The guy they call “Playoff D” had a great performance in Game 1 against the Predators.
Two years ago, at age 25, Dakota Joshua spent most of the season in the AHL. He was the Vancouver Canucks' playoff hero last night at age 27.
Midway through the third period, just 12 seconds after Pius Suter scored the tying goal, Joshua received a pass from Conor Garland and flicked the puck past Juice Saros. This goal left the building elated. Emotions that had been pent up for nearly a decade without playoff hockey at Rogers Arena came to a boil and came to a complete boil with the nervous energy of a one-point lead going into the third period.
It was an atmosphere that gave Canucks players a new perspective on their fan base and reconsidered years of jerseys being thrown on the ice and boos instead of cheers. The players realized that the fans wanted this as much as they did.
It was an environment built for players like Joshua. He is a passionate and fierce competitor who keeps his teammates excited in key moments.
Of course, it also helps that Joshua looks like a player intentionally designed by the hockey gods for the playoffs. He's big and physical, but also smart and detailed in his game and has soft hands to finish plays around the net.
“He's tough to guard on the outside because he's big,” linemate Elias Lindholm said. “He played a really good game for us and scored some big goals. It's fun to play with him.”
Joshua gave his all for the Canucks on Sunday night. He had two goals, one assist, and six hits, played on both sides of special teams, and did it all during a tough matchup with the Predators' top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, and Gustav Nyquist.
“He's a very important part of this hockey team, and I don't even know if he knows what he's capable of,” JT Miller said. “He’s very good at a lot of things, so I’m really happy he was rewarded tonight.”
After the match, captain Quinn Hughes even called Joshua “Playoff D” while handing him the game puck.
This is a testament to how much Joshua has improved over the past two seasons, not only securing a spot in the NHL lineup, but becoming an integral part of the team. There were certainly indications that he had that potential. Two years ago, in the Calder Cup playoffs against the Springfield Thunderbirds, Joshua showed he can shine when it counts, scoring seven goals and 15 points in 18 games.
Joshua was particularly active in the Eastern Conference finals against the Laval Rocket, helping the Thunderbirds advance to the Calder Cup finals. He excelled along with linemates Mackenzie McEachern and Will Bitten, and the team's head coach and captain described them in a way that mirrored Joshua's Canucks linemates Connor Garland and Elias Lindholm.
“Those are our identity lines,” coach Drew Bannister said. “That's how we play and they lead our group.”
“They get pucks in the offensive zone, but they're miserable to play against,” captain Tommy Cross said. “We put them on the ice, both on shifts after we scored to reset the tone of the game and on shifts after the other team scored to get the game back in our favor.”
That's exactly the role they played Sunday night, making life miserable for the Predators' top line, stepping onto the ice for a post-goal substitution, and they simply added to the atmosphere. It wasn't just a reset.
But Joshua hasn't just improved tremendously in two seasons. He has come a long way since the beginning of this season. Although Joshua showed interest in his potential during his first year with the Canucks, he disappointed in training camp and even suffered a serious scrape early in the season. There was a feeling that Joshua had more to give and he just wasn't giving it.
“I believed in him last year,” Rick Tocchet said after Sunday's game. “I thought he could score 20 goals and probably would have scored if he hadn't gotten injured. Dakota still doesn't know how good he is. He's on another level there. We just pushed him to find it because we knew it was there.”
Sunday night, he found it.
“I think he understands what it takes right now,” Tocchet said. “He learned from that this summer. I think he and Garland together really added this prestige to our team.”
