From big goals to big blocks, these players have brought the boom.

Throughout the Vancouver Canucks’ 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Nashville Predators, many have drawn allusions to the same matchup that occurred 13 years ago. These respective series finished in the same amount of games and even followed the same winning pattern for each team. This, however, begs the question — in a postseason matchup that has historically been associated with the dominant performance of Ryan Kesler, which current Canucks proved themselves as this season's playoff performers? The players listed below have been noticeable throughout the series, regardless of how high their impact has been on offence. Here are some of our picks for standout players from this series. 

Brock Boeser

This feels like the 'safe' pick of this litter (although) there are no real 'safe' picks here). With six points in the six games against Nashville, Boeser's offensive production from the regular season hasn't seemed to slow down. I'm sure everyone is familiar with his most notable performance from this series; a hat-trick performance in Game 4 to send the Canucks back to Rogers Arena up 3–1 in the series. However, his four goals throughout the series aren't the only plays that put him on this list. Check out this pass that he delivered to Pius Suter on the game-winning goal of Game 6. 

Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet has spoken sufficiently about Boeser's renewed attitude and style of play coming into the 2023-2024 regular season. Changes in offseason training regimens, positioning on the ice, and tenacity in board battles have set the longest-tenured Canucks skater up for playoff success.

Most impressive play: Game 4's game-tying goal with 6.2 seconds left in the third period.

Elias Lindholm

Elias Lindholm's first game in Canucks blue and green saw him pot two goals against the Carolina Hurricanes, leading Vancouver to a 3–2 victory in Raleigh. After this, he didn't quite reach the same level of offensive output throughout the rest of the season, leading the Canucks fan base to question who truly won this trade. Heralded as Vancouver's big trade deadline acquisition, fans hoped to see more from him throughout the final few weeks of the regular season, likely due to the high expectations he set in the 2021-2022 season playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. In this series, Lindholm proved his worth with a quietly impressive 200-foot playoff performance.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf2M5j63CTw[/embed]

Lindhom's two goals against Nashville were timely (especially his Game 4 overtime winner), but it's his two-way style of play that has really emerged throughout this series. While he didn't get a point on the play, his check on Jeremy Lauzon allowed Conor Garland to scoop up the puck, feeding it to Dakota Joshua, who buried it in the back of Nashville's net. Lindholm, and by extension, his linemates Garland and Dakota Joshua, looked phenomenal in this series.

Most impressive play: Game 4's game-winning goal in overtime. 

J.T. Miller 

Hear that? It is The sound of the Rogers Arena crowd screaming "–J.T—MILLERRRR!" any time that P.A. announcer Al Murdoch mentions his name. Regardless of whether it's pre or postseason, Miller is sure to dominate the headlines of Canucks media content. 

Miller has often drawn comparisons to Kesler in terms of how hard he plays. His compete level is unmatched, and is unquestionable in the way he plays the game. As one of the older guys in Vancouver's locker room, the "veteran" is no stranger to the intensity of the playoffs, having played in 84 postseason games. It's no secret that Miller is the type of player who thrives in the playoffs, and you can definitely see the impact he has on the ice. However, one of his most notable storylines during this series had nothing to do with his play. 

There's a certain kind of maturity that comes with levity. Thick in the middle of a playoff series, in which the Canucks previously had a 3–1 lead before losing Game 5 at home, Miller took to practice wearing Artūrs Šilovs' salmon-pink shirt. It was a move that diverted Canucks media's attention away from how the team was playing and directed it onto Miller himself. Media scrums and press conferences were injected with questions about a simple shirt, not how the team played the night before. A similar move occurred during a particular skid in the regular season, which Miller combatted by making "Conor Garland 400th NHL Game" t-shirts for the team. It's been almost five years since the Canucks acquired Miller in exchange for that 2020 first-round pick (among other pieces) — who could have anticipated this type of reception for Miller way back then?

Most impressive play: Miller's willingness to sacrifice the body late in Game 6.

Tyler Myers

Tyler Myers has gotten a lot of flack from the Canucks fanbase, but on certain occasions, he has provided us with unforgettable moments. Remember when he buried Duncan Keith back in 2021? 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceGqFeYqNWY[/embed]

This season, Myers has looked different. Heading into the regular season with a refreshed D-core consisting of new additions like Carson Soucy, Ian Cole, Filip Hronek (technically new, even though he was on the team for parts of the previous season), and more that graced the ranks as the season progressed, the team had more wiggle room to lessen the minutes of certain players. Myers was one of them. All of his previous season with the Canucks had the 6'8"defender averaging over 20 minutes played per game, whereas this season, he clocked in at just under 19. While it may not seem like a whole lot, this extra minute or so of rest per game does wonders over an 82-game span. The less tired a player is, the more likely they are to expend that extra energy doing other things — making the effort to finish a bigger check or even taking fewer penalties.

This effect has transferred over to the offseason. While he may not have played in Game 2, he looked great in the other games. Let's hope he can continue this throughout the Canucks’ series against the Edmonton Oilers.

Most impressive play: "The Block" in Game 6. 

Artūrs Šilovs 

Thatcher Demko must be breathing a sigh of relief — after years of talk about his "Bubble Demko" performance in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, there's finally another goalie who can take this attention off of him. Artūrs Šilovs, the 23-year-old Latvian netminder and former 2019 sixth-round pick for the Vancouver Canucks, had only played nine regular season NHL games before making his start in game four of this series. With a .938 SV% and a stunning 1.70 GAA throughout the series, Šilovs capped off his phenomenal first playoff series with a 28-save shutout.

His stellar performance comes off what could have possibly been a disastrous situation for Vancouver. After Demko was ruled out of the series with only one start, and Casey DeSmith was held out of game four, things didn't look overly optimistic. With all of this pressure on his shoulders, Šilovs came in and held the fort down for the Canucks, backstopping them to an eventual series victory. He easily could have let the pressure of the situation get to him — but Šilovs has dealt with this kind of pressure before, thriving off of the challenge.

Most impressive play: Obvious answer, but there's no beating his shutout in Game 6. 

Nikita Zadorov 

"Biiiiig hit by Zadorov!" seems like it's become a trademark of every Canucks broadcast throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 6'6"defender has been noticeable in virtually every game played this series, whether it's due to scoring the only goal in the game (which has happened twice, oddly enough) or making a massive hit.

His immense presence on the ice is something that Nashville simply couldn't combat. Every hit, goal, and shot block contributed to the eventual outcome of the series. The act of sending Predators captain Roman Josi to the ice is something that will be needed in the Canucks’ upcoming series against Edmonton. With the offensive firepower ignited by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Vancouver will need as much help separating the Oilers from the puck as possible. Zadorov is certain to build off of his impressive performance in round one and continue this effectiveness against Edmonton.

Most impressive play: Zadorov's electric goal in Game 5

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