Canucks vs. Predators: How ‘Cole’s Notes’ will help pass playoff exam

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Ian Cole knows Stanley Cup officiating is often akin to the laws of physics.

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For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

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Sticks go up and the referee’s hands go up. Under normal circumstances, an obvious infraction is going to result in a customary minor penalty assessment.

However, those lines often get blurred in the postseason. Testosterone levels rise, players dive, and you can argue the validity of many calls.

Which gets us back to Cole and the big Game 6 stage Friday in Nashville.

The veteran Vancouver Canucks defenseman has two championship rings. He has logged 121 playoff games, and realizes that one bad penalty often affects the outcome of close games.

With zero margin for error as his club attempts to close out its first-round series against the Predators, school is back in session. Call it “Cole’s Notes”. A cramming session for the big exam and a chance to turn a 3-2 series lead into a second-round ticket.

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Cole took a high-sticking penalty in Game 5 on Tuesday on Filip Forsberg. It was his first infraction through five games, so he knows something about skating that fine officiating line. Any stick riding up anywhere near an opposition player is going to draw the refs’ ire.

“If you look at hockey 20 years ago, as compared to now, it’s not even close,” Cole told Postmedia about officiating standards. “By rule, and the way they enforce them, they’ve made it much harder to defend.

“You can’t bully or cross-check guys anymore. You can do it to a certain extent, based on the scenario, but it’s much more of a positional game and break-up-plays game.

“How can I use my feet to put myself in a good area? You need to play hard and toe the line of taking a penalty.”

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Nikita Zadorov flirted with being fined Tuesday following Game 5.

He was called for a questionable crosscheck on Forsberg, who lunged forward and even grabbed his back as he fell to the ice. It was quite the show.

And then Dakota Joshua finished a sideboard check on the back check. Twenty-four seconds later, Roman Josi jammed the crease on a questionable goal — it looked like goalie interference — to draw the Predators even at 1-1.

“I feel like it’s the NHL playoffs and every person on the ice should be sharp — not just the players,” suggested Zadorov. “I don’t know what Dakota is supposed to do. He finished the guy and the kid has been dodging hits for five-straight games.”

It just adds another dimension to the Game 6 drama.

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In 2003, the juggernaut 104-point Canucks had a comfortable 3-1 series lead on the opportunistic and offense-denying Minnesota Wild in the second round. The Canucks tried to outscore their problems, and that played right into the coaching hand of Jacques Lemaire.

The Canucks’ best players were nullified, they didn’t get the goaltending, and the rest is some sorry history. They were hammered 7-2 on home ice in Game 5, lost 5-1 in Game 6 on the road, and blew a 2-0 lead in Game 7 en route to a stunning 4-2 setback.

“We got impatient, were guilty of looking ahead, and created turnovers that they feasted on,” former Canucks center Brendan Morrison recalled Thursday from his Michigan home. “They played their system and we tried to force things through the middle.

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“We played better in Game 7 by playing more simply and directly and were in a great position. But the mentality is don’t force things and take what you’re given.”

That’s what the Wild did. Checking center Wes Walz had five series goals, including the Game 7 dagger to draw his club even at 2-2.

“He could skate and was in your face, and they played team defense,” Morrison added of that tough third-line matchup.

What does he suggest these Canucks concentrate on in Game 6?

“Finish things off as quickly as possible and don’t give the other team any momentum,” he said. “The fourth (win) is always the most difficult. You don’t want to think this way, but subconsciously, your mind is telling you if things don’t work out, there’s always another opportunity. It’s not do or die.

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“It’s a weird dynamic. The best thing to have is amnesia, short-term memory, and move on. Try to forget things. We got beat up pretty good (Game 6). Don’t deviate from the plan and try to generate more offense.”

Fast forward and there’s a lesson to be learned. Play to your identity on Friday. Stay disciplined. Stay patient. Pick your spots.

“To withstand and reciprocate physicality is huge,” stressed Cole. I’m not saying you need to go and blow somebody up every shift. But if you can play a guy hard in the corner or take a hit while you’re making a play, there’s a definite advantage.”

OVERTIME — Tocchet liked what he heard Thursday from struggling Elias Pettersson, who has no goals and seven shots through five games. “We did a video today and he said: ‘I’ve got to move my feet.’ I told him I don’t care what you say after that. Just do that. That was music to my ears.”

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