It’s a coach’s dilemma.
Who do the Kelowna Rockets start in goal in game one of their opening-round playoff series?
Maybe Seattle Thunderbirds bench boss Matt O’Dette faces the same quandary?
The options in Kelowna are Talyn Boyko or Jari Kykkanen.
In Seattle, it’s Thomas Milic or Scott Ratzlaff.
It is a great problem to have, considering all four are playing their best hockey at the right time of the season.
“To win any playoff series, you need to have good goaltending”, Boyko told RocketFAN. “They have great goalies as well, so it will be competitive.”
Milic won gold for Canada at the world juniors while Ratzlaff, ranked sixth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting for June’s draft, won a gold for his country at the U-18 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup with Kelowna Rockets Andrew Cristall and Caden Price last August.
Milic and Ratzlaff combined for nine shutouts during the regular season.
Boyko had three white washes while Kykkanen turned aside 20 shots on October 10th, in a 3-0 victory over the Victoria Royals.
Don’t be surprised at the shot volume discrepancy between the two teams when the puck drops on Friday.
Boyko won’t.
The T-Birds were third best in getting pucks on goal, averaging 37 shots-per game while the Rockets allowed the second most, averaging 36 shots against.
“I try not to look at it [shot clock] too much”, Boyko said honestly. “I don’t worry about it. Sometimes the more shots you face, the more of a boost it gives me. Sometimes it is easier to play those games.”
The numbers don’t lie.
Boyko was solid in a 51-save, 5-0 shutout win over Prince Albert back on February 4th.
Two weeks later, the Drumheller product made 45 stops against Portland.
Need more proof?
While it was in a losing cause, the New York Rangers draft pick faced a season-high 59 shots on March 17th in a setback to Kamloops.
“We are working hard this week to limit some of that volume,” Boyko said.
Jared Davidson, the T-Birds MVP this season and leading scorer fired a team-high 280 pucks on net.
The now 20-year-old also had a series high 24 shots on goal in a five-game playoff win against the Kelowna Rockets last April.
“I think they had a great team last year”, Boyko added. “We may have been a little unlucky to get them when we were the fifth seed and they were the fourth seed, I think they were likely better than that.”
A season ago, the T-Birds earned 94 points, four more than the Rockets.
This season, the two teams are separated by 53 points, with the T-Birds winning 54 games and the Rockets earning 27 victories.
“They are super deep”, Boyko continued. “They have lots of NHL drafted and signed guys and got a couple of guys (Lambert/Guenther) back from pro, so it is a challenge for us but we are excited.”
The T-Birds (300 goals) were one of only three teams in the WHL with over 300 goals scored during the regular season, with Winnipeg (325), and Kamloops (313) leading the charge.
In a playoff series against an opponent that loves to score, both Boyko and Kykkanen have to be ready at a moment’s notice.
Head Coach Kris Mallette also shouldn’t be hesitant to pull the trigger if either goalie can’t bring his ‘A’ game to the table, or if a switch in goal is needed in an effort to change momentum.
“Jari is a great guy, and we have a great relationship”, Boyko continued. “We don’t have a problem being supportive of each other. I can’t say enough good things about Jari. I have been so lucky to be goalie partners with him for the last year and a half”.
Some would argue that Kykkanen is like a solid relief pitcher coming out of the bullpen, with more success when he comes into the game to relieve Boyko of his duties.
A case in point was in the 2022 post-season, when Boyko was pulled in a game one, 6-0 opening series loss to Seattle, with Kykkanen making his WHL playoff debut with 11 of 12 saves in 26 minutes of action.
Kykkanen would eventually make his first WHL playoff start in game three, with 41 saves in a 5-1 setback.
Boyko returned to the crease in game four, earning an overtime win.
“Last year was really my first true look of going into the playoffs as a starter”, Boyko confessed. “It wasn’t an easy thing to be told you aren’t starting a game, but Jari played great in game three.
“But that was the past. We are just looking forward here, and we are really excited [about the playoffs] and have been working hard this week.”
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