Winning is hard. Losing can feel even harder. Having won the hard way in Nashville, the Vancouver Canucks lost the hard way at home. And now they’re making another hard trip three-quarters of the way across the continent that no one in Vancouver wanted.

In the fall of 2008, Schenn — now the Predators’ senior defenceman at age 34 — was an 18-year-old rookie with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their player development coach was Jim Hughes, whose eldest sons, Quinn and Jack, were rink rats and got to know many of the Toronto players.

Drafted in 2015 and on the Canucks since the spring of 2017, Boeser is one of nine Vancouver players getting their first experience in genuine playoff hockey.

Two games after Casey DeSmith was dropped into the buckling pressure of the Stanley Cup Playoffs due to Thatcher Demko’s second knee injury in six weeks, the 32-year-old career backup won his first NHL playoff game Friday as the Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 despite being outshot 30-12.

Never have the Canucks shot so often, and rarely have they shot so poorly. With 84 shot attempts yet just 18 registered shots, the Canucks were only able to push one past Juuse Saros.

Finally back in the real Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015, the buzz from the Game 1 victory over the Nashville Predators was abruptly unplugged Tuesday with news starting goalie Thatcher Demko is injured. Iain MacIntyre tells us what to expect next.