Here we are. It’s been nine years since their last Stanley Cup home game, but it’s go time. The Vancouver Canucks host the Nashville Predators in a round one tilt, pitting the top seed in the Pacific against the first wildcard team. No one really thought the Canucks would be atop the division at this time last year: it’s been a remarkable turnaround for the team, punctuated by stellar individual performances and more-than-likely awards for a few. If you want to get into the mood, here’s a good little recap of the year the Canucks put out:
Vancouver swept the season series against Nashville, but that doesn’t mean too much as it was earlier in the season (before Nashville’s well-documented tear) and, well, it’s the playoffs. On paper Vancouver has the deeper and more talented team, but they’re coming in without the same playoff experience that Nashville is able to boast. Overall, the Canucks enter the series as the favoured team, but looking around it’s not by much. Mostly sitting around 60% to Nashville’s 40%.
The Preds are a heavy team that hit – a lot. They have 3 players in the top 15 for hits, including number one overall Jeremy Lauzon who lead the league with 386 hits. The Canucks’ leader in that regard was Joshua, clocking in at 245. This is going to be a physical series, and that’s something Tocc thinks the players need to embrace.
“You've got to embrace the pain,” he said after practice. “There's going to be pain, and you've got to love it. I'm being serious.
“You've got to crave that walk to the bus when you're tired and you're limping or you've got a cut. That should be something you crave. Don't be afraid of it. Obviously, (physicality) is ramped up. It's a different level. You've just got to make sure that, you know, you can't shy away. You've got to play uncomfortable.”
With so many of the team not having that playoff experience, it will be interesting to see how the boys can handle the extra intensity.
Overall, this series will boil down to a few x-factors for the Canucks:
- Will their powerplay return to form? The PP has been lacking of late, sitting near the bottom of the league since the All Star break, but with that much skill it’s something that can easily shift a few games here and there.
- Does Demko return to form against Saros? Demko had been sidelined a month before getting two games in this past week, but sometimes the adrenaline carries you for a bit before you sink. Will Demko continue to play at his season-level Vezina ways, or will Saros – who’s no slouch himself and has been terrific down the stretch – outduel him in net?
- Can the Canucks’ core find another gear? This is going to be a taste or actual playoff hockey for a lot of the young Canucks, and it will be interesting to see how they respon. Less time, more noise, emotional swings, and a rougher game. I’m not sure what kind of higher gear Quinn Hughes has after his remarkable season, but getting Petey flipped on for this series is a going to have a huge impact.
Tocchet mixed the lines up a bit at practice yesterday, moving Lafferty up to Pettersson’s line – maybe with the idea it’s going to be a bit more physical than normal and he wants a heavier body on that line. The probable/potential rosters for tonight’s game shake down like this:
Vancouver Canucks
Pius Suter-J.T. Miller-Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander-Elias Pettersson-Sam Lafferty
Dakota Joshua-Elias Lindholm-Connor Garland
Phil DiGiuseppe-Teddy Blueger-Ilya Mikheyev
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