"Close friends": Joshua and Garland are no ordinary third line for Canucks
Good Co. Bars is your home for the playoffs! Enjoy $5 beers, prizes, a full game-day experience, and the best atmosphere to catch the game. Join us at any of our 5 locations.
It wasn’t the big name forwards that propelled the Vancouver Canucks to a Game 1 victory over the Nashville Predators.
None of J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, and Elias Pettersson found the back of the net. Instead it was the team’s third line ā comprised of Dakota Joshua, Conor Garland, and Elias Lindholm ā that came through in the big moment as they have so often this season.
DAKOTA FREAKING JOSHUA
CANUCKS LEAD š¤Æ pic.twitter.com/9KaOnrNddf
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 22, 2024
The combination of Joshua and Garland has been one of the best winger duos across the entire NHL this season. The Canucks outscored opponents 31-10 with those two on the ice at five-on-five during the regular season.
Their effectiveness means that while technically they make up the team’s third line, they contribute as much as the team’s best players.
Joshua’s development into an all-around force, along with Garland’s usual stellar possession game, has been too much for other team’s bottom-six players to handle.
“Him and Garland together have really kind of added a swagger to our team as technically the third line. I think that’s really helped,” said head coach Rick Tocchet about Joshua after the team’s Game 1 win. “Garland and him together have really taken a role leadership-wise, a chunk of it, and I think that’s really helped Dakota’s game.”
The duo powered the Canucks to victory last night and Joshua was selected by the team as the recipient of the game puck. They could clearly be seen having some fun together on the bench.
Guys being dudes. pic.twitter.com/oYk3VYcBJ5
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 22, 2024
“We talk a lot off the ice. I sit with him on the plane after some games, you know on the bus we watch a lot of films. We’re pretty close friends so it’s nice,” explained Garland today after the team held an optional practice.
“When my wife lets me go out to dinner I go out with him and talk to him. He’s a good guy and he loves the game. That’s what you look for in linemates, guys that love the game and want to get better every day.”
The bond between these two great friends developed nicely considering they got into a tussle back in training camp. It just goes to show the passion that both players constantly put into their craft.
Little bit of action between Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua at special teams practice. pic.twitter.com/5TzqgN55JP
— ššµšæš¶š Faber š„ (@ChrisFaber39) September 23, 2023
The old hockey adage states that in the playoffs it’s often the third-line that decides the series. The Canucks should hope that holds true as the combination of Joshua and Garland gives them an advantage over almost any team in the field.
Follow Channels and Categories