouraging. But what do we see? The adrenaline wears off and suddenly now you gotta catch up to the speed of the game and it's been a struggle. And tonight was the biggest struggle in a big, big way. It felt like every time he was on the ice, the play was going the other direction. And you're in your own zone, you had to work so hard just to get the puck out and now your next line has to deal with another puck dumped in. You gotta work all that way. It was a really struggle. I'm not sure, we've talked about a battle being for the 12 forward. I'm not sure he's in a battle for the 13th forward. Yeah, I'm with you there. And for me, I'm not sure if you should get another game the rest of the season. I'm really excited for him, but it's becoming a big thing and it's alarming. Well, especially with how the way the games are being played right now too at this point in the season. And on top of this, and look, this isn't a bench thing. This is a rick talket thing. And we briefly mentioned it with Randeep. I'm not entirely convinced about this line right now. Like the way this is being structured 'cause he talks about pairs. Well, he's got his hottest pair right now in Joshua Garland playing with his best player or his best forward right now in JT Miller. So that's not a pair. So who's the pair there? Is it Miller and Garland and Joshua's the third wheel? Is it Miller and Joshua and Garland's third wheel? 'Cause the pair has been Joshua and Garland. Yeah, no, the pair should be Joshua and Garland and it should be Miller and Besser again. So the pairs aren't even paired together right now? No, and I think it's kind of like buckle down time. I think we're done with experiments. Yeah, and so Baines is part of that same. And I think, you know, PDG, Omaha, whoever it is, you kind of need them back. The Colosin's probably done enough, but again, it's a night where we've seen put Colosin throw seven hits in the game or six hits in the game. Baines night has one. Yeah, but put Colosin too, it's not like, like he had a couple of good moments, but like he's not also consistent enough. But at least you see him in flashes. He's fighting for the 12th spot, I get it. Like that's fine. I'm okay with it. Yeah, you're right though about how Baines, I thought it was a tough night and it had some concerns going into the game based on how that line played and how he performed against Anaheim and Anaheim is not Vegas. And I was kind of skeptical about it tonight and it was kind of like, all right, then go your way. But like you said, I'm excited for him for the off season. Another, the experience he's gained, he's gonna buy for a spotter team and you know, give him a couple of years, there might be a really nice player there. But in terms of today and the playoffs, I just don't know if this player is ready. And people are right that he's got more upside than PDG. He's got more upside than Nils Oma. Absolutely. The upside is also matched by the risk. Yes. And Oma and PDG are just safer. That's 100% of it. It's like you, and right now, you're not even getting that like eight or nine performance. Correct. Hey, you might get that and the lows, at least those other guys, like there are four and fives on a bat night. Not a lot of eights or nines, but you know, you might get a seven or something. Well, you're not quite getting the eight or nine either, right? So that's kind of something that has to change. And I'm with you. I think we need to see the lineup kind of get figured out here before the playoffs. All right, let's go to the phone board 604-280-0650. Let's start things off in Quotlin, where we have John on the line. John, thanks for calling in. What are your thoughts tonight? Hey, how you doing? Good, Matt, how are you? Yeah, good. You know, that trade, when they made that trade, I didn't think they were ready to go there anyways, that they weren't ready as a team to pick you up. I don't know why they gave up as much as you did. All right. So, and then another thing is that, you know, they should sign the sit door off end, and Myers, then what's his name? And Joshua, I think there's about the rest, like Peter and that are too easy to play games. Way too easy. Yeah, hey, John, thanks for the phone. Yeah, thanks for the phone 'cause there's also a lot of noise coming in the background. But I thought, yeah, I mean, fair enough points about what-- Timing, I think they should make the trade. The thing is, I understand it. It's just they felt like they need to reward the players. And that's technically like what you're supposed to do. Yeah, and I wanna say it's a wide, I know people are really down on the connection right now, and yeah, I mean, you know, they're not on a great trend or anything, but I'm not a panic button stage. I'm just not, I'm sorry. If you want panic radio, you're not getting that from me tonight. I'm sorry to disappoint you. But, you know, maybe one of these days, it'll happen, I'm not there, but-- After they lose the first home game. That's when Vic is going to provide that for you. He'll panic on the airway. And I mind you, if you win one on the road and then you lose game five, then I'm like less concerned. They're all saying it's changed. If you're down in the series and you've lost on way to the advantage. Right, right, right, right. There's a dent almost of this stuff, folks. So many qualifiers here, right? But no, I mean, on the trade, like I think it's a wide open ear. I do, right? And I think the way the Canucks were playing and have played this season, the high end they've shown, and when they get Demko back, what he can also provide in terms of solidifier goaltending, you have a chance. They're not a favorite, but they're a team that if things go your way, you could get to the Cup final. Like, I truly believe that with this team. They're not playing like you're right now and they have to be better, absolutely. And if you have that type of opportunity, like I think you have to be aggressive. I'm not against it. And what they gave up, sure, first, like I'm not so worried about Bruce Davis long term, to be honest, like in terms of what he's truly going to be, what we'll see. The first round pick, a late first, sure. But with the draft this year, I don't know. I don't think it was so overwhelming that I worry about it. And considering how wide open this year might be, like, you never know how many chances you have. You never know how many times you're going to have JT being as good as he's been this year's use, having a Nora season, Demkal having a Vesna caliber season. The team being as good as it has been. I know they've had their struggles, but they've shown you a peak that's pretty high. So I know it's hard to see that today. And maybe you've given up and you don't think they're going to do it. Fine, whatever, sure. But they've shown that they have it in their back pocket, right? So I think if you have that, then you have to give yourself a chance. And we'll see what happens in the postseason, ultimately. But tonight, overall, from the game, it just wasn't good enough. So I think it's just something they're going to have to improve. Keep your thoughts coming in to our Dumbbar Lumber tax in the unbox, 6.56.50. A lot of thoughts coming in. You can also grab a phone line, 604-280-0650. Your toll free, 1-888-275-0650. We'll get to more of your phone calls, more of your tax messages, plus we're here from Connex players and from Ian McIntyre. As the Connex Central Post game show continues, presented by the number five orange of Vancouver legend. They've got sports too, and more coming up next in the home of your Connex, sports in the 6.50, and the SportsNet Radio Network. This is where you talk Connex. You're listening to the Connex Central Post game show on the official home of the Connex. SportsNet 650 and the SportsNet Radio Network. In the win tonight, Vegas will improve to 92 points. And we'll have a five-point cushion on the Kings. With Los Angeles holding a game in hand. Quinn Hughes with the shot for the left point, he scores! Seeing I-Rister from the line by Quinn Hughes, there was traffic in front of the Connex. Captain has his second of the game to make it five to three. And this is Quinn to Central, Quinn Hughes, as he takes the puck on the right-hand side from Vasily pod Colson, and then goes for a ride, skates to the middle of the ice, eventually to the left-hand side, and zips it on net. An excellent job by the Connex Captain to find that shooting lane. And he's been attacking from the left-hand side so often. And Hughes just, let's say, a very good shot go through. And I think there's a look to see if Teddy Blubard may be deflected with this one, but it looks like it's Quinn Hughes' goal. Quinn Hughes, couple goals tonight. Well, and he... I think he, did he move past Matias Olin having points to the half tonight? Three points from Quinn Hughes, two points. Two points. Quinn Hughes with the two goals. Two goals tonight. Two goals, yeah. He's got two goals tonight. So he moved into a tie with Matias Olin second all time in points for Vancouver Connex Defenseman. Pretty good. Yeah, only Alex Edler to catch who's roughly 80-some points above him or so. So 80 points or so above him right now. So we'll see what happens in the season. But there's a chance by next year, Quinn Hughes will be the all-time point-getter for Connex Defenseman, so... Did not take him long. You know, magnificent year and gets to 15 goals. That's a pretty, that's quite the mark for a season for a defense man. Getting to 15 goals for Quinn Hughes. Just a sensational season for him. However, not good enough tonight. Connex lose 6-3 in Vegas against the Golden Knights. And this is the Connex Central Post Game Show presented by the number five orange on the Homier Connex SportsNet 650. It's sat and Vic. Now, we are going to get to more of your thoughts on the text in the box. And we'll hear from Connex Players plus Ian McIntyre. But let's get to the foam boards. We've had a couple of people waiting patiently to get on. So let's get them on. Let's go to North Van First, where we have Victor on the line. Victor, thanks for hanging in there. What are your thoughts here tonight? So I've been around for the '94 series. It was great. I was around for the 2011 series. And man, that was painstaking. But I think, yeah, people just kind of relaxed. Yeah, they got like, they're banged up and whatnot. But, you know, like, I'm like you, Seth. I'm a diehard Browns fan, man. Oh, out of boy. So I know what pain is like. But this is nothing. Like, this team is over exceeding so many bars right now. That, you know what, if they win the cup, that's just a chair of the ice cream, man. Like, I mean, who cares? I mean, I don't even care if they win the Pacific. I just, it's playoffs together. We haven't had playoffs like almost 10 years. So that's all I need to say. Hey, I appreciate the thoughts, Victor. Fellow Browns fan, representing from the North Shore as well. I mean-- Sagitt's as happy for Browns colors as I do for Quillam colors. So hype, so hype. I'm so excited. Victor from North Van. My man, Browns fan. But he's-- but he-- I mean, yes. You know, like, the one thing I would say-- and he's right. Like, you know, it's one of those things that we haven't had playoffs in Vancouver in almost 10 years, he's right. Like, 2015 was the last time we saw a playoff game at Rogers Arena, right? I want to see the finish first in the Pacific. Like, there's things I wanted to see them do, right? And when you go out as much as I understand they made the trade, but once you go out and make a trade, too, and acquire Lindholm, give up, will you give up? Expectations rise. Expectations rise? And yes, like, you know, now you're more invested in a season. That means, you know, you really want results. You really want to see them get through the first round, right? But I do agree overall with the, like, you know, like, sometimes-- and, like, 94 is a really funny year because I don't think any-- nobody expected them to go on that run. They under-achieved all year in '94 to make the big trade. And it was a team that people thought, like, yeah, I don't know, man. Like, they faced Calgary down 3-1. And then, like, it just flipped, right? And they had talent. But all year, they never gave you an indication that we're truly going to go on a cup run, right? So, I mean, you never know until you get to the playoffs. And I think that's why I'd be like, yeah, maybe it goes wrong. But I guess the playoffs, man, is a completely different animal. Embrace the chaos. Yeah, embrace what happens. And who knows, man, the playoffs are so unpredictable and hockey. Like, I get a kick out of it every year, especially in the first round, because literally anything can happen in the first round. Like, I don't think anything can happen for a team that's not good enough to win the count. He walks off the defending cup champions. Yeah, I mean, things happen in the first round, right? So I think it's going to be a lot of fun. And, yeah, embrace it. Let's go to Vancouver, where we have Stewart on the line. Stewart, thanks for calling in. What are your thoughts tonight after 6-3 Canucks loss? Oh, hey, guys. Thanks for taking the call. It's too from North Bands. We got another back-to-back North Shore boy here on the call-in. I love it. Thank you for-- you guys are always-- I think you guys need to be like professional therapists with, like, hygres, because I think you talked down the entire board fan base of this province after every emotional rollercoaster of a game that is in Vancouver, Canucks. But, you know, I think what we need to preface this with is coming off of last season, what were the expectations in reality for this year? And for me personally-- and I'm not sure about the majority of fans or both of you guys-- it was just make the playoffs. And whether that was, like, squeak into a wild card or get third in the division, sure, cool. But then what happened was that we saw that, OK, we've got them orders in the race now. And whether it was Miller continuing to do his thing, Denko playing out of his mind-- Quinn Hughes showing that he's the best man in the world in hockey right now-- you started to get hope. And for that, I don't know how many weeks or months stretch when we were number one to bullet atop the standings. It gave me, and it gave the fans hope. And, you know, in the last month and a half, we have seen some regression. And of course, a lot of that can be chalked up to Denko being away. But besides that, the biggest concern I've seen is not near the net. It's everything else that's happening. And, you know, we could do a Netflix documentary on the whole Patterson thing and what's to be made of that. We'll know the answer in 2034 when the contracts up, right? But for right now, something has shifted because for the first 60 games of the year, you know, it looked like the Canucks were just, like, in Mario Kart with the invincibility star, nothing could touch him. And now, it feels like every game-- I don't know if you guys have played, you know, Bloodborne or Dark Souls of those games. It feels like every game we're going up against this incredible boss and with this little character with the stick and they've just got this huge act. It's like, what happened? Like, I look them down the lineup. And I love pocket, but I am getting concerned that the whole line issue is at game 75 when you're going for the Pacific title, that's concerning because I don't see Boston. I don't see Colorado. I don't see these other top teams doing this line off-shuffling. And I mean, you know, Bane, love him, seems like an awesome guy. He is not ready for primetime, and that's nothing he names him. If anything, this could be actually hurting him down the road because this could be a big, you know, kick-to-the-teeth spook-fest of like, oh, wow, this is a little bit more than I wanted to handle, you know, my first taste of the NHL. I just worry that right now, the fact that I don't know our lines, you know, I know we have some good players, but I mean, how much can Miller? How much can he use? How much can Demko? I mean, guys can steal you games, but I don't know if, you know, three or four guys can steal you a cop, especially in the West where it is going to be an absolute gauntlet. Like, any of the 18s can win it, get to the finals in the West. But, I mean, tonight did not look good. And if that's how it's going to be in a first run against Vegas, I would be concerned. And I'm not saying, you know, plan the prey down, Granville. I'm not saying chicken little, you know, get all nervous. But I'm just saying, we had our hopes up for three quarters of the season. Now things are coming back down to reality as it is for a lot of teams. But you do wonder, you know, God forbid, if we get bounced in the first or maybe the second round, but like, Patterson does not look good, we all know what the narrative will be. And if that happens, that's what I'm concerned about. If you go out fighting guns and glory, I'll hang out. But if you go out fighting guns and glory and there's a game coming over time, sure. But if you go in and stick from the first round and Patterson is just like looking a little mopey, that's what I'm concerned about. Thank you, boys. Have a great night and I'll talk to y'all later. - Hey, I appreciate the phone call. That's Stewart calling in. And I mean, yeah, obviously, once a postseason comes around, like, I understand, like, you know, you have to be a lot, but yeah, they have to be a lot better. And if they're not, yeah, it could be a quick series. But I expect them to be a lot better. I think it's a clean slate come postseason as well when things happen. To his point. And I do think this is kind of what we mentioned earlier this season when we said, hey, they're scoring a lot of goals, but they're probably not gonna be this prolific offensively. And it looked like they could do nothing no wrong. And they were on such a heater and it's like, yeah, they're really good, but they're not like, they're probably not gonna continue doing this all year. It's just not really sustainable. And that was kind of the point that they're a good hockey team. But the reason why you stopped sort of saying they're the top, like the actual best team in the league or if they're actually top two or three is because they're not quite there. They've had a lot of things go their way. They've been fantastic, but they're not as dominant as the Gody wins kind of indicate. They're gonna be a team that's gonna be involved in more closer hockey games, three, two games, two, one games. And that's really born out as a season's kind of gone on now and the truth is somewhere in the middle about them. So I think if you had bought into them being unstoppable, then yeah, it's a bit of a reality check, right? They're probably not that team. But I do think in terms of the tenacity they can play with. And I remember after their first game, you referred to that eight, one win over the Oilers with the effort they played all over the ice, contesting everything, just being such a hard team to play games and break down as like, this is like, when things go wrong at some point in the season and things aren't good, this is the game you point to and says, this is what we're capable of. And we thought that might be their most impressive win of the season and they had a bunch of those types of wins. So we know what it looks like. And there is a frame of reference, as you mentioned back then in game one, Bic, you know, this is now 74 games later, you can point to and say that that's within you. And I think they're capable of doing that. Now, obviously they have a dude come play-offs and it's not like the coach mentioned, you can't just flip a switch. We want to see you to re-emerge. It's more about like how panicked you are, but certainly like that is still in them, that type of effort, that type of tenacity. And that's something we want to see again. - A seven-game road trip, the Eastern road trip in early January, right? That was the road trip a lot of people were concerned about. And I know, it's Columbus, it's Buffalo and on and on and on. But it was a difficult stretch. And they go on a five-game winning streak in that stretch. They have a fantastic road trip to begin the year. And you think, all right, like there's another marker, a six-four game against Toronto. There's another marker, you win at Carolina. There's another marker. And they checked a lot of boxes to the course of the year. Now we're just kind of waiting to see what happens, come play off to what the caller was talking about here and how it shapes the narratives. Also mentioned two, lineups, Colorado, what are they doing, Boston, what are they doing? Are they juggling as much as the connect seemingly are doing here, every handful of games here? We mentioned a couple of guys, obviously the pairs and whatnot. Lindholm's absence plays a rather big role in all this as well. But I do wonder if, while we were talking about like pairs and things, to me, Joshua and Garland's a pair, you could put them with blue gear, you could put them with Lindholm. I almost just wonder if you put them with blue gear, I know there was a caller earlier that he's not the guy you can really keep, bring back and see something that you can play through. I think Teddy Blueger can be fantastic. And that line worked together so well. All three guys just seem to compliment each other so well. I wonder if there's another Lindholm-Peterson attempt. - Yeah, I mean, as long as Peterson is kind of, in the malaise he's in, to some degree, that's going to be something you have to consider. Like if Peterson was going, I think it was a lot easier to just be like, yeah, just put Lindholm back down the middle. Yeah, I think you have to consider it. You know, and the thing with Peterson too, as I know people were texting about injuries and everything, like, I don't know, but he's not shooting the puck nearly enough, or attempting to shoot the puck. And he's doing things like setting guys up like we mentioned before, but in terms of attacking. And if he's not, then do you kind of need to have help? Do you need to have Lindholm there who's maybe more of a shooter? - I almost wonder if it's Miller Bester back together again. - If Peterson and Lindholm, maybe it's Hoaglander. I don't know, I still don't know why Mikey I've got moved off Miller and Bester. Nevertheless, do you go Joshua, Blueger, Garland, and then figure out the rest of it's suitor. - Like if you actually go back with, if you actually go with what you mentioned, and put Lindholm with Peterson and Hoaglander, and then you can put Mikey with Bester and Miller, then you can reunite Blueger, Joshua, and Garland, and then your fourth line, you can have suitor centering your fourth line with Lafferty. And by the way, that creates an advantage. I think when the clocks have their best stretch, I think it was suitor and Hoaglander in the fourth line. - Yeah, suitor, Hoaglander and Lafferty. - Yeah, and it's not about like, oh, this guy's better up high, it's what creates an advantage for you. - Yeah, you had a real advantage in your bottom six. That advantage is gone now. Now, I'm not saying you should demote Hoaglander. You could at some point if you have a Lindholm there, but do you consider doing that? - Yeah, it might have to be an option. - Yeah, all right. - Now, probably also match with dependent as well. - Certainly, right? All right, but let's go to a man who was at the scene in Vegas, watching the Canucks go bust, losing six, three. He is, he's a man we call the triple thread. You watch him on TV, you read him on digital, and your hair on radio, he is Ian McIntyre. (upbeat music) - Sorry, Matt, what did you say? - Did you hear me crunching a potato chip as you were introducing me there? - No, no, we didn't hear that. - I was laughing at sats. - I outed myself for nothing. - No, you should have kept it to yourself Ian. It was good. - No, well, I was chewing and I was trying to chew quickly because I knew, you're bringing me on, and then you guys started laughing at the pods on. So the mic is right below my chin, I thought, you know what, I bet they can hear me, crunching on these kettle chips. - No. - Kettle cooked chips. - No, sats been on one tonight, and then he makes the Canucks go bust in Vegas, and I chuckled. He started laughing so I know. (laughing) - Anyway, tough night for the Canucks in Vegas, Ian. I mean, how tough. - Awful. - So let me walk us through what you saw in terms of the Canucks being ready to play against an opponent like Vegas tonight. - Well, they just didn't give themselves a chance, and there have been a few games like that, not a whole lot, but the reason to me, it was so alarming how the Canucks played the first 10 minutes, is if you look at the last homestand, they lost all four games to teams that are playoff-bound. And, you know, Washington, if they get in, are gonna be one of only a couple of teams that I would say are not going to win the Stanley Cup definitively. But, you know, they're in playoff position, and the other teams, Dallas, Colorado, LA are all contenders. All contenders. And having failed to beat those teams, any of those teams on the homestand. You know, Rick talked about learning from your mistakes, and, you know, seeing these battle playoff-hardened teams that you can't afford to make a key mistake. You can't be the team that makes the one or two mistakes that decide a game. So coming off that homestand and those results, I know that the Canucks really wanted to be dialed in tonight, because this is, you know, this is another big game. Yeah, they've clinched a playoff, so they've got 100 points. This is a big game. This could be a first round opponent. Vegas represents the kind of elite team that the Canucks were unable to beat at home, although they did the road trip before that. And, you know, potential first round opponent and ramifications in the standings. Two, the way the Canucks are going and the way Edmonton is creeping steadily. And yet they had one of their worst opening 10 minutes in weeks. And I know Bick is going to tell me they were worse on such and such a night, and this is such and such a night, but for such a big game, it was almost unfathomable how badly they played. And it wasn't just they gave up goals, but they gave up goals, you know, bad line change, which Target has talked about. Not taking care of the puck. Outnumbered rushes and plural. Hardly does it justice, because there were so many of them. Plural could be two. In this case, there was what? A half dozen in the first 10 minutes. And the Canucks didn't come close to defending them on a couple of those rushes. And to me, that was alarming, given the context of everything that I just laid out. And the fact, by the way, that seven games from now, the playoffs are going to be on for them. You know, Target has been talking about go time for weeks now. Well, now they're down to seven games. It doesn't look like they're close to their A game. They weren't even remotely as good tonight as they were in any of those four losses that they had at home against the playoff-bound teams. They were actually quite good in those games. The reason Target was talking about the one or two mistakes is because that was the only difference in those games. In this game tonight, you know, I don't know what the number of mistakes would be, but you certainly were counting them on your toes because you'd run out of fingers after the first 10 minutes. - I thought you would have a longer answer in the post-game scrub about the quick reply goals that Vegas had that, you know, 20 seconds, 24 seconds after. You basically just said, "Can't happen." What was your impression of how and why those goals came about and what it says about the team right now? - Well, you'd like to think, you know, because the goal they got was a gift, right? Thompson fumbling the puck around and good for Hoaglander, one of the few guys who actually goes to the net on a regular basis getting there and chopping it in. So as bad as it were, suddenly they're only down by a goal and then they come back and surrender one 20 seconds later. And, you know, that particular goal, it's a three-on-two again with a back check that isn't close enough. Although I'll tell you, the back check was a lot better than it was on the previous outnumbered goal, the four-on-three that made it two-nothing. And, you know, the Canucks didn't defend it. They turned a three-on-two into a two-on-one and they pass it around Zadorov who wasn't very good in the short time he played. And then it's three-one. I mean, this is, Vegas is a team. I mean, they can play anyway. And I'm still, I'd have to really think about it and, you know, Mark Stone is a big wild card. But as even and incredibly talented as the Stanley Cup field is, and again, there's gonna be, you know, 12 or 14 teams that legitimately have a chance to go to a final. As good as that is, I'm still not sure I wouldn't say that Vegas isn't the best team. I mean, Edmonton has to beat them. Edmonton is great as well and has been for a while, but Edmonton has to find a way to beat Vegas. So, you know, I might still say that Vegas is the best team. But they're, they can play anyway. The play that they, the way that they'd like to play is to not be opposed physically 'cause nobody likes to be opposed physically and to have a lot of open ice because this is a very talented, big, fast team that that feasts on the rush, especially that top line and makes other teams pay. And, you know, this was not the team to have that kind of start against. You wouldn't be happy with that start against anybody. You know, they wouldn't be happy with it tomorrow night against Arizona. They wouldn't have been happy with it against Anaheim on Sunday. But you have no chance against a good team when you start like that. - Well, absolutely. And I mean, it's one of those things too that right now there's still very much experimenting with everything, right? It seems like, you know, we're not quite sure what the duos are yet again. And, and talk had mentioned that he's more of a duo guy and Miller, best ribbon and duo all season. And now all of a sudden they're not. And it's not like Pederson's really going again. How much of a concern is it that right now they seem very unsettled as what their lines and groupings look like? - Yeah, I'm not concerned about their lines. I think that's just part of the bigger problem that the Canucks have right now in failing to find their top game. And in some of those games, a couple of those games on the homestand, they were close to their top game. Not offensively, but certainly defensively and what they were surrendering was close to as good as they could play. Tonight they were, you know, six runs below the level that they're capable of and probably five runs below the level that is required to be competitive in a playoff series two and a half weeks from now. The moving forwards around is just symptomatic. I don't like to use the word desperation 'cause it's not quite right, but in this moment on live radio, I can't think of an alternative. I'll think of one before we go off the air, but 'cause desperation implies that you're completely out of answers and terrified. And I don't think talk is terrified, but he is starting to run out of answers here. And when he's moving guys around, it's like you take from a position of strength, like you take Besser away from Miller, who then they've been good all year because you're trying to now patch up what's wrong with Elias Pedersen. And, you know, I think that's what it's a reflection of. He's, you know, he can't just wait. He can't leave the pairs together and do nothing. And how have this team potentially just lose its way into the playoffs? He's trying things to get individuals going and he's trying things to get the team going. But everything he's doing, it's part of this big picture of this 100 point team that unfortunately has picked a really bad time of year to suddenly lose its way a bit. And tonight, I guess tonight, you know, just talking, talking it out tonight, they played completely without their identity. And I wouldn't say that in the games that they lost at home against those good teams. I think they had their identity. They had the staples, certainly defensively, that pocket has talked about, but tonight they didn't look anything like themselves. - No, I'm with you with that. I mean, 'cause one of the things I mentioned since the All-Star break is that they have not had an identity crisis. Yes, they've had struggles, but for the most part, like they haven't had an identity crisis as a team. And, you know, some bad periods here and there, especially the one against Colorado. And certainly this game here against the Vegas Golden Knights. Before we let you go on Thatcher, Demko and Lindholm, they're both on the trip. Are you expecting to see them at all? I mean, Demko's not eligible to come up at LTIR until Saturday, but Lindholm's also on the trip. Are you expecting to see those guys? - Lindholm, I don't know. I don't know how bad his wrist is. I don't know if it's something where it's gonna need, say, just time. Then they're gonna give him as much time as he needs because there's no point putting him in six games before the playoffs and possibly have him exacerbate it. When he has to play hurt, I'm sure he will. Demko, I expect to see because he was out on the ice after the morning skate this morning, working with Ian Quark. I shouldn't say that because it is only three games on the road trip and he's only eligible to play, obviously, when he comes off LTIR for the final game in LA. But we're gonna see him before then with the team. There's gonna be a full practice on Friday, Thursday's supposed to be a full day off, but maybe Docket is gonna reconsider things, but we'll see a full practice from Demko with the group on Friday as long as he doesn't have any setbacks. And then it's their call. It's maybe not the most prudent thing to put him into a game with just one full practice, but they certainly may choose to do that against LA, but he'll play, again, as long as there's no setbacks with what we think is a knee injury, then he'll play probably at least three of the final five games after this road trip. And before we go off the air because I promised, the word would be urgency, not desperation from talk. Urgency, if I have another 10 minutes, I'll think of something better, but it's this urgency that he has as a coach, knowing what's coming, which let's remember, most of his players do not know what's coming. They've been told about it. They haven't experienced it, but Docket knows what's coming. He knows what they're doing right now isn't good enough. And he's doing everything he can as a coach to try to get them ready and get them turned around in time. - And we certainly hope to turn things around and hopefully starting tomorrow in Arizona against the coyotes. And we look forward to chatting with you from, with you, you from there tomorrow evening as well. Thanks for your time as always Ian. - All right, I didn't understand that last sentence. - No, I don't know, I can't speak. I'm done, I'm done. Like I just can't speak anymore. But I look forward to reading your latest on sportsnet.ca. - All right, talk to you guys tomorrow night. - You got it, thank you. That is Ian McIntyre. And that brings us to the end of the show. It's Satyar Shah with Big Nizar. Thanks a fast Eddie Gregory producing. Thank you all for listening, participating as always. It's a pleasure, really forward to be back again tomorrow. Hopefully with better things to talk about, but we'll see ultimately what happens and appreciate all your time. This has been the Connect Central Post Game Show presented by the number five orange on the home of your Canucks. Sportsnet 650.
