<p>Saturday&#8217;s dismal loss to the Oilers certainly stung. But it&#8217;s Remembrance Day. So it&#8217;s important to keep things in perspective. It was a bad game for the Vancouver Canucks, but that&#8217;s all it was: a game.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s all hockey is no matter how much it means to all of us.  Take a moment today to remember those that have made significant sacrifices to make it possible for all of us to discuss and debate everything the Canucks do. We salute our troops and those who have served this country through the years. We dedicate this edition of the Monday mailbag to everyone that answered the call of this country. Lest we forget.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">What expectations should we have for Lekkerimaki? (TOI, PP deployment, trust from Tocchet&#8230;)</p>
<p>&mdash; Caleb (@StickSkateOrca) <a href="https://twitter.com/StickSkateOrca/status/1855736024317759968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Based on practice Sunday and the comments of the coach afterward, the Canucks plan to give Lekkerimäki every opportunity to succeed. It looks like he’ll line up with JT Miller and Pius Suter in Brock Boeser&#8217;s spot in a top six role. The Canucks didn’t practice special teams on Sunday, so we don’t yet know how the rookie factors in there. But with the way he shoots the puck, he certainly deserves a look with the man-advantage. I like the fact that Lekkerimäki will get a pair of practices before his big league debut. Had he been up against Edmonton, his ice time may have been limited by match-ups. There is no reason Tocchet should have him on a short leash against the Flames.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Going back to Boeser, I get the feeling fans are more concerned about player safety than the league and even the players are. Could it be?</p>
<p>&mdash; Deedlebug53 (@deedlbug53) <a href="https://twitter.com/deedlbug53/status/1855670556340662290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A three-game suspension for Tanner Jeannot seemed like the bare minimum for his blatant headshot on Boeser. It often feels like the league really doesn’t take the safety of its players into consideration. Maybe it’s time for the NHL to consider ‘targeting the head’ penalties rather than illegal check to the head as its worded now. This wasn’t an accident or a hockey play gone wrong. It was a player making the decision to clip an opponent’s chin with the hard cap of his shoulder pad. There could only be a bad outcome. The NFL has protected its players by introducing penalties for targeting. Knowing what we know about head injuries in 2024, it feels like it’s time for the NHL to be far more assertive in ridding the game of predatory checks like the one that has knocked Brock Boeser out of the Canucks line-up.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Since we both share the  same faulty, recalled crystal ball, do you have the Dec sixth home game against Columbus circled as Demko’s home opener?</p>
<p>&mdash; GeeNVee (@GeeNVee) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeeNVee/status/1855550429951828210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I need to see how Thatcher Demko responds to his first full practice on Sunday. That’s what I’m looking at. And can his knee withstand another practice on Monday? Hopefully it can. But what if there is a setback? I just don’t think there’s any value in trying to peg his return date at this stage. He needs to string together a bunch of intense practices before he can be considered for game action. He’s closer than he was at training camp, but beyond that nobody – including Demko – can possibly know yet when he’ll see his first game action of the season.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Why is the home team Jekyll rather than Hyde this year?</p>
<p>&mdash; ironystock (@ironystock) <a href="https://twitter.com/ironystock/status/1855680173280301129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This one is hard to pinpoint. Obviously, they should have been able to secure a better result on opening night against Calgary. And the following game against Philadelphia was certainly there for the taking, too. But it’s a bottom line business and they couldn’t close either one of those games out. They&#8217;ve given up six or more in three of their six games. That leaves a stench. The power play has been woeful at home at just 14.3%. That’s a big part of it. The goaltending hasn’t been great either. They haven’t had success in either their blue or black jerseys. Clearly it’s time to bust out a third option.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Does Joshua get a top 6 role when he comes back or are the Canucks better off to remake the best third line in the league from last season ?</p>
<p>&mdash; -BK- (@BBKelly99) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBKelly99/status/1855676493571203091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I expect Dakota Joshua will be eased back into the line-up likely to start on a fourth line and with limited penalty killing duty. But once he gets up to speed, it’s going to be fascinating to see how he’s utilized. Conor Garland has graduated to a full time top six spot and I don’t see him dropping lower in the line-up. So if Joshua is going to be reunited with his buddy, can he handle an increased role and be productive? I think that’s the question. Does Joshua get a look with Pettersson and Garland? Perhaps at some point. But I also think a third line of Joshua with Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood would be a lot of fun, too. Options are never a bad thing and Rick Tocchet should have plenty when he gets big Dak back.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Are the Canucks going to have a day off? looks like they need it</p>
<p>&mdash; Perry DeNure (@CoachPerry59) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachPerry59/status/1855518417463234731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At some point, yes, they will get a day off. There are rules about that stuff. But that day wasn’t Sunday and it’s not going to be Monday either. I had several people suggest the Canucks looked tired against the Oilers. Chasing McDavid around all night will do that. But the team hasn’t had a back to back yet this season. It hasn’t left the time zone in weeks. It had won three in a row coming. Energy should not have been an issue on Saturday and no one was calling them tired as they came alive in the second period. I don’t think it was fatigue that did them in over the final 20 minutes. It was sloppiness and a lack of defensive awareness.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Time to get an enforcer? First Boeser and tonight our goalie got ran a few times.</p>
<p>&mdash; Badgerxxxface (@BADGERxxxFACE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BADGERxxxFACE/status/1855521073535824085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like actually spend assets to bring in a designated tough guy? Don’t see that happening. Canucks are not a bruising bunch, that part is true. They have size on the back end, but they don’t have an intimidating roster. They’ve been involved in three fights this season – Miller, Blueger and Garland. But they didn’t lose to the Oilers because they lacked a guy whose primary job is to punch other players in the face. If they can find a top four defenceman who brings an element of toughness, that would certainly be an ideal addition to the hockey club. But at what cost? That’s the multi-million dollar question the team is accruing cap space on a daily basis to answer somewhere down the line.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Can we beat the flames 8-2 ??</p>
<p>&mdash; pp, Twin Turbo Enthusiast (@talflick) <a href="https://twitter.com/talflick/status/1855679575264833549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sure. The Canucks had a 4-1 lead on Calgary halfway through opening night, so the math checks out. Just double that up. But without Brock Boeser, a middling power play and the fact this team hasn’t scored more than six in a game yet this season, I’m not banking on an offensive explosion on Tuesday.</span></p>
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Saturday's dismal loss to the Oilers certainly stung. But it's Remembrance Day. So it's important to keep things in perspective. It was a bad game for the Vancouver Canucks, but that's all it was: a game.

That's all hockey is no matter how much it means to all of us.  Take a moment today to remember those that have made significant sacrifices to make it possible for all of us to discuss and debate everything the Canucks do. We salute our troops and those who have served this country through the years. We dedicate this edition of the Monday mailbag to everyone that answered the call of this country. Lest we forget.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

https://twitter.com/StickSkateOrca/status/1855736024317759968

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Based on practice Sunday and the comments of the coach afterward, the Canucks plan to give Lekkerimäki every opportunity to succeed. It looks like he’ll line up with JT Miller and Pius Suter in Brock Boeser's spot in a top six role. The Canucks didn’t practice special teams on Sunday, so we don’t yet know how the rookie factors in there. But with the way he shoots the puck, he certainly deserves a look with the man-advantage. I like the fact that Lekkerimäki will get a pair of practices before his big league debut. Had he been up against Edmonton, his ice time may have been limited by match-ups. There is no reason Tocchet should have him on a short leash against the Flames.</span>

https://twitter.com/deedlbug53/status/1855670556340662290

<span style="font-weight: 400;">A three-game suspension for Tanner Jeannot seemed like the bare minimum for his blatant headshot on Boeser. It often feels like the league really doesn’t take the safety of its players into consideration. Maybe it’s time for the NHL to consider ‘targeting the head’ penalties rather than illegal check to the head as its worded now. This wasn’t an accident or a hockey play gone wrong. It was a player making the decision to clip an opponent’s chin with the hard cap of his shoulder pad. There could only be a bad outcome. The NFL has protected its players by introducing penalties for targeting. Knowing what we know about head injuries in 2024, it feels like it’s time for the NHL to be far more assertive in ridding the game of predatory checks like the one that has knocked Brock Boeser out of the Canucks line-up.</span>

https://twitter.com/GeeNVee/status/1855550429951828210

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I need to see how Thatcher Demko responds to his first full practice on Sunday. That’s what I’m looking at. And can his knee withstand another practice on Monday? Hopefully it can. But what if there is a setback? I just don’t think there’s any value in trying to peg his return date at this stage. He needs to string together a bunch of intense practices before he can be considered for game action. He’s closer than he was at training camp, but beyond that nobody – including Demko – can possibly know yet when he’ll see his first game action of the season.</span>

https://twitter.com/ironystock/status/1855680173280301129

<span style="font-weight: 400;">This one is hard to pinpoint. Obviously, they should have been able to secure a better result on opening night against Calgary. And the following game against Philadelphia was certainly there for the taking, too. But it’s a bottom line business and they couldn’t close either one of those games out. They've given up six or more in three of their six games. That leaves a stench. The power play has been woeful at home at just 14.3%. That’s a big part of it. The goaltending hasn’t been great either. They haven’t had success in either their blue or black jerseys. Clearly it’s time to bust out a third option.</span>

https://twitter.com/BBKelly99/status/1855676493571203091

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I expect Dakota Joshua will be eased back into the line-up likely to start on a fourth line and with limited penalty killing duty. But once he gets up to speed, it’s going to be fascinating to see how he’s utilized. Conor Garland has graduated to a full time top six spot and I don’t see him dropping lower in the line-up. So if Joshua is going to be reunited with his buddy, can he handle an increased role and be productive? I think that’s the question. Does Joshua get a look with Pettersson and Garland? Perhaps at some point. But I also think a third line of Joshua with Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood would be a lot of fun, too. Options are never a bad thing and Rick Tocchet should have plenty when he gets big Dak back.</span>

https://twitter.com/CoachPerry59/status/1855518417463234731

<span style="font-weight: 400;">At some point, yes, they will get a day off. There are rules about that stuff. But that day wasn’t Sunday and it’s not going to be Monday either. I had several people suggest the Canucks looked tired against the Oilers. Chasing McDavid around all night will do that. But the team hasn’t had a back to back yet this season. It hasn’t left the time zone in weeks. It had won three in a row coming. Energy should not have been an issue on Saturday and no one was calling them tired as they came alive in the second period. I don’t think it was fatigue that did them in over the final 20 minutes. It was sloppiness and a lack of defensive awareness.</span>

https://twitter.com/BADGERxxxFACE/status/1855521073535824085

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Like actually spend assets to bring in a designated tough guy? Don’t see that happening. Canucks are not a bruising bunch, that part is true. They have size on the back end, but they don’t have an intimidating roster. They’ve been involved in three fights this season – Miller, Blueger and Garland. But they didn’t lose to the Oilers because they lacked a guy whose primary job is to punch other players in the face. If they can find a top four defenceman who brings an element of toughness, that would certainly be an ideal addition to the hockey club. But at what cost? That’s the multi-million dollar question the team is accruing cap space on a daily basis to answer somewhere down the line.</span>

https://twitter.com/talflick/status/1855679575264833549

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Sure. The Canucks had a 4-1 lead on Calgary halfway through opening night, so the math checks out. Just double that up. But without Brock Boeser, a middling power play and the fact this team hasn’t scored more than six in a game yet this season, I’m not banking on an offensive explosion on Tuesday.</span>

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JPat’s Monday Canucks Mailbag: Lekkerimäki’s usage, the home ice record, and team toughness

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