Vancouver Canucks fans are hoping for another oil spill at Rogers Arena on Friday night.
The team and Canuck Nation are ramped up as Vancouver looks to go 2-0 in its best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff Series against the Edmonton Oilers.
Sportsnet 650 Host Bik Nizzar says the team looks determined and focused and it shows — they’re finding ways to win.
“The Canucks are buying into this resilient mantra and there they were, chipping away at it, 4-2, 4-3, and then suddenly it’s a tidal wave.”
He says to win Game 2, they have to play “Canuck hockey,” and carry over whatever magic they produced in the third period of Wednesday’s game.
“They [have to] do what they did in the last 40 minutes.”
Nizzar says the game isn’t just being played on the ice, but it’s very likely the Canucks have shaken Edmonton’s mental game.
“They’re the boogey man to the Edmonton Oilers — they’ve got five wins on them on the season,” Nizzar explained.
“If they keep doing what they’re doing, they can make this a long series,” explained Nizzar. “Any athlete is going to say, ‘We have a 4-1 lead. We should be able to hold this out and win this,’ and they didn’t. So, not only have you not beaten this team this season, now you coughed up a three-goal lead and that’s a seed of doubt.”
He thinks the Canucks are also enjoying the underdog role in this series as the Oilers struggle with defence and goaltending.
“This is what’s supposed to happen for Edmonton. [It’s been many] years in this process. They’ve been to a Conference Finals before. They’ve been to a second round many times before and it’s the next evolution of what great players do, like Connor McDavid, that they make a run and go to the Cup Final or win the Cup Final.
“But here comes Vancouver, there to upset the apple cart, to essentially be like, ‘Hey, we’re new on the scene. This is new for us.’”
Keeping the game physical has also worked in Vancouver’s favour.
“The gamesmanship of guys post-scrum, it’s not just about pushing a guy around for the sake of it, it’s to set a tone. Players like Nikita Zadorov and Dakota Joshua have had their say in moments like these. Joshua was very physical in Game 1 with eight hits. Zadorov, you can just see him chirping Evander Kane and willing to stroll around the ice with no care that someone’s going to challenge him.”
Despite taking a lot of heat and being under the microscope for months, forward Elias Pettersson played well in Game 1. Nizzar points out his linemates didn’t get him the puck, which could have helped him get the monkey off his back.
“In particular, Nils Hoglander. There were two to three moments where Pettersson was doing the right thing, driving hard to the net and just needing a pass and the pass didn’t arrive,” he said. “You didn’t see that level of engagement in the first round, where the motivation to get prime scoring areas and get free wasn’t there. [Game 1] to me was maybe his best game of the playoffs. But five-on-five, they certainly need to solve how to get him the puck more often.”
Nizzar is quick to point out that having potentially weak linemates is not a good enough reason not to get on the scoresheet in a meaningful way.
“This is not excuse time. This is results time. This is the reality that exists now and if the [Canucks] lose, Elias Pettersson is not going to sit at home saying, ‘Well, I didn’t have good enough linemates.’ You lost. It’s as simple as that. You have to perform in some way, and it doesn’t have to be goals. You have to contribute something.”
Nizzar is tapping Arturs Silovs to start in net.
“To win a Stanley Cup … it’s no longer about being safe. Casey DeSmith is a safe option, there’s nothing wrong with it. And look, I know it wasn’t [Silovs’] best performance but you won. Now, do you trust the kid to recover from a tough performance being up 1-0? If they’d lost, different story, but now he’s got to experience something he’s never experienced.”
He doesn’t think Silovs’ age, which is 23 years old, should be considered a factor in any goaltending decisions.
“I love the phrase, ‘Experience is only necessary for the unqualified.’ Silovs has led Latvia to a very high standing. It’s a big deal that they got bronze in the World Championships last year. Even his demeanour in good moments has been, ‘I’ll do it again. Watch me.’”
Head Coach Rick Tocchet says taking Game 1 was great, but the team has to remain grounded.
“It’s obviously a good feeling to come back but we’re on Earth again. For me, in playoffs, you get it back to Earth as soon as possible because you know what’s ahead and what’s coming your way and you got to be ready for it,” Tocchet said.
Reflecting on Wednesday’s win, defenceman Carson Soucy admits he struggled to fall asleep post-game Wednesday and hopes fans bring the same energy to every home game.
“That was probably the loudest building I’ve ever been a part of after the fourth and fifth goals. Even on the bench, you couldn’t hear a thing. Next whistle — couldn’t hear a thing still. I just think we did a good job of harnessing that, of just enjoying it,” Soucy explained.
“The crowd, being down 4-1, they didn’t give up, we didn’t give up. It was awesome.”
Puck drop is just after 7 p.m. at Rogers Arena Friday before the series shifts to Alberta’s capital for Games 3 and 4, which go on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.
You can listen to every Vancouver Canucks game on Sportsnet 650 and listen to Host Bik Nizzar every day from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the People’s Show and listen to him and host Sat Shah on the Canucks post-game show.