(upbeat music) We're back on Canucks Central. It's Dan Reacho, Satyar Shah. Canucks Central is for Enzahn Pacific Vancouver's Premier Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep Superstore. On second Avenue between Canby and Maine, or at Enzahn Pacific Chrysler.ca, we're still a couple of days away from the Canucks and Oilers kicking off their second round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Second round did start yesterday. Rangers getting the early one up on the Carolina Hurricanes. And tonight, the Boston Bruins will take on the Florida Panthers. Two Western series getting started in the next couple of days. Let's bring in our next guest. Joins us every Monday, it is Don Taylor, a presentation of Bassant Motors. Thanks for this, Donnie, how are you? Very well, guys, looking forward to Wednesday. Yeah, it's, I mean, the buzz in the city is already pretty wild. The celebrations after the win on Friday, seeing the different videos from around town, pretty cool. But now comes a tougher task in the Edmonton Oilers, the best player on planet Earth and Conor McDavid. What have you made of, I guess, what's now become the narrative that this should be a walk on Easy Street for the Edmonton Oilers against the Vancouver Canucks? It won't be, and I think they know that, and I mean-- Well, it seems like every NHL analyst, I should probably phrase that better. Every NHL analyst around the league seems to be framing it as an easy walk for the Edmonton Oilers. Yeah, there's that ESPN stat. We're 24 members of their hockey staff. About 24, 23 pick the connection to win. I think talking loves that, by the way. I mean, he said as much yesterday in his media avail. I got it, you know, you got McDavid, you got dry settled, those are two very talented, outstanding superstars. And the Canucks can match, you know, and with all due respect to any players, they can match that. I think a lot of people want to see McDavid go far. And then you throw in what they did against LA, a team that Vancouver had problems with. You just don't know. There's, the Canucks are using resilient as their key word in these playoffs. They've got it on shirts, t-shirts. None, she lost t-shirt, but every other t-shirt. But I don't know. Did you buy one, by the way? I know the link was going around on Twitter. Do you get it on it? Did you see how much they cost? It's something to Dollywood. You know who you're talking to here? Like, it's just not going to happen. Somebody should have got it for Dollywood, for casual Fridays. It totally is something that Dollywood wear, isn't it? What are you talking about? He's already got it. He's had one for two years. I know they're $180. They went on, they're on sale now, for under $100. You guys should get one for Dollywood. Well, okay, I heard that the original price was like $180. They went on sale before all this hit the fan, and now they're back up to the bank, it could be wrong. But maybe the reason for that is because of increased demand, and maybe there's a bunch of Vancouver fans that are going to show up. I think there's something special about the Canucks. Look, if they lose to Edmonton in six or seven, it's not exactly shameful. So I get where the experts are coming from. Look, we've seen things happen to the players before anything can happen. But I get why people are picking the orders. And one of the things, forget your talents and expectations and all that, it's experienced. They always have more playoff experience in the Canucks, too. I'm sure the Canucks got a lot in round one against a tough national team. But you always have that on their side as well. They're going to be more well-rested, I would say. Maybe that could be a disadvantage. But I get where people are coming from, who think they're going to win it in five, six or seven. I think what's really fascinating about this team, too, this year, because it was a bit of a come out of nowhere season. Like, they were a lot better than anybody expected to do the degree they have been this season, and the win the division, win the first round. And I think the likeability factor for this team is pretty high locally. And now the fact that they're seen as an underdog, I just think it makes it seem even more likable locally than they already were. Yeah, and there's a real personality about this team. They're just-- they're not dull at all. And I mean, on and off, the ice. And I think that has a lot to do with the underdog story of Archery Sheiloff's. Certainly, a lot to do with Zidorov. There's an old school element there with Zidorov, with Miller. I think people love the way Besser has come to play in the playoffs and how good he has been along the wall. And there's just, you know, and the size of that defense, you know, the size and the experience on defense. I think people really like that. There's an old school likability about the team. And, you know, obviously, you know, Conox Nation is going to be behind the Conox, but I think even more so, given what seems to be a pretty colorful personality in general, you guys. Talking to. So we know the season series with Edmonton was a sweep for Vancouver. They won all four. Three of them came very early in the season. I think in the first 11 games of the year. And then the other one was late and the Oilers did not have Conor McDavid. I mean, for me, I can't really put much stock into them for as much as the Conox did have success. I think everything kind of starts anew. What do you think? Well, it does. And when you listen, I haven't listened to the interviews today as a matter of fact. I think I like to hear my job. But when you listen to the interviews from both Edmonton and Vancouver yesterday, both teams brought up Colorado and Winnipeg. And how Winnipeg dominated the three-game series they had against Colorado during the regular season. There was like nothing or an 8-1 game there in that series as well. You know, Winnipeg easily won that regular season series. And look what happened to the playoffs. Colorado had a pretty easy time. And was able to score goals against a really good defensive team, you know, helped throw a coach out the door. So it beat a goal-tender who was likely to win the best of the trophy. So I think with both teams mentioning that they know that that regular season series doesn't mean a whole lot, especially with three games so very, very early. Having said that-- and I'll stand by that, that it doesn't mean much. Those early wins against Edmonton really set the table for the Canucks. Those wins don't happen, especially the 8-1 win in game one. I'm also sure the Canucks have a great season. It would be a great confidence builder for the team. But I don't think it means much right now. Yeah, I mean, the playoffs are so different. And I think you have to be very careful applying just about anything. But the one thing I do think in terms of the matchup between these two teams, the Canucks when they're at their best, they are one of the better defensive teams in the league. They showed it to against Nashville how good they can be defensively. They have a huge defense as well. Their centers, the top three guys, have good two-way smarts. Lindholm has been really good defensively. The fourth line of a blue or even a strong defensively. I do think in terms of matching up 5 on 5, having four lines that are hard to play against, if the Canucks find their special teams, I think 5 on 5, they might actually have a slight edge in terms of keeping the Edmonton Oilers in check. Yeah, and obviously staying out of the penalty box, if you do get a penalty, doing a great job on the PK is obviously really key, but especially staying out of the penalty box. If you could do it, it's such a fine line. Is it right? You want to be aggressive, but you want to stay out of the penalty box, but they have to ride that fine line. Here's another thing, and I mentioned how old school the Canucks are. I think the Canucks team with, and Lindholm plays with an edge. We didn't see it much of the regular season, but we did certainly in the playoffs. Miller plays with an edge. Bluegert can play with an edge. We mentioned the big, and by big, I mean literally the big four, the old guys back on deep. I think these guys can get under McDavid's skin, and I think they can certainly get it or dry settle skin. I think those two players as great as they are, I think the Canucks will be able to frustrate them if they're at their very, very best, and if those guys get off their game, if they're focusing on whining to the referees, complaining to the referees, worrying about everything, you know, worried about everything, but trying to win a hockey game, I think there's something there where the Canucks, that would give the Canucks a good chance. There's a good edge to this team that I think they can get under the skin of the Oilers, certainly their best players, and that could be a real positive for the Canucks, so look for that. - Well, that definitely happened early in the season, right? Where the Canucks started to get under the skin of McDavid and dry settle McDavid, you know, commenting about the Canucks putting their power play out late in a blowout and over the Oilers, and dry settle even saying to Elliott Friedman that he feels there's a bit of a rivalry developing there given how Vancouver handled the Oilers so easily early in the season. So there's definitely going to be some of that, and I feel, I mean, maybe it's because I'm so close to the Canucks and I watch them all the time, but I do feel they're like, I would take the Canucks having a bit of a mental edge over the Oilers, you know, there's a lot of pressure here on the Oilers, there's one year left of Leon dry settle, two years left of Conor McDavid, you know, they've been to this dance before, they are the heavy favorite in this series. If the Canucks can somehow, can take game one, I think you certainly plant the seat of doubt into a team that is considered the heavy favorite in this series. - You're allowed to hit in this game? I could see a big hit by Sir Doroff, let's say, or by Miller, or one of the, you know, the larger members of the Canucks defense on it, you're allowed to do it on either of those superstars, and then that's going to ramp things up and maybe get those guys off their game. When you talk about their rivalry, you know what's unbelievable, guys? I can't believe there was a bit around in the NHL after the WHA days, you know, pushing half a century, 45 years, something like that. I can't believe this is only the third time that they've met at the playoffs and the first time since 1992. I love it. And now they've got McDavid and dry settle. I don't, I think there is a rivalry there, but it's nowhere near where it should be, given the few times that they've met at the playoffs. I was stunned by that. I should have known better. I remember those two series. Well, '86 was a joke. It was a best of five series. And, you know, I think the Oilers were booing the Canucks power play way back then, and I'm serious, they were. And then in '92, they met, and the Canucks were actually, I believe, savored in that at the end of the week. Losing, but that was it. And so I agree, they are rivals, but I just don't think it's anywhere near at work. They've got the flame seven times, you know, in the playoffs. The only one was just twice. And, you know, a long time ago, the last matchup, it's pretty surprising. So this thing can really rise. And I think with the big hit and some frustration towards, or frustration from McDavid and dry settle, it can, that could go a long way. It should be pretty special. It's just, it's one thing to have, you know, a series to look forward to against another Canadian team, where, you know, that has done, let's be honest here, so much more than the Canucks, but five Stanley Cups is zero. But to have those two players on that team, and, you know, they're kind of faithful, being able to see McDavid and dry, so every second night for the next week and a half, two weeks, it's just gonna be so exciting. - You know, I'm with you. I mean, you're right. I mean, the flames, there has been a lot of playoff history there, not nearly enough here with the Edmonton Oilers. And the other big thing, the obvious thing, of course, is Leah's Pedersen. It's one thing to inhabit Leah's Pedersen, only have three points against the National Predators. And when that series in six games, I think we all agree. The Canucks are probably not upsetting the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, unless Leah's Pedersen comes alive. And in some ways, I wonder if the familiarity or with the Edmonton Oilers, and the fact that he's usually good against the Oilers, will finally bring the most out of him, or are we just continually grasping at straws, finding ways to maybe predict him coming alive in these playoffs? - Well, you know what, there's been two or three times during the Predators series, where there were area passes thrown in Pedersen's way, and he didn't go out of his way to get it, when he should have be held up. I just have, I don't know what you're hearing sad, organic, but I just, and Rick is hearing rubblings that there's something up health-wise. Maybe these four days between games are really gonna help him. So maybe there's, I see, he's still a great hockey player, but just something's not there. And I gotta believe that there has to be some health issue. So maybe these four days before games are really gonna help on number 40. Maybe we'll see a rejuvenated star center for the Canucks, can I trans feel that, you know, well, if they want that, first of all, but you mentioned this, that there's the difference for a dip, that, you know, they did well against Nashville. Imagine how well they would have done if he was firing at all cylinders. I just think there's something there. - You know, I don't wanna like, you know, be the guy sitting here standing for Elias Pedersen, 'cause I don't think he was all that great in the first round either, but if you really wanna stretch it and be glass half full about it, he's still found a way to have a bit of an impact on the series in a good way, right? He has an assist on Brock Besser's tying goal in game four that sends that game to overtime. And then he also has an assist and makes a great play in game six to keep the puck in and keep the play going before Pew Souter eventually scores the winner there late, late in the third. So, I mean, glass half full approach for me is maybe he takes some of that confidence from the play he makes at the end of game six and carries that into this next series because, you know, it's pretty obvious he wasn't at his best, Rick Tockett didn't even use him as one of his top three, you know, forwards in the series. It was Miller, Besser, and Lindholm who were getting the most usage of any Canucks forward. So, you know, even the coach agrees that Pedersen is not at his best right now and isn't, you know, the type of player that puts this team over the edge with the way that he's played. - Sometimes, you know, it takes a flooky moment for a player to catch fire. And I'm not saying that's gonna happen, but maybe it happens. And when I say flooky or lucky moment, he wasn't supposed to be on the ice for that goal. Miller had gone out early ahead of Souter and Besser and was tired and came off. So, you know, Souter and Besser go out and Pedersen has to join them. Like I say, you know, he wasn't supposed to be on the ice at that end up assisting on the game's all the goal and the series clinching goal. So, maybe somewhat of a lucky moment like that. Maybe that helps propel him that plus maybe four days off if there is indeed a healthy issue. - Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, the Canucks getting that extra day, you know how we talked about coming off the end of the regular season. They only had two days and they had to travel the Winnipeg and then start off against Nashville. The fact that they had four days, full days off now between games, I think is probably a small benefit to the Canucks because they haven't really had a break since the seasons ended either. - Yeah, and I'll tell you what, people will counter that and say, well, what about the Oilers? They've had six or seven days off for a full week between games. I think what the Canucks, or like I'm not sitting there, the Canucks are necessarily going to win the series, but I would rather have four days between games than six or seven just because, and I've, you know, coaching minor hockey, teams offer a long time. It's tough to find your legs early on. And by then, if you're down two or three, nothing, and again, that's it, it's over. I think, I think if you've, and I know a lot of people don't believe in momentum. Maybe it is or isn't, I think, but there's something to it. When you're off for any extended period of time and any line of work, it's going to affect you. I think having some time to heal the wounds, but not too much time where you lose your legs, lose your rhythm, I think there's a happy beauty there. I think the Canucks have it with four days off versus six or seven with the Oilers. - Before I let you go, Dania, are you tired of hearing about what the Maple Leafs are going to do next or what? - Yeah, for, I, as long as what they're doing next, has to do with something in the wake of something negative, I'm loving it, I'm fine with it, that's great. Look, we all take our shots at the Leafs, or we take our shots at the media back there, but it is pretty fascinating. I get it, you know, they're a team that spends a lot of money, big expectations. It's kind of fun to see where they are right now. - Yeah, it's a story that's going to play out for the rest of this week, I'm sure. Donnie always appreciate the time we'll talk again soon. Thanks for this. - Always fun, and we'll talk after a couple of games that can't wait, guys. - There he is, the great Don Taylor legend himself. Donnie and Dolly tend to noon on Check TV, and every Monday here on Canucks Central, on Sportsnet 650, Don Taylor is brought to you by Bassant Motors, powering the playoff drive, home of over 400 pre-owned vehicles, and where the players go. It's Danaricho, Satyar, Shaw. It's going to be fascinating. Like that first game, I think for any underdog, game one is so huge. - Massive, I mean, we talked about that with Nashville, for instance, and I know, hey, listen, you get the split is the same thing. I think winning game one is different, you know what I mean? 'Cause now you have a chance to go up to nothing. And even if you lose game two, the other team probably has to put so much energy in winning the second game, right? That you almost get the advantage going into the other team's barn. - For me, it's more about the mentality of it all. Do you plant the seed of doubt into the Edmonton Oilers? - Okay, yeah, I don't think that the four wins over the regular season really mean all that much. But if you have another, like if you have a strong game one and you beat the Oilers again, and they really have a struggle breaking you down, or however it happens, do they start to think about like, man, well, what does this team got on us? You know, like what are they doing to us? - Yeah. - That we just can't find a way through. Connor McDavid and Leon Dryso probably aren't like that. But they're not the only guys on the team. And there's always a big psychological battle that happens in these playoff series, and you've got to find a way to get those little victories. - Yeah, and I do think, you know, they connect to being on home ice the first couple of games, and they are, they have home ice advantage in the series. - Yes. - And again, like I understand people picking Edmonton, like there's nothing wrong with picking Connor McDavid and Leon Dryso to win a series. It's just the confidence people have in Edmonton for surely winning this series and what gets it, has gotten me so far in all this. But I do think when you look at how the Canucks can win this series, you're right, the first game plays a big part. But I do think on home ice, the Canucks can now harness some of that energy a lot better too, because the crowd was insane for game one. They're almost too hyped for it, right? And then game five, they played a really good game, just couldn't finish it. So I do think the Canucks harnessing that home ice energy too can give them quite a bit of a boost. And I don't know man, I don't feel so bad about the Canucks chances in this series. Like I see ways for them to be able to stack up against them and nullify some of the things they do well. Again, like comes down and competitors come alive and can you keep that power play and check? - Well, I can't wait for game one. Like the crowd at Rogers Arena is gonna absolutely electric. - And the pressure is like DC and NV says, what would a second round loss mean for the Oilers? Same situation as a Leafs question mark. I'm not quite sure it's there, but I mean, how long is Drysight all gonna be there? - Yeah. - And they're becomes bigger questions start getting asked, right? And all of a sudden you look at it and you say, okay, well, Vegas loaded up, they didn't win this year, but they still have heard on Hanif and next year and Stone hopefully getting healthy for them or whatever. It's Vancouver putting themselves up as being a top tier team, like has our hold of the division really changed now, right? And they went from being the favorite to Vegas over took them. Now the Canucks won the division this year. - Yeah. - Can't get past the Canucks. It creates big existential questions about where that organization is going, whereas the Canucks, even if the Canucks lose in five, it's like, hey, yeah, not what you wanted, but overall successful season considering most pundits had the Canucks miss in the playoffs. - And you go into the final year of Leon Drysight's contract with a lot of question marks. Also, Evan Bouchard's gonna need a pretty hefty raise as well come next summer. So yeah, a second round exit for the Oilers does bring them a ton of questions and probably puts a lot of focus on GM Ken Holland as well. So yeah, there is definitely more pressure on the Oilers going into the series than there is the Canucks. - Yeah, and if you have some confidence, given what the odds are, we mentioned play now sports, what they have, like you can get three to one odds on the Canucks winning in the series right now. Benny from the Mocks text in and says, "Connects are plus 650 to win in seven games and plus 1,000 to win in six. I would love to see a healthy demo against the Oilers, but even without him, I can't say no to those prices. The Oilers aren't that much better than the Canucks. And that's kind of the way I view it too. It's like, sure, you can pick Edmonton and yeah, they have the edge as the team. But considering the juice you can get on the value on the Canucks, like I think it's almost too good to pass up. - It does feel that way. I don't think that there is this huge, grand Canyon-sized chasm of talent between the two teams as some of the narrative outside of Vancouver seems to suggest. Canucks playoff coverage on sports at 650 is brought to you by Avony Machinery and Douglas Lake Equipment. Get your keys to an all-star collection of Kubota products at one of their six locations across BC this spring. Visit dleamc.com. Coming up, we will get Edmonton's view of things. Jack Michaels, Oilers play-by-play voice. We'll join us next on Canucks Central. (upbeat music) - Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drans. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to two on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. (upbeat music) - We're back on Canucks Central. It's Dan Reicho and Sati Arshoff. We're in the Kintec Studio, Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Four feet, what are you waiting for? I had a, maybe a rookie mistake yesterday. Sat? - What did you do? - I was excited to be on the national. Got a call from a CBC producer. They were like, "Hey, we want to do an interview with you for the national." (laughs) Did you mind meeting us outside Rogers Arena? I was like, "Yeah, sure, let's do it." Why not? And no, I didn't get scammed. This wasn't like some random person calling me out to Rogers Arena. It was actually CBC. But, and I was excited about it. It's like, "Cool, man, I'm gonna be on the national." That's fun. That's like a big. And then I, like, PVR'd it. Told my mom to watch 'cause she was like, "Ooh, that's like big. You're on the national." They used like five seconds. (laughs) That's it. That's all they took. - They used the shortest clip possible. - So you gave, like, you felt like you gave this, like, really good interview. - I was like, "Man, I gave some great answers." - Broke down the series, you know. - Gonna be a great, like, tilt between the two fan bases, too. - And the clip they used was like, "It's gonna be great atmosphere at the arena." - Yes. (laughs) That's essentially what they used. They were like, it was just me being like that. It's been a long time. You know, it doesn't happen off of the two Canadian teams meet each other in the latter rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Great! Thanks for the insight. But, yeah. So, and I said to have the tweet, too. - You see, that's what happens, man. You can't trust it. - You said to have the tweet, like, "Hey, watch it, I'm gonna be on the national big time." - Yeah, and people stayed up to watch it? - Yeah. - Like, this is what we stayed up for. - Watch where our list was like, "This is what I stayed up for?" - It's like, seven, nine, like, eight seconds. - Barely a cameo. - Yeah, well, it's what I do my best work. Ten seconds or less. Hey, oop, boop, boom. - Shh, you said it, not me. (laughs) - Ten seconds or less, unless you're on the golf course, right? - Yes. (laughs) - It's Dan Reicho Satyarsha. All right, let's bring in our next guest. Oilers play by play. Jack Michaels here on Canucks Central. Thanks for this, Jack. We're getting hyped for this series. You know, it's bringing up a lot of storylines over the course of the year. Canucks won all of the regular season meetings, of course. But, Oilers, a much different team than when most of those meetings happened. What are you making of the preview of this series going into Wednesday's Game 1? - Well, we're gonna find out whether, you know, Vancouver, whether playing style, goaltending, you know, just general the way they play. I got underneath Edmonton's skin and helped usher in that tailspin. I definitely think that Canucks played a role on the Oilers' tough start. I mean, if you think back to the first two games of that year, a lot of people thought, you know, Edmonton's got a pretty friendly schedule to start the year. They got a couple against Vancouver, a non-playoff team, a heritage classic, all the emotion of that one against the team. They've kind of had their number, the Calgary Flames, and there was a San Jose mixed in there. There's a whole bunch of games where, boy, you know, Edmonton's gonna get off to a great start. And then, you know, 50 minutes into the season, it's 8-1 and you're thinking, holy cow, you know. And at the time, you're thinking, wow, that it's not only a bad loss to start the year, but it's a bad loss to a bad hockey team. Well, it turns out, you know, Vancouver's run, which a lot of people, including myself, had some doubts about at the tail end of the 22, 23 season ads, garbage time, you know, they were playing for a new coach. And, you know, the pressure was off and that finish didn't really mean anything. Well, as it turned out, it meant a lot because if you add in, you know, the final 25 games of that year and the first 55 of this year, you're talking about a historically good Vancouver 80 game run. So those losses don't look so bad by comparison, but I do think there is some validity in pointing out six months is, in fact, a hockey season. I mean, those losses might as well have happened three years ago. I don't know how much they really play in this series whatsoever. - Yeah, I mean, the playoffs are such a different animal. Anyways, the game changes so much so you have to be really careful trying to apply too much from the regular season. The biggest thing I look for is like individual trade, talking to team play together and how do they play playoff hockey? But in terms of motivation, you're right. I mean, Edmonton was looking to maybe get some payback against Vancouver in the final game they had in the regular season. McDavid gets hurt. You don't have the same team, of course. They're trying to catch them at the end. I'm sure they use it as motivation to try to win the division as well. And they came pretty close at the end. How motivated do you think this orler team is to beat the Canucks specifically because of the season the Canucks have had against them? - I think the motivation has very little to do with the Canucks, to be honest with you. You're talking about a club that's lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions two years in a row. And it was one thing to get waxed by Colorado. I think if you play that series 10 times, the Avalanche probably would have won that series nine out of 10. It was a little bit different last year. A lot of people have kind of forgotten that is Edmonton had Vegas on the ropes. I mean, it was tied at two games apiece. And Edmonton had a 2-1 league late in the second period. And Vegas had nothing going on. I mean, as I recall, the Golden Knights had an out of scoring chance for about a period and a half. And then three minutes later, it's 4-2. And the entire complexion of the postseason had dramatically shifted in Vegas this favor. In fact, the Golden Knights were never really threatened again. They held on to win that game four to three and then got a hat trick from Marsha so in game six. And as you know, then it went up three games to none on Dallas and put away Florida fairly easily as well. So I think Edmonton is hungry to get back to that moment where the playoffs can swing again and handling that moment a lot better. It may come in this Vancouver series. It may come in a future series. But I think for the Euler veterans-- and this is now the oldest club in the league. This is not, you know, McDavid and Dry's title at 22-23 leading young guns into the postseason. This is a team that's a little battle start. This is a team that also remembers when the regular season didn't turn out to mean that much at all. Beating Winnipeg six in a row to close out the regular season and then getting beaten a four game sweep when Connor Halibuk played much better than he did in the first round series against Colorado. So, you know, I'm not demeaning the Canucks by that. I'm sure the Oilers are thinking, you know, it'll be nice to put that 4-0 series sweep to bed, you know, if they should beat the Canucks. But for this team that's had so many good looks and, you know, they've got Zach Hyman who had a lot of near misses in Toronto as well as Edmonton, you know, they have Matthias Eckholm who's had a couple of near misses when he was with Nashville, a president's trophy and a trip to the Stanley Cup final. And, you know, Evander Kane, you know, a conference final trip, you know, in back-to-back years with San Jose and then with Edmonton a couple of years later, not back-to-back, but they have a lot of guys who've been close but haven't won it. The only guy they have that's won it is Corey Perry and he lost three finals in a row. So, this is a highly motivated team. I don't think it's get back at Vancouver. I think it's finally achieved the one thing that's alluded to them. - This, you know, I know Rick Docket was, is a Jack Adams nominee. I thought, you know, Knoblock should have gotten maybe a little bit more love than he ends up getting considering just how crazy the turnaround was for the Edmonton Oilers when he took over for J Woodcroft. I know there was some system changes, but, you know, what was it about Knoblock? Was it just right place, right time that got this team on track the way that they did and how is that translated here into the playoffs? - Well, a couple things. And I'll say this, you know, on a Vancouver radio show, not to kiss up, but because it's a fact. If Rick Docket doesn't win the Jack Adams award, then I don't know what is happening. I mean, I really don't. And I'd agree with you. Rick Bonus might have been a bit of a sentimental choice in there, but I think the Canucks have been the confluence of the three top coaching candidates for Coach of the Year. But there's a clear line of demarcation for me with Rick Tockett as opposed to Andrew Burnett and Chris Knoblock. But to answer your Knoblock question, what he brought in was calm. I think you guys and your listeners have caught him in the news conferences, and that is in an act. I mean, this guy is, you know, for tennis fans in the late '70s, early '80s, he's Bjorn Bork. He's the ice man. I mean, his pulse is not yet and above 35. He is as advertised and the Oilers were jumping. The Oilers were panicking and they had a right to. I mean, what was going on? This was a 109 point team that after Vancouver demolished them and then they got nipped by San Jose. And they were getting goalieed a few times. I mean, we all remember what Casey to Smith did to the Oilers in game two of the regular season when Edmonton outshot the Canucks 40 to 16 that had nothing to show for it. But they were also not playing very well. They were giving up huge chances in the slot. They weren't getting great goals. I mean, their penalty kill was a nightmare. Connor McDavid was nagged by an early season injury that kind of, for him, left his numbers looking rather pedestrian after 11, 12 games. He basically came in and said, guys, here's what we're doing. We're going to roll out these guys on the penalty kill. We're going to have Jack Campbell in the minors. We're going to bring up Calvin Pickert, Stuart Skinner. It's incumbent upon you and the rest of this team to lead us out of it. And that's the way it's going to happen. And I'm not going to freak out. I'm not going to use 24 different penalty killing combinations, which is what Edmonton did in the first three or four weeks of the season. These are the guys that are going to do it. And you're either going to do it or you're not going to do it. But you're going to do it. And look, I think he said something along the lines. I think he took over with 70 games to go. He goes, look, we've got nine eight game segments. All we've got to do is go five and three and win the playoffs in those eight game segments. And as it turned out, after a couple of stumbles here and there, they went eight no in an eight game segment after the five, 12 in one situation. Because it wasn't-- they had some tough games under Chris Knoblock. They had to go down and do that gamut of Florida, Carolina, Tampa. And it didn't go well. I mean, they were struggling still. But he eventually was able to settle everything down. The other thing that happened was Paul Coffey took over a portion of that locker room. He sat all the defenseman together and said, look, we're shifting seats around. Defencement on this side of the room. And you know what? I'm sick of hearing about McDavid and Dry soda. You guys can be better. You guys can really help this team. You can push it offensively. You can make plays. You don't have to rely on these guys. We're a defense unit. And that's Paul Coffey's a great old school type of guy in the sense that he doesn't mind pitting a team within a team, right? He doesn't mind saying, hey, forget those offensive guys. We're capable, whatever. And I think they responded that challenge. And there was another layer of competitiveness within the room that started to develop, where, you know, Evan Bouchard goes out and has an 82-point season. And I know I'm on a Vancouver radio show, but I'm telling you what, if the Norris Trophy was handed out the way it used to be handed out, when Rod Langway would finish 100 points behind Paul Coffey and win a Norris or two, Matthias Eckholm, I'm sorry. That guy deserves to be a Norris Trophy finalist. I don't like where we're at, where we just look at the top three scores in the league amongst the Fenceman and say, those are your Norris Trophy candidates. And that's not taking anything away from Quinn Hughes, who's turned out to be a much better player than I thought he'd be and a lot of people thought he'd be. He's a much better defender. He does it a different way. He escapes his way out of trouble. He's very active with a stick. No one's better in close quarters. But I'm here to tell you, Matthias Eckholm has made that bearing because he's allowed Evan Bouchard to be Evan Bouchard and as Matthias Eckholm, he is as good a defenseman as there is in the league at both ends of the ice. That may sound ridiculous, but I'm sorry. He's got 45 points and a plus 45. To me, that's a guy who should be considered amongst the very best in the league. - Well, that pairing, Bouchard and Eckholm was one of the best in the league this year. And, you know, Heronik and Hughes was one, Taves and McCar, it's one of the premier pairings in the National Hockey League. You know, we know there are a lot of strengths. For Edmonton, of course, their power play and McDavid and dry settle. Is there an area of their game that you would have a concern about or you see as a potential weakness for Edmonton in the second round? - Well, I mean, the biggest thing if you're an Edmonton fan that you worry about is, you know, Stuart Skinner gonna continue to show signs of growth. You know, he didn't have it that easy in the first two games of the LA series. And then he went to Los Angeles and stopped 60 of 61. And settled that series right down back in Edmonton's favor. That would be one, you know, quasi-concern is, theoretically, if you look at this series and you say Skinner versus she loves, no offense to what archers did in Nashville, but Edmonton's gonna be a different animal. You'd have to say, you'd have to, that Skinner would have the advantage. I also think Edmonton has improved its depth. And this is where Vancouver is gonna need guys like Patterson and Hoglander and McCabe, you know, to contribute. I mean, they're gonna have to be better because if they're not, then all of a sudden the vaunted depth of Vancouver, which was so critical in the first 55 games starts looking a lot thinner. And now you have to start thinking, well, maybe Edmonton has the advantage there with 20 gold scores up and down their lineup. I mean, they've got, you know, Evander Kane on the third line, Warren Fogel on the fourth line right now, scoring 20 goals. I mean, so I think what staked Vancouver to a big lead in the first 55 games has to show up again. And that's the depth scoring and Elias Pedersen understanding, hey, I need to join this group of elite players. I can't let it be all Miller and Besser. I can't let those two guys have to soften McDavid and dry settle. And then some mystery players, you know, step up and offset Hyman and Kane and Perry and Fogel. I mean, Edmonton's much deeper than they used to be. This is no longer a two man show. So that's what I think is crucial for Vancouver is for a couple of their higher end guys to rediscover their form and channel those first 55 60 games. Because obviously if Demko's unavailable, I think Edmonton has the gold tending edge in this series. It may be a slight one and who knows? Maybe she loves, maybe she loves is about to go dried in 71 or Y86. I suppose we don't know that, but I do think he's, he's staring at a much different challenge in Edmonton than Nashville. And that's no disrespect to the predators because the one thing you have to remember is Vancouver just beat what was one of the three hottest teams in the league for the last two months of the year. And a team that many people thought might upset Vancouver. - Jack, we appreciate the time as always. The series is going to be a lot of fun. Thanks for this. - Appreciate it. Take care. - There is Jack Michaels joining us here on Canucks Central and giving us the Oilers a view of things. You know, he mentions Stuart Skinner there as maybe the potential weakness, the weakest link of the Edmonton Oilers. And also in the same breath mentioning, well, now without Patrick Demko in this series, maybe that's not as much of an edge for Vancouver as it may have once been. And the edge may actually be on the guy that Edmonton's got in between the pipes. - Well, clearly a lot of confidence with that Edmonton team. - Yes. - Now the one thing-- - Hard when like, I mean, they won like what? - 46 of their finals, 67 games or something like that. - I would say one of their weaknesses is how they defend in their own zone at times. And also how some of their defensemen play. And yes, goal-tending has been one, but that's the one thing that I would point out about Edmonton. And we mentioned Darnell Nurse, we were kind of joking about it earlier, but you see him get caught up ice quite a bit. You know, we saw it in game five, one of the goals I was scored the second goal of that, game against the two-one goal at the time. You see it throughout the series and the season where he'll make the wrong pinch. And sometimes they don't score, but there's odd man chances going the other way, right? And he's not playing this big feature role on the power play anymore, you know? It's kind of like, and the top pairing is Echolm and Bouchard. So he's playing a lesser pairing. So like all his offensive skills sets that got him paid so much isn't really being exhibited consistently either. He's got 30-some points he had this year. Myers had like 30 points. So it's not that big of a golf. Now I know he had a few more goals and stuff like that. But his production hasn't quite been there defensively. Bit of a bit of an adventure at times. I think their steadiest defensemen defensively outside of Echolm is Koolak, who plays on her third pair. Yes. So, you know, I think, you know, in their own zone and, you know, some of the decisions those defensive men make to me, that's their biggest weakness. The changes they made, I think were necessary, obviously, like what was going on with Woodcroft. And Jack is right. You know, the Canucks did play a big part in the Oilers losing confidence in whatever they were being sold early in the season by their head coach at the time. And it just went completely haywire after that eight-one loss to Vancouver on opening night. But they changed their neutral zone. They went from a 1-1-3 to a 1-2-2. And then in the defensive zone, they also changed their structure. So like, again, talking about those first few games of the season are just, you know, it's history. But it's not a history that really plays a factor into this series because Edmonton is very much a very different team than they were in those early games. But I will say, you are right that their defense is still questionable. And people might say that about Susie and Myers. People might say that about Zadorov Cole. And we know clearly, as we mentioned in the last segment in the video we posted, Edmonton Radio, not so convinced that Quinn Hughes is built for the playoffs. But facts on the Oilers' defense and nurse and CC as a pair, they got roasted by the Vegas gold the night's last year in the playoffs. The year before that, they got roasted by the Colorado Avalanche. - Yeah, I know. - You can't say, "Oh, the Canucks have holes on their D." and then completely ignore the holes that the Oilers have on their defense at the same time. - 100%. - I mean, now I know people are texting in Tuesday. You guys should have pushed back on the echolm take. Well, you didn't say Hughes shouldn't win the Norris. All he said was, "Echolm should be nominated for the Norris." - I don't necessarily disagree that sometimes we just, I mean, I made this point last year about Carlson, but we shouldn't just look at the points and give the guy with the most points the Norris trophy. - Yeah, and his take was he thinks that Echolm should be nominated for the Norris. That's what he said. He didn't say anything, but he should win it. He didn't say that he's better than Hughes. He didn't say that Hughes shouldn't be nominated. He said he just thinks Echolm should be nominated. - I also happen to quite like Matias Echolm. - Same, he's really good. - And honestly, he's had a terrific season. - He is by far the other's best defense. - When people talk about Bouchard and Echolm, like I think the interesting take is Echolm to me makes more of an impact, especially five on five and defensively. So if you want to make the case of who's more valuable to that team, you can make the cases Echolm, right? So I don't hate the take, do I agree? No, but whatever, but he's not saying that for those that are making it about versus Quinn, like he didn't make it about Echolm versus Quinn, okay? He didn't say Echolm is better than Quinn. So just chill out a little bit on that. But on the whole's Edmonton have, like I do think there are things that can be exposed. Now, and I think in terms of their overall offense upfront, like yes, Evander Cain can play your third line and score a little bit and same thing with Warren Fogle. I do think Evander Cain's game though this year, especially these four checkings consistency hasn't quite been there. And I'd say that right now, I'd like the Lynnholm, Garland, Joshua, Trio, better than any Trio the Edmonton Oilers have. It doesn't include Drysidal or McDavid. Can I just need to get Patterson's third line, whatever it looks like, whatever you wanna call it, they need that line to get going and be more productive. Well, Patterson needs to be a star. Yeah, like this is a series where he needs to be a star. Yeah, 100%. And that is like a prerequisite to any conversation we have about this series. Patterson needs to be a lot better, a heck of a lot better than he was in around one. But one of the things with the Oilers, and you can say that it applies to both teams, but I think it applies more for the Oilers. They do like to pinch, they get themselves caught up by some times. It's essentially how the Canucks throttled them early in the season in those games. But can you get the Oilers off their game to a point where they start to press, where they start to make a pinch, where they start to make a pass into the middle of the ice that is more of a Hail Mary than it is anything else? Can you do the thing that the Canucks so often talk about not doing themselves? Try to hit a home run on every shift. And if you get the Oilers playing that way, that plays into the Canucks' hands because they love being that team that's able to sit back, be comfortable with the game state, and wait for their opponent to make the mistake. Yeah, and I think you have to do that, but also be aggressive with how you-- To back is the wrong term. Yeah, I know what you're saying. It's that kind of blend of don't chase the game, but also be aggressive and contest everything. It can't be easy for Edmonton to get through the neutral zone, right? And I think once the Canucks get set up defensively, we saw it against Nashville too, where they lost the neutral zone battle a couple of games, but they still were stout in how they defended in their own zone. And even McDavid and Drycettle will still pick you apart at times. Even if you are defending so well, their difference makers are so good that they can create something that wasn't there even against great defense. That can happen from time to time, but that's not gonna be their bread and butter in terms of scoring in this series. If you limit the odd man chances and the transition chances they have, that really slows down their 5 on 5 offense. Yes. And that's gonna be the big key. And what have the Canucks done well this entire season? They're one of the best teams in defending against a rush. By that, I mean, they don't give up rush chances. And that's the one thing they can't allow, or limit as much as possible. Edmonton's still gonna get some. It's hockey with things will happen, right? But if they do those things, 5 on 5, then there's special teams too. But I think there is a pathway for the Canucks to win the 5 on 5 battle on this series. Again, I've mentioned this earlier in the show, I believe, and I'll mention it again. The only team that gave up more goals against at 5 on 5 in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs than the Edmonton Oilers did was the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg gave up 17, a heck of a lot more than anybody else. But the Oilers gave up 12 in 5 games to the LA Kings. It's not a great number. If they try to outscore the Canucks, like, yeah, you have to outscore the other team, of course, facts only. But, you know, I think who wins the battle of like how the game is played, I think ends up winning this series. Do the Oilers get this game to be a little bit more pond hockey, a little bit more transition offense, fast, trying to score off the rush kind of thing? It's similar to Nashville, or do the Canucks, are they able to play it a little bit more of a slower pace? I think that's ultimately what Rick Talkett wants to see. - Do you want to be trading chances? - Yeah. - You know, and can the Canucks get their cycle going and connect some play in the offensive zone? Keep them away from the puck as much as possible. And I know that analytically, Edmonton gets a lot of credit for how they defend. - To me, a lot of their numbers is based on the fact they don't spend a ton of time in their own zone. - Yeah. - I mean, it's their numbers early in the season with J Woodcroft were great. Like their underlines, their expecteds were like-- - But they had a full breakdowns, that horrible breakdowns. Now, they haven't had as many, obviously, they've been better at it. But when you watch them get cycled in their own zone, how they defend, and how they play, you know, through a stretch of five on five play, like there are gaps defensively that happen, you know? And I think a lot of those numbers that suggest Edmonton's elite defensive team is by virtue of the fact of how little time they spend in their own zone as opposed to it being them truly being great defensively. Now, I'm not saying they're defensive trash, not at all. I mean, they're a formidable team. Like Edmonton's a team that could go on and win a Stanley Cup, right? Like they're a really good hockey team. You have to respect an opponent that has McDavid and Drycidal, right? And they have a lot more than just McDavid and Drycidal. They're a really good hockey team. But when you watch them play defensively, they're kind of average with how they defend. - Yeah. - You know, and average isn't bad. But if you're trying to win a series, that means if you're a great defensive, you have an edge. And I think in terms of defending, the Canucks have the edge in the series. - It's gonna be really interesting. We've got a lot more time to break it down. We'll take more of your texts. 650, 650 on the Dunbar Lumber text message. Inbox, more to come on Canucks Central. [BLANK_AUDIO]
