On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal previewed tonight’s matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes and discussed which player may need to lose their spot in the lineup with defenceman Derek Forbort returning.
“They’re playing some damn good hockey,” said Quads, referring to the Hurricanes. “This is going to be a tough test for the Canucks. They started slow against Pittsburgh and were down two goals early on. They can’t afford a start like that against the Hurricanes.”
“They’re a team that maybe doesn’t have the superstar offensive game-breakers, but all four lines are deep, defensively responsible, and effective on the forecheck,” Harm agreed. “All six defencemen can skate and move the puck, and Frederik Andersen is off to a good start this season… This is a really deep opponent, and starting Lankonnen was 100% the right choice. It’s not just because he’s won these games in a row, but Carolina constantly fires point shots through traffic, and that’s been Silovs’ weakness so far. Hopefully, Lankonnen can hold the fort, and this will be an interesting measuring-stick game. Despite being on a winning streak, the Canucks haven’t really found their A-game yet. They’re going to need to bring something much closer to their best effort against Carolina.”
The conversation then shifted to roster decisions with Forbort’s anticipated return.
“Before Forbort was away from the team, it was Brännström who was out of the lineup, so we had the third pairing of Forbort-Desharnais,” Quads explained. “In my mind, Forbort is a better defenceman than Desharnais, so I’d put him in, with Erik Brännström playing the right side.”
“I think you give Brännström and Desharnais another opportunity to see how they look,” Harm argued “If Desharnais is starting to find a rhythm, I understand why people would want to keep Brännström on his natural side. Even though he can play the right side, why mess with something that’s working? The same goes if Desharnais starts to calm his game down and play better.”
However, Harm pointed out the inconsistency Desharnais has shown, particularly with recent errors: “Take the Malkin goal, for example – that was a pretty bad sequence. Desharnais completely lost his footing and got burned for that breakaway goal. So, we’ll see. Since being paired with Brännström, Desharnais has had some good moments, but there are still times when he doesn’t look fully comfortable. His performance against Carolina will be something to watch closely, especially once Forbort has a practice under his belt. I wouldn’t be opposed to having Forbort draw in for Desharnais and see how he pairs with Brännström on the right side.”
The guys then highlighted Brännström’s recent contributions to the Canucks’ game, noting his defensive skills beyond his role in powering Vancouver’s transition game.
“We’ve focused a lot on his puck-moving abilities and what he’s done in powering Vancouver’s transition game from the third pair,” said Harm. “But if you look at how the breakout started for Bains’ game-winning goal, it began with Brännström behind the net, hounding Michael Bunting and pinning him against the boards. That created the change of possession, which led to Sprong skating the puck up the ice. Brännström didn’t get an assist on the play, but the only reason that goal happened at all was because he pinned a bigger forward against the boards and made a solid defensive play during the cycle. That’s exactly the kind of play the coaching staff wants to see from him to trust him with more ice time—closer to 16 or 17 minutes a night rather than 14.”
You can watch the full replay of the show below:
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