[MUSIC] Back in on Kanak Central, it's Stan Richo, Satyar Shah here in the friendly confines of Rogers Arena. We are in the Mobile Kintech studio as we get ready for game seven here on Sports S 650. Kanak Central is for Enzahn Pacific Bank, Hoover's premier Chrysler, Dodge Ram and Jeep Superstore on Second Avenue between Canby and Maine, or at Enzahn Pacific Chrysler.ca. This one comes in from Chris on LTIR in Duncan. Sorry to hear you're on LTIR there, Chris. You surprised Perry as an inserted into the Oilers lineup with all his experience, even on the bench. If it's close, I'm sure they would benefit. No Perry as the Oilers sat him on Saturday, and they've stuck with the same lineup for tonight's game. I think they've just opted for more speed in their lineup, and Perry wasn't really given that to them. Yeah, I think that's part of it too, and he just hasn't been as effective either. You wonder if there's something else going on in terms of him not being up to speed 100%. The lasting moment of the series for him was holding that stick up to Brock Besser's face. That's it. I think of core Perry being relevant in this series. Well, that's because it was memed about a thousand times. Let's bring in our next guest. You know him as Mr. Game 7 sports head analyst as well, it is Justin Williams. What's happening Justin? How are you? I'm good. How are you? Thanks for having me on. Does it ever get old hearing that that be your nickname, Mr. Game 7? It's actually grown on me the more I retired when I was playing. I was like, this is so pompous and ignorant. I mean, I'm not like this at all, and then kind of when people start introducing me a little bit later, it's actually not too bad. It's got a decent ring to it. Classic hockey player. Just always humble. I love it. So, Game 7 tonight, you know, what are your emotions as a player going into a Game 7? Knowing this could be the last night of your season, it could mean you win a cup. It could be that your season continues from here. Yeah, I mean, just thinking about it gets me excited and just kind of it brings you back to the room a little bit when you're in there and knowing that, you know, you have that quiet confidence, that inner confidence, that pressure, I mean, it's such a cool thing to experience as a player. Just being in the dressing room before the game and knowing that there's one game just like the Super Bowl to win and or go home and it's an exciting time for these guys. Absolutely. I mean, plenty of them have played in Game 7s before, but you know, these two teams that are playing the night obviously have aspirations to win the cup and, you know, one of the seasons can end tonight. And unfortunately, it happened for my hurricanes a few days ago, albeit not in Game 7, but it's just such a cool time to be a hockey player and at the times you live for and I'm excited to watch the game. And what is it about certain guys who are able, like yourself, to elevate in that moment and some guys, you know, the moment does become too big for him? Like, what is it about being able to rise in that type of occasion? Yeah, I mean, it's funny, right around the time of year, I would get phone calls, questions, you know, that type of thing and yeah, I mean, the best way for me to kind of explain what's going on in that dressing room and what I think will ultimately, you know, be the difference in a game is you have to have a bunch of guys on your team who are willing to make mistakes. If you have a bunch of guys in your dressing room that are just going to go out there and scared to make mistakes, that's going to be an issue and that's not a great recipe for success right there. So I've always said you got to err on the side of enthusiasm. You can't be apprehensive out there. And you know, if you're willing to just step up for that game and want to be the difference maker and want to be the guy that the end of game seven and said, wow, that guy was the difference tonight, you'll be ready to go. But as I said, if you go on the other side of it and just afraid to, you know, really be great and be the best you can be because you're apprehensive or a little bit nervous or are scared to look the other way and be like, oh, I don't want to make a mistake. That's the issue. And, you know, the more players on your team that have the attitude of I don't care, I'm going to go out there. I'm going to show my best and I'm going to go out there and get it as opposed to hoping it comes to you. That's going to be the difference in the game tonight. Well, it's funny. I think the Canucks have actually talked a lot about that sort of passive mentality and how it's showed up in their losses of this series to the Oilers, giving maybe McDavid and dry side a little too much respect and being a little bit too apprehensive to try and make a play in the offensive zone and being a little bit too aware of trying to stay above the puck. And all of a sudden, you look up in the third period, you only got 12 shots on net for the entire game. So I kind of get what you mean, but you know, it's easier said than done, I guess, when you're going up against McDavid and dry side, oh, isn't it? Well, sure. I mean, listen, they're as great as they are. They're human too. They're going to have these types of nerves and the same feelings that everybody else is going to have, maybe even more so because they're relied on. They're supposed to be difference makers and the pressures on. You know, a lot of times the difference in these games are the guys that are able to just rise at the guys that only play maybe 12, 14 minutes, they're able to get that big goal and to be that difference maker. Because a lot of times the first couple of ones kind of chop each other up and break even and it's the role players and, you know, the unsung defense and sometimes that get it done. So yes, you have to say above McDavid, you have to know when they're on the ice, you have to make smart decisions with the puck. It doesn't take away from the fact that for one game, you've got to try and outplay him. And that's what the app. So Vancouver's mentality has to be. For all the talk about home ice advantage in the postseason, the stats show is pretty much a coin flip. Generally speaking, anyways, between teams, whether you have home ice advantage or not in a series, but in a game seven, and I know you have success on the road and at home, but is there an advantage to be at home ice? Yeah, I mean, the only advantage you give you is right before the game. That's pretty much about it, you know, the comfort of staying in your own bed that night and maybe taking a nap in your own bed the morning, depending on what the team schedule is, there's really not much to it. You know, what I tried to do a lot of times is I tried to trick my brain into the fact that they were cheering for me out there and if that gives you a little bit of life, then that's fine. But I still don't know to this day what I enjoyed a little bit more. Was it bringing 20,000 people to their feet by scoring a goal or making 20,000 people hush up and be real quiet and they're both equally pretty satisfying? I can imagine that to be the case. You know, with the, you know, the crowd and how intense it can get, how loud it can get, the emotions, can it, can it sometimes, I don't want to say be a hindrance because the home crowd is always great to have. But can you, as a player get caught up in those emotions and maybe make a mistake, maybe dive in on a puck that maybe you were never going to get to and an odd man rush goes back the other way? Can the emotions sometimes get the best of you in a game like this? Well, I mean, the answer is yes, yes they can, but at this, you know, at the same time, you're here for a reason. These guys are professionals. They've been in a lot of situations before and a lot of them, as I said, in these game sevens and, you know, I know how many times we've seen teams at home jump out to leads, right? You've seen it throughout these playoffs. You know, first 10 minutes, we've got to make sure we're keeping it tight. You know, they're going to come out buzzing in their own arena the first 10 minutes of this game or the first theory, whatever it may be, and then the game settles in, right? And obviously that's what, that's what, you know, Edmonton is going to try to do. They're going to try and, and whether the storm early, hopefully they can, you know, for their sense kind of come out of that. But Vancouver's on the other side saying let's go, go, go, go, go, go. But at the same time, you've got a full game and that's, you can't really, I was going to use another now, JK King's on on radio, but you can't just go all in right away. You know, just, you know, you need to take your time out there. You need to relax. You need to obviously go, go, go, but at the time, you can't just, you know, blow it all out in the first period and have nothing left to the rest because I've seen that happen before too. Well, yeah. And like, you know, the coach spoke so much today about Rick talk, and that details need to be good and being a hero is not just about scoring goals. It's also about, you know, keeping your shift short or sacrificing, like in a game seven, you know, the coaches always talk about details, but are those things enhanced even more in games like this individually from players? Oh, yeah, they absolutely are. And I loved what, what, what talks that earlier today said, you know, trusting, trusting each other, trusting your teammates. We worked, worked this whole season and, and we're so detail oriented, whether being practice or whatever it is, and it's the minute details that make differences in these games. They really are. These things are so good. They're really, really evenly matched. They're in a game seven for a reason because they're two darn tight teams. So it's the minute details, the little tiny things, the second, third, fourth efforts, the battles that, that you think aren't that important. They really could have an impact on the end of the game. And that's what you got to think about. Just go out there and have that mentality, I'm not going to lose one battle tonight. And, and you know, the end of the day you are going to lose a battle. But if you have that mentality, if you're not going to lose one, and if you do, you're going to get it back and get it back and get it back. You know, that's what you need tonight. So it'll be real intense game and, and obviously great for the players, but great for, great for the fans and us watching as well. I'm curious on your thought on the, on the Canucks. I know the, a lot of the outside view that I've seen at least and, you know, the, the, the odds going into this game are heavily stacked against the Canucks. They lose Besser to, to the injury as well. And, and that's another blow for them. But they've outside of game six, every game has been played on a razor's edge ultra close. So what, what have you made of the Canucks this postseason and, and how they've got to this point? Well, I mean, Vancouver was pretty close and even in that game towards, towards the end when they, they kind of blew it open there, but, um, I mean, when I was doing sports and that stuff, I picked, I picked Vancouver to come out of these just because I, I love their depth or sorry, not out of the east out of the Pacific. Um, I just, I, I love their depth and, and you can overcome things. Obviously in the long run, um, not having Besser is not going to be an ideal thing, but you can overcome these things in short periods of time. You see guys go down and, and players are able to elevate around them. Um, obviously, as I said in the long run, if you lose them for an extended period amount of time, that's going to be an issue in a seven game series. But for one game, uh, Vancouver can overcome that and they've, they've had a tremendous year and, um, you know, they, uh, um, they have a good shot as, as any, it's a coin flip tonight. It really will be, but, but obviously there was a bit of a, uh, a, a sour feeling around the team too with the news around Brock Besser heading into tonight. Uh, he's out of the lineup and done for the rest of these playoffs with, with a, with, with, what appears to be blood clotting issues and he's been a tremendous player for the Canucks in the post. He's in seven goals so far. They're leading goal score. He's not going to be part of the lineup tonight. I guess a room can take a one of two ways. One is you're all down and upset that you're missing a player or you're kind of rally around him. Is there some extra energy to be had trying to rally around missing a big heat to your lineup in a big game like this? Yes, sir, there, there absolutely is because you know he would give anything to be in that jersey tonight and suiting up with everybody. So I'm, I mean, I don't know where he is, but I'm certain if he's able to, he will be there out there right before they about to go out on the ice, uh, giving inspiration, giving high fives and, and doing the best he can to kind of will these guys over the hump. Um, that for, as a player, you know, I've, you know, you lose a lot of players during playoffs and certainly in my experiences, two guys are hurt. Um, and they want to play so bad, but sometimes they can't and sometimes that gives you just that extra out of motivation when you see them before you go out and maybe that gives you a little bit extra juice to kind of, to kind of get it done. And, um, you know, at the end of the day, you're, you're human and, um, you know, you have emotions and the best you can use them to your ability in a game seven, um, is, is ideal. You know, for, uh, for, for game sevens, um, you know, it always feels like they end up being super close, uh, a lot of the time, uh, you know, even the coaches, when they spoke about it today, it's like, well, there's not a whole lot for me to do anymore. We've played these guys six times in a row already. This will be, this will be the seventh. We all know what each other wants to do. It's about just, uh, making it the most, making the most of it in the moment, uh, just, just how cagey kind of game seven D when, yeah, you've, you've just seen this team six times in a row and it's, it's very hard to find any space on the ice. Yeah. There's no secrets right now. There's, yeah. Nobody's been holding back on a super secret weapon play until game seven to really put into fruition. So these teams know each other, uh, and they're just going to, they're going to old fashioned duke it out tonight, playing on a hockey game. You win, you get to move on and keep your goal and you lose, uh, you know, you feel sorrow and shame and disgust and anger and hatred for the other team and plenty of other emotions as well. But, uh, as I said, such a, such a cool time, uh, and these players are going to really enjoy it and relish it. As a player, do you, um, do you prefer the, the refs kind of stay out of it, uh, maybe call the egregious things if they're there, but for the most part, just let it, let it play out. Yeah. And the rest don't want to be involved either. They, they don't, they don't want to call any penalties that they don't have to. Uh, yes. And, and, and the game seven, especially, I think of the playoffs in general, um, you don't want to see four or five, six power plays for a team and, and that beat a difference. You want to see the teams settle it at five on five and, um, you know, you don't want any controversy at the end and it, you know, we've got nose. We've had so much of it here in the playoffs already. Um, I hope this game ends, um, with players battling it out on the ice five on five. And I think that's what everybody wants. Well, going back to something you mentioned before in a game like this, you can't be afraid of making mistakes. You have to be bold. You have to have some bravery in you. And for a lot of Canucks players, yeah, yeah, they played a game seven in the bubble playoffs, but obviously different animal would travel with, with fans and building a different types of pressures in a real playoff scenario like this. How much do you learn from going through an experience like this the first time? Yeah. I mean, you, you learn a lot about yourself, um, hockey is all about getting experiences and it's not just NHL experiences too. I mean, these guys have played in a lot of pressure situations growing up as well. Um, all those experiences help you out, um, in games like this and, uh, you know, there's not much more really you can, you can say about it. You just give it your best. And as I said, you, you can't be scared. Obviously you don't want to be reckless out there, but you just got to go out there and get it. You got to believe that for one game, you could be the best player on the ice and, uh, you know, whoever has the most amount of guys like that that have that feeling and that feel that same way, and able to exemplify that on the ice, uh, that's the team that's going to win. Uh, Justin, we really appreciate the time. Thanks so much for this today, uh, and, uh, enjoy the game tonight. Yeah. I will. Good luck to you guys. Uh, there he is. Justin Williams, sports and analyst, Mr. game seven was, uh, eight and one in his career in nine game seven appearances and, uh, earned the name on the back of also putting up a ton of points in those scenarios, 15 points in game sevens over the course of his career, the most in NHL history has a cons Mike to his name as well from 2014. Yeah. He's pretty good. And it was great. It's honestly, it's fantastic to have him on on a game seven to get his perspective on it. And I just love that. The hymn saying you can't be afraid of making mistakes, right? Like the reason why it's so hard to be in the national hockey league is because you have to be great, you have to be a great athlete, a great skilled player, and also have the mentality to handle a big moments, right? Like if you can't handle it, but also being able to play in a big moment and also not let it get to you and not be afraid to make a mistakes at the same time playing safe. Like you have to be to be great. You have to do a lot of things well. Yeah. You know, it's not just, you know, being brave. Yeah. You can't be reckless doing it. You kind of have to have, you have to harness it perfectly. And the team that is as close to doing it is it's going to be the team that wins here tonight. And I think that's something that for the players on the Canucks team, what an experience for them to learn from, you know, no matter what it's here tonight, especially for court that you hope is going to do more than whatever they do this year, even if they win a cup, you want them to do it again, right? Like no matter what happens, you want an experience to be part of and hopefully you'll learn while you win. Somebody asked me today, do you think the Canucks will, you know, just collapse and just try to find their way through? And this was coming off of the, the Besser injury and it's just like, oh man, the Canucks have no chance in this game. Now they lose Besser and I'm just like, oh, hold on, like, you know, they, they'll play. It won't be by, if they end up playing that way, it won't be by design. Because Rick Taka has never wanted the team to play like that. If the Canucks play that way or if they, they're aiming to play that way, I would not have picked them to win this series. Yeah. To me, that's not a recipe for you to be able to have a long sustained run, right? Like, you do that because you have to, not because that's your preferred game line. Essentially what they did against Vegas. Yeah, but yeah, there was a huge disparity between the talent levels of the two teams, right? And that level is not quite as high between Vancouver and Edmonton. If anything, the Canucks have more players except for Edmonton has the higher end players. And that's kind of been the difference between these two teams, right? Whereas I think if the Canucks play their A game here, they have a chance to win this game. And to me, their A game is applying pressure. And if you look at the first game of the season, we go back to the regular season, what was the Canucks looking at their best? And they showed us glimpses in that game. Yeah. They can test everything all over the ice. They apply pressure. They're playing, they're tough to play through, right? They get in on the forecheck, they start getting some zone time, right? They're not a team that's going to be crashing in front of their own net and just chip in the puck out and try to survive to the next shift. Like that's not a recipe for success. They don't play, like I would say, they play safe hockey, but it's not in the way that you would think safe hockey is, like when they're at their best, they don't give you a lot. They don't, if there's a 50-50 puck, maybe they will back off of it at times. And we've seen that when they have a lead, maybe they get too much into that mindset where they're a little bit too safe, a little bit too passive. When they're at their best, they're safe but also aggressive at the same time. Control, aggression. I don't know how you would want to describe it, but that's kind of the way that I see it. Well, honestly, and one player who's really, I think, displayed that consistently through the playoffs has been Connor Garland, especially with how aggressive he's been on the forecheck, how every game, even when he's not playing his best, there's something he's trying to initiate yet he's making safe plays. He's back checking hard, he's winning battles along the boards. But he's always constantly looking to do something on the ice, right? And you want to see the Connects best players do that as well tonight. So I feel pretty good about Lindholm, Garland, and Joshua doing their thing. And I think if you put Jefferson and Miller together tonight, I'm expecting those guys to try to take it on as well and I try to put just play the safe brand of hockey. This one from Carmichael, I feel like losing Holmer Miller would have been a bigger shot in the heart because those two are shutting down the big two and Edmondson not saying that Besser isn't an impact player, but I feel like the set the stage for PD in game seven. Look, Besser is a massive loss no matter how you really look at it with his seven goals now being out of the lineup. But yes, it's not about one player win or lose, but the Canucks need more from Elias Patterson now more than ever. Well, I know, and Steve Owen, Santa says many of us texted in throughout the entire season saying Patterson and Hughes don't have the physicality to have success in the playoffs and things so far, they haven't been proven wrong. And why should we expect any different from those players in a game seven? Has he been bad in the playoffs? That's Steve Owen's advantage. No, he hasn't been bad. No doubt. But have we seen peak Queen Hughes? No. In this series, is it not fair to say? Seen it in moments, but we haven't seen it consistently. Is it not fair to say that Bouchard's had the better series? Yes, it is fair. And I think Hughes is the better player, right? But so far this series, Bouchard has had a greater impact. But I think Hughes is still capable of making a bigger impact in the series. And if that's happened in game seven, I think it's possible. The big question is Patterson. We saw in game five with him coming alive, looks like, at least looking more alive, if not him being at his best, because it wasn't his peak, of course. Can you bring some of that back and be better tonight? Yeah. I mean, he responded well after the ugly play on the Holloway goal by setting up Hoaglander, but need to see more out of Elias Patterson, especially with Brock Besser out of the lineup. Well, continue that conversation. Don Taylor is going to join us here on Canucks Central. Canucks playoff coverage is brought to you by the Avenue, Machinery, and Douglas Lake equipment. Get your keys to the on all star collection of Kubota products at one of their six locations across BC that spring visit dleamc.com. You are listening to Canucks Central. Discussing the biggest stories that matter to Vancouver Sports fans, Halford and Bruff in the morning. Subscribe and download the show on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We're back on Canucks Central. It's Dan Reacho, Satyar Shah, welcome in the Sportsnet radio network as the country wants to listen in on game seven for the rest of the night. We're a couple of hours away from puck drop. We are in the mobile context studio here at Rogers Arena Canucks and Oilers. The stage set for game seven, Canada's kintech, Canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five star Google reviews, sore feet. What are you waiting for? The story coming into tonight, Edmonton feels like they have all the momentum after Saturday, but I don't know how many times I have to say this. I know everybody else has got their piece on it as well, but momentum does not exist game to game. It's not a real thing. Well, that's definitely what the Canucks are telling themselves, especially with how Edmonton played in the first in last game or how the result ended up more than anything else. But every single game is its own entity, and especially a game seven. We just spoke to Justin Williams, who's played who is Mr. Game seven, right? I mean, there hasn't been a player more prolific on that stage than Justin Williams, especially in the modern era of the sport. But it's a different animal this game. It's playoffs are heightened. Game sevens are heightened even to a higher level than you've ever seen before until in a series. And that's why I don't think anything, whatever happened in the previous six games in this series, don't matter at all in heading into the game here tonight. Let's bring in our next guest. He is the one and only Don Taylor, Donnie and Dolly, 10 to noon on check TV. And Donnie is a presentation of besought motors every Monday here on Canucks Central. Thanks for this, Donnie. What do you think on that? Does momentum exist game to game in the Stanley Cup playoffs? I think I believe, well, look at the series. It's gone back and forth. I'm alternating with losses. I believe when momentum within a game, certainly, things start to fall apart. I mean, maybe even more so, more so on the bench than on the ice and the things that go on in terms of a panic, although, you know, at the NHL level, I don't know how much panic it is. But I think it does exist. No, from one game to another, I'm not so sure. But certainly within a game, a lot of strange things in sports is, I always find football strange. I think there's momentum in football. I've never really got that when a team gets hot because there's a week between games. And in the case of the Super Bowl two weeks, I've always thought of that strange. But hockey, I don't, you know, if a team's better than a team, and it builds up momentum, that's the way it goes. It's more about the talent, so I don't buy the game to game. I do buy the momentum within a game. I'm with you on that too. And I think, especially for a game seven, where when everything is on the line, it brings the energy in. And I think usually it ends up being a very close game or a blowout. And I think with how the connects have gone about their starts for the most part and how they've played in this series, I actually feel pretty decent about their chance of heading into this one, given what they've displayed all year long to with their resilience. And I think even with the injuries, that says quite a bit about what they've shown us throughout this entire season that, yes, it's a tough spot for them to be in with the injuries they have and Edmonton being what it is if their top guys are playing. But you can be confident based on what the connects have shown us throughout the 82 games of the regular season. And now the first 12 games of the playoffs. I was the ultimate testing in resilience for the connexion, even such a resilient team. I have a feeling they're going to win tonight, even without Besser, without Gavco, without Patterson being, you know, his old self, whatever's going on there. I just just have a feeling that they've been so resilient so long. I think they're going to be, even though it's at home, I think they're going to be the less nervous team, and just because so much rides on this for Edmonton, I think the expectation is that you go back to the start of the season. The expectations going into this game are greater for the Oilers, and the ramifications are much greater for the Oilers than they are for the Canucks. I think they'll be wound up much tighter than the Canucks. So even with the Besser injury, that fresh news, I just have a feeling that this is going to be the Canucks night. Now, I could be totally wrong. People can rip into me on Twitter afterwards or in our inbox, and that's fine, but I just have a feeling. I also wouldn't be surprised because it's a game seven, two Canadian cities. There's a lot of nervousness there. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not that great of a game until the very end, you know, just because I don't know how, you know, mistakes and chances make for great entertainment. And I just think it's going to be so buckled down tonight, but the tension will be there for the whole, depending on the score. But I expect it to be there for the whole 60 minutes, but I just have a feeling about the Canucks. They've been so resilient for so long. I think they'll be less nervous. I think they're the deeper team. Maybe not without Besser, but just have a feeling that they're going to take it tonight. Yeah, it's game sevens can be cagey affairs, as we know, with the way they tend to play out. It's rallying around the Besser injury. You know, I think that can be a very real thing for one game. Guys just find another gear to just find a level, find a way to get it done for one. I mean, we saw it, you know, leaves down three one in the opening series to Boston. No Matthews for games five and six, and they find a way to win those games, game seven. He comes back and they lose, right? Even even March on with the Bruins against Florida, like he's out of the lineup. They find a way to beat Florida and force game six. So, you know, sometimes like the game could work in funny ways like that, where you just you find a way to rally around a missing player. Yeah. And I think I'm going to go way back here, guys, and as you know, I like to do that. So 82, the Canucks makes it a sound like a final for the first time. And, you know, people will either forget, or they weren't born, you know, they were without their captain. Yeah. Thank you. They were without their captain, Kevin McCarthy, defense men, and two other really good defense men in a young Rick Lance, and a grizzled, really effective Yuri Bubla, and in came guys like Neil Bellen and Andy Sleeper. This is really early in the playoffs. They go all the way to the Stanley Cup final. I mean, it can be done. And I think what Rick Talkett said yesterday about, you know, when things are, you're not sure about things when there's injuries, and this is what the Canucks did in 82. That wasn't a great team, but they, they relied and they just counted on their foundation, and always the foundation is team defense. So I don't look for a high scoring game, but again, I just have a feeling the Canucks are going to do just, just fine tonight. But you know, it might even make them more focused. I mean, as focused as you're going to be in a game seven, even more so when you, when you know your underdog status is maybe even punctuated, maybe even more because of these injuries. Well, and the thing about these game sevens, you're right, there are always some unlikely heroes. The coach talked about that too. And I know I've been kind of joking about this throughout the show so far tonight. Isn't this the spot that's ordained for Ilya Mikayev to finally get a goal in? Yeah, I was going to see pretty good, but that's way better. Yeah. No, that would just be, that would just be perfect. That would absolutely perfect if he got off this night, as they say, and popped one in. And that would make everything go off a negativity go away for him. Well, and that's the thing. It's a good bang on. Well, that's the thing, right? Like as much as Mikayev's had a very rough second half, it's funny because when he came back from his injury, the first like 30 games, he was stellar. He had like 10 goals, like almost was a 20 points or whatever he played well. He was going with Patterson. They were scoring a lot. And he looked like he hadn't missed the beat after having off season ACL surgery. And then obviously we know he had like one goal in 33 games. And I think what is, one goal in his last 50-some games or whatever it is, it's really dreadful with the run that he's been on. But nobody's going to care about any of that if he scores a game winner tonight. Same thing with Patterson, as bad as he's been. If he has a big game tonight, nobody's going to care that he's been, you know, pretty substandard now for the past 20, 30 games too. All right. Run for me or either of them, if that happens, then, you know, you look back at the history of Kannock, game seven goalscores, winning game when he goalscores, one of them is Tom Fergus. Tom Fergus is a good player. No question about it. But was he a guy you'd expect to score a goal in game seven, not, not, not a chance. And he ended up doing that. So who knows, but can we just be so Kannocka, these are so perfect. You know, long way to go before that, but it would be perfect. You know, on, on Patterson though, I mean, we've said this a bunch of other times. Would this not be the perfect time for him to, to find his form for the Kannocks with Besser out? You know, it feels like Patterson and Miller are going to be joined at the hip together to start tonight's game on the same line. Like this is, this is your moment, Elias Patterson. How about it? Yeah. Yeah. And so no excuses, you know, playing with Miller in a big game. You're a big money. I know his contract hasn't started, but you know, everybody feels that way. Not now is the time Kenny rise to that occasion. That's what the great players do. That's what the players who make big money are supposed to do. So now, now is the time and no excuses. And again, I wouldn't be surprised with him or Micaev. But yeah, it's, it's time for the big boys to come through other than Micaev scoring. And it would be, it would be really perfect and just great for the franchise. If EP 40 could pop one in and given what, and I see great for the franchise, not just, you know, because of game seven, because they get to advance the Western Conference final, but what it might mean for the future in that big contract. I guess, you know, we'll find out more about Patterson, whenever the season is done, if that's tomorrow or, or, you know, after a series against Dallas or even beyond that. But I mean, a lot of what's happened and transpired here in the playoffs, I wouldn't say it has me out on Alia's, Patterson moving forward. But, you know, I haven't liked the way he's been more of a perimeter player here in the postseason. And, you know, he makes that soft play on Holloway, on, on Edmonton's first goal on, on Saturday night. Like, we've just seen too much of those kinds of plays from Patterson here in the playoffs for me to say, well, a strong regular season next year would have me buy back in on Patterson. Like, this has sort of become a little bit of, you know, does this guy have the physicality to play in the playoffs? Right now, that's, that's kind of what I'm thinking Donnie, but that of course can be changed if, you know, we, we hear these playing through some kind of significant injury. Well, it's, you know, it's so scary because, you know, I'm involved in minor hockey and, and you know, you tell the kids all the time, move your feet, move your feet. And when he's done that, like on the hook, like your goal, he was moving his feet, you know, what happened, that's frightening for a guy you're paying 11. So it's minor hockey stuff, you know, you know, move your feet. It just, if he does that, and I just, you know, one thing when I, when I heard the thing about him hooking up with Miller, Miller's not going to let him get away with that, right? I mean, you saw him, you know, barking at Dakota Joshua the other day. So this might be just the, this is the perfect tonic for him, but yeah, just, just, just move the feet. And the other thing that is scary about Pedersen is that you see some defensive flaws. And before, you know, when he was having, you know, more productivity in his game, his defensive game was also really, we're talking about him being a selfie winner or a selfie candidate at the very least and that's kind of gone away. So hopefully he gets back to it for Connect fans. Well, and, and I think one thing that we want to see as well here in, in game seven is Quinn Hughes to really win that matchup against Evan Bouchard because I think so far in this series, like I, I think Hughes is the better player and deserves to win the Norris this season. But I think it's, you know, I don't think it's unfair to say that in this series, Evan Bouchard's had a greater impact for Edmonton's success than Hughes has had on Vancouver's success. Bouchard has nine points in the series already plus seven on it. Now Hughes has four points in six games with but no goals is a plus one, but it's clear he hasn't made the same impact as Bouchard. But same thing, if he wins the battle tonight, you've won the war, so to speak, right? So I really looking for Quinn Hughes to kind of have a signature, signature game of the postseason. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm with you. Like I take Quinn Hughes over. I have a Bouchard any day, but Bouchard's got that big shot, but the Connect can't see to do anything about and now I'm not making excuses, but I'm going to make excuses. I just wonder about Quinn Hughes after that, when he took all that punishment and everybody talks about Pedersen and what's happening with him, but I wonder even more about Quinn Hughes because he had moments like that sandwich he took, I forget what game it was. But I wouldn't be surprised, but I bet you eats away at him. He's a competitor. He's a great player. He's more mobile than Evan Bouchard and there's a guy that could, obviously, he's such a talented player. There's a guy that could very well come through tonight, but yeah, Bouchard, so Bouchard reminds me a little bit of Alvin Kinnes with that big, big right handed shot from the point that he just don't seem to be able to do anything about it. It's just a tremendous weapon for Evan to, you know, on the Edmonton side of things, they're not going with any lineup changes here, Stuart Skinner, you know, they defended well in front of him. He didn't have a ton of work, but, you know, they showed the highlights on hockey night from the first period where he was kind of swimming. He lost his net a couple of times, Canucks just couldn't make them pay for it. I mean, I still think that's a, that's a big storyline going into tonight. It almost feels like people are like, yeah, Skinner was fine. He got his confidence back. And I'm like, I'm not so sure about that yet, Donnie. Yeah, I did. I went with you. Like you say, that first period, we put a pack together on a post game show where it was like, you know, it was clear, he was on his butt, you know, swimming around and just just looking really awkward and recovered after that. And they really buckled out, Canucks didn't test too much. But I think there's still something there that the Canucks can exploit. I just think that, you know, you get up a couple of, what, what are two goals? The crowd starts chanting Skinner that, that I don't, I don't know if he can handle that moment. There's just so much there for him. No, I'm with you on it, and I think especially it's, it's obviously the most cliche thing ever in the playoffs, but it's getting off to a good start early on and taking advantage of it. And if you put the seat of doubt in his head early, like that's what you need to do. Like the last thing you want to do is let him get through a period, only facing a few shots and feeling confident, now letting in, letting in a goal. Yeah. And I think with him, it's, it just won't be him thinking that way, it'll be his entire team. Yeah. I mean, you know, his team, they, they're well seasoned hockey people, even the youngest player, and they know when a goaltender doesn't have it. I'm not so sure even after that win that he does. So if, if things go awry early, I mean, I think I'm with you, Sad, it's kind of the obvious thing to say, but everything gets multiplied, compounded in a game seven that that doubt will creep into Evanston and, and lo and behold, maybe the Canucks win a game seven. It's been pretty remarkable, like how the Canucks penalty kill is fared against the Oilers power play, you know, for as much as the Oilers dominated on Saturday night. And, you know, how McDavid and dry side of both had their moments in the series. Like in the overall, like you're in a game seven because you've handled them fairly well. Tonight might be a different piece though, Donnie. Like we know, especially if, if Edmonton's down, you're, you're going to get those guys for maybe 30 minutes tonight and how you deal with that ultimately decides the game. Yeah. I'm still waiting. Like it's just, it's so funny. I mean, I was about to say I'm waiting for McDavid to break out or dry side. Yeah. We were talking about that too. Like McDavid, he hasn't really had the kind of burst that we're, we're so used to seeing from him. I know, but I say that. And then I look at the score sheet for the last three sets, Brady had a big game too too, which was a little more. There was, you know, there was more big moments in that game. So it's like, you know, what, what does breaking out mean for him? And, and we just haven't seen, you know, the goal in game two, where I believe it was Myers that pinched, or Susie who pinched and he got around Myers, you know, which nobody could have, could have stopped there. That was the one spectacular, waiting for more of that. That was the one spectacular moment. But again, the stature there shockingly, I mean, as I state the obvious again, but I'm still waiting for him to just completely take over him. I thought last game that, especially on the five on three, I thought there were moments when he passed up shots, when he, like he passed or held onto the puck when he had it. He had some opportunity. It kind of wants to give me a call, by the way, if anybody out there, he knows his number, he wants to give me a call for the game. Maybe I can help him out. Honestly, in the building, Donnie, in the building, Donnie, it looked like from, from my perspective there on, on press row, it looked like he had half the net to shoot on and, and he just, he kept passing up the shot. It was, it was strange. Yeah, I agree. I agree. So it wasn't just me. You know, Donnie, we've seen some snake-bitten players in Canucks history in the past. Like Sammy Saddle literally was once also bitten by a snake. So I mean, he went through the game and when it came to injuries and, and odd things happening to him, right? And, and I'm not trying to make light of the situation because Brock's going through something serious now. We're all very glad to know it's not life threatening the, the, the, the blood clot issue as reported by Elliot Friedman, that he's going through here. But at the same time, it just, you just have to feel for a guy. He seems like every time he turns a corner, every time he, he goes and does something pod. Like even his rookie sees it. Remember, it's such a great year. Then he gets hurt towards the end. That impacts his next year. And then obviously he had all, all the stuff happened to with, with injuries and then of course the, the tragic situation with his father, he finally gets over it. And here we are again, the biggest stage of his career and now he's dealing with this issue. I just, I just can't, I can't help but feel really bad for the kid. Well, the other thing too is I think, I think one of the reasons we feel bad for him and first of all, some great moments that he's provided and the numbers are, are back to being buried his numbers, even, even when he was having down seasons, we're all, we're in all that bad. But the other thing is is, and you know, we've dealt with them, you've dealt, he's such a nice guy. Like, you know, like, I know that sounds really simple, but he's just a really, seems like a really, really good person. You know, just going back to his high school prom, I mean, it just, it just, everything about him just seemed really, really good. And you know, there's all sorts of stories. One involving my son, they, he didn't know who he was and gave him a stick out of nowhere. It just, there's all sorts of stories about him. It's hard not to pull for him, it seems like a really, really good person. And somebody that, what are, he's a player that I respect, you know, the type of player I respect as much as any. And that's the kind of guy who comes into the league and plays a certain way. And with Besser for the first year or two, it was all about his shot. And his shot was everything. And it was tremendous. And you know, the rookie of the year candidate and, and just the, the, everybody was in love with the guy and just so much to, to, to that shot in the offense. And he's really, really rounded out of his game to the point where you've, you've got a respected coach like Rick Talkett using him at the end of playoff games to defend one goal. He's, his work along the boards and in front of the net, his work is, is ability to, to tip a puck on the power play. Those are the things that weren't there before, his defensive game is way better. They're bad moments. There is for everybody. But his, he is round out of his game so well, I just, I just really respect players who, you know, say to themselves internally, I've got to, you know, do this in order to stick around and maybe be a star in the league. He's done that. And he's just a nice guy and a really easy guy to, to, to pull for. And you know, that's going to be the case with the teammates that they're going to be pulling from. Yeah. Yeah. I think we're all really gutted for Brock. One thing I, I really feel bad for him for is, you know, he, he shows up, talks to the media after the game on Saturday, takes on his for, for the play that he makes or doesn't make on, on Hyman and, you know, holds accountability for it. And now, you know, he, he doesn't get to redeem himself as he's not going to get to play another game likely in these playoffs, at least not in the short term. So feel, feel awful about that. Yep. Yep. Donnie. Yeah. Donnie, we always appreciate the time. Thanks for this. Okay. Have a great time watching the game tonight, guys. I know I will and just can't thank you enough. Always fun. We'll talk soon. There he is. Don Taylor on Sports at 650 brought to you by Bassant Motors powering the playoff drive home of over 400 pre-owned vehicles and where the players go. That is Don Taylor here on Kedok Central. Yeah. Great stuff from Donnie as always and confident heading into game seven. And honestly, like, who knows what's going to happen? You're into, you know, coin flip situation right now, right? It's a game seven. But what's the alternative? Yeah. You want to feel upset? You want to feel nervous? You can. But I, I don't know. I feel pretty good about the Canucks chances. They play their best game and they've shown it throughout the series. When they play their best, it's hard for Edmonton to line up to handle that. And, you know, she laws didn't have as clean as game in game six, but if he balances back, they have the advantage and goal as well. And if the tight checking, low scoring, low event game in a game seven, I like that for the Canucks. It doesn't feel like we've had, I mean, maybe game one, but doesn't feel like we've had a game where both teams were on. No, maybe parts of game one, right? Yeah. That's pretty much it. I thought game two was fairly competitive. It went to overtime. Yeah. Two, right? And Edmonton gets it off the E and call. It was like kind of half the game, half the game. The Canucks were better. Half the game. Edmonton was kind of better. Yeah. I think they kind of split that one in half and it was overtime that determined the outcome of that one here tonight. But yeah, we haven't seen like a real slugfest between these two teams yet. It's been generally at least these last three games, certainly, where Oilers were better in game four. That was clear. Canucks were better in game five. That was clear. There's better again in game six. There is still a ton that we've got to get to here as we continue to prepare for game seven here at Rogers Arena. We're going to head down to the concourse. If you're coming down to the game, see us down at section 111 as we complete the show, continue the show from there. Official pregame show will start at six o'clock and lead you right into, or sorry, five o'clock and lead you right into the six o'clock puck drop here at Rogers Arena. It's Dan Reed, Joe Satyar, Shaw, Canucks Central on SportsNet 650 and across the SportsNet Radio Network.
