Want to talk playoffs? Former Canuck Chris Higgins is your guy

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Chris Higgins was in his multi-tasking element this week at Rogers Arena.

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The former versatile Vancouver Canucks winger was intently watching practice — picking up little nuances that we often overlook — while greeting well-wishers and also conducting an interview. 

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Higgins was always a good quote. He had a great feel for the game and good grasp of how to relate to the rigours of playing hard and hurt in the playoffs. 

Pivoting from his Canucks assistant director of player development role to multi-media creator within the content department should be seamless and satisfying after globe-trotting to assess prospects at U.S. college, Canadian major junior and Europe.

“I was starting to think about taking some air out of the tires,” admitted the 40-year-old Higgins. “Travelling every weekend and a nine-year-old daughter (Bowen) who’s back in the fire of school activities.

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“It’s a lot when you’re a single dad and being the father I want to be and give as much as I can to this organization. It’s a hard balance to achieve.

“I was starting to feel I should have one foot out the door. This was presented a couple of weeks ago. It plays into the strengths I had as a player and being analytical, having control over the content and what I see.

“Talk about my experiences of playing here in the playoffs, so there’s certainly a lot to talk about.”

Higgins amassed 142 points (62-80) in 314 regular-season games here and knows what the game means to Vancouver. Victory is everything and losing leaves a bitter feeling. The Canucks not only have to beat the opposition they have to answer to a frenetic fan base and prying media.

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“If things don’t go well, you know how this city responds,” reminded Higgins. “They’re going to throw themselves a little pity party and say, of course, we can’t have nice things. 

And you have to talk about all the little mistakes you made. It’s going to be interesting to see their mental toughness throughout this series.”

That said, Higgins knows what opportunity means to anybody in the post-season.

“The table is set for these guys to make a name for themselves,” stressed Higgins. “I spent so much of my time mentally preparing for the game, thinking about all the scenarios and trying to stay one step ahead. 

“I can give insight into how players try to put their thumb on the scale and tilt the ice. I have control of what I want to talk about and what’s interesting to me.”

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As the Canucks prepare for Game 3 of their opening-round series against the Predators in Nashville on Friday, it’s a trip down memory lane for Higgins. 

The Canucks rode the Ryan Kesler train to a six-game, second-round series triumph over the Predators in 2011. Kesler factored in 11 of 14 goals and was at Rogers Arena on Tuesday to help stoke the fan fire. 

“I played with Kes in that series, so I’d like to take a little credit,” chuckled Higgins, who led the Canucks with three game-winners that post-season. “It was him, me and Mason Raymond.”

So, what does Higgins see in this group? 

The pieces are there. Sustainability and resilience have got them to this point. However, the power play is perplexing, Elias Pettersson is struggling and the injured Thatcher Demko is sidelined for at least this series.

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“The X-factor might be our third line,” suggested Higgins. “How does Rick (Tocchet) match them up.? Play (Elias) Lindholm against (Ryan) O’Reilly or double-team with J.T. Miller? This is the stuff that I find fascinating.”

A rich cache of coaches, including Hall of Fame forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin, are vital for team adjustments. Especially after a 4-1 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday that evened the series. 

“It’s the twins’ humility and how they talk to guys on a peer-to-peer level,” noted Higgins. “It makes you believe because they’ve lived the game and talk almost like an older teammate.”

That harder stuff will be when things go bump in the night. The Predators will push the physical and intimidation curve on home ice.

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“How do these guys deal with emotions?,” asked Higgins. “How do they deal with starts? It’s physical and you try to beat up your opponents. There’s a lot of stuff after the whistles and somebody in your face, or going after your top players like Petey or Quinn (Hughes).

“Every single whistle, somebody is going to say hello to you.”

Which brings us back to Kesler. 

His tour of force in 2011 against the Predators was predicated on health and a wealth of skill and desire. He suffered groin and labrum tears in the conference final and was playing on one leg in the Stanley Cup championship series.

And in that final, six players had to be shot up with something just to numb the pain long enough to play.

“What I loved about Kes in the playoff is we wanted the matchups, we wanted to play against best players,” recalled Higgins. “We liked that mentality that it’s either you or us.

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“And with our competitive nature, it wasn’t going to be them. It was going to be us and I really gravitated toward that.”

If the current Canucks adopt that same mantra in Nashville for Game 3 and 4, then it could bode well.

NEXT PLAYOFF GAME

Round 1, Game 3

When/Where: Friday, 4:30 p.m., Bridgestone Arena

TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650

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