On yesterday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal addressed the challenges the Vancouver Canucks face as they navigate a stretch of games without their captain, Quinn Hughes, who is expected to miss up to three weeks. Compounding the problem, Elias Pettersson is also sidelined and projected to return in about a week.

“This team is going to continue to struggle at five-on-five without Hughes,” said Harm. “The pathway for holding the fort down is slim. It’s going to be challenging and require luck because during the Canucks’ last month with Hughes in the lineup, the team ranked dead last in the NHL at controlling five-on-five play. They’re also bottom-five in scoring chances in that time frame, now taking Quinn Hughes out of that equation — it’s going to be ugly.

“They’re going to be out-shot and out-chanced by wide margins for most of these games even though they’re not playing the toughest opponents over the next few games. The way to win in an environment where you’re more likely to get shelled is special teams being on point—in the Seattle game, the penalty kill was solid and the power play converted, which is the frustrating part because they executed a lot of what they needed to do without Quinn against Seattle but didn’t walk away with two points.”

“Then you look at goaltending because if you’re going to be out-chanced, you’re going to need saves,” Harm continued. “For the top shooters, if they aren’t going to have sustained offensive zone time, you at least need moments of brilliance [or] an against-the-grain type goal — similar to the Seattle game with the east-west passes that break a team down.

“The Canucks scored four goals in that game, the Garland goal was soft, but other than that, they were 10/10 scoring chances in terms of quality. You’re going to need to find those pockets of breaking a defence down even if your overall shot and chance totals aren’t too high.”

The challenge goes beyond the absence of Hughes himself — losing Pettersson only exacerbates the problem.

“The non-Hughes ice time has legitimately been a big problem for this team, and for the next few weeks, it’s all going to be non-Hughes minutes,” said Quads. “Another aspect of it all is the one forward who has kept his head above water in terms of winning matchups is Elias Pettersson, who’s also out with an injury which adds another dynamic to the problem for the Canucks.”

“They’ll need Erik Brännström to really step up,” Harm added. “Against Seattle, he led five-on-five ice time of all Canucks with almost 17 minutes and played well. The Canucks out-shot the Kraken 10-4 in those minutes, controlled nearly 70% of expected goals; he was solid, breaking up plays off the rush, and we’ll have to wait and see the consistency.

“When he was first called up, he was brilliant for his first stretch of games, there was a bit of a lull during his previous 10 games. Hopefully, the holiday break was a bit of a reset and the Seattle game can build his confidence because they’re going to need his speed and puck-moving to help orchestrate some semblance of offence from the back end.”

The top line of Miller, Boeser, and DeBrusk had a strong showing against the Kraken and will have to keep it up in order for the Canucks to find success during this stretch.

“The top line will have to play well, and they were pretty damn good against Seattle,” said Quads. “You’re going to need them to be good especially against these lesser opponents like Nashville, Seattle, Montreal—when you really have to be getting points. Those guys have to be difference-makers because that’s what still sets them apart from those bad teams; not every team has difference-makers at the top of their lineup.”

“I’m looking for Conor Garland to be a catalyst,” Harm noted. “When you look at the last few seasons among the forwards, I’m not saying he’s been the best overall, but when you look at the underlying numbers and how he drives plays, transports the puck, wins battles, elevates his linemates, and at least so far this season he’s been their most effective play driver. With no Hughes and Pettersson, they need him to be dictating plays and be at the apex of his game.”

You can watch the full segment below.