Tocchet has Canucks on pace for third-best season in franchise history
The Vancouver Canucks are on track for one of their best seasons in franchise history.
With 39 points through the first 29 games, the Canucks are on pace for 110 points. That would be the third-best mark in franchise history, only behind the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
While some may dismiss their incredible pace due to the relatively small sample size, the Canucks have been playing great hockey ever since their coaching change halfway through last year.
Since Rick Tocchet took over behind the bench, the Canucks have a 39-21-5 record. That’s a points percentage of 0.638% over a 65-game sample. That’s a 104-point pace, a number that would be the fourth-best finish in franchise history, or only slightly behind what they’ve accomplished so far this season.
Tocchet has helped this team thrive and is now a leading candidate to win the Jack Adams Award as a result. Only two other Canucks coaches, Pat Quinn and Alain Vigneault, have won the award in the past.
One of the reasons why the Canucks have been so successful has been their ability to shut teams down and hold on to one-goal leads. This is an area where they struggled mightily under Boudreau at the start of last season. However, Tocchet has managed to right the ship as they’re 16-0 when leading after 40 minutes this year. When asked if that was mostly due to a change in structure or mindset, he had the following to say.
“I think structure helps, but mindset to me. Just because you’re up a goal going into the third, what’s the difference to the first? You’ve got to have the same mindset,” said the head coach on Wednesday morning. “I always tell the players, if the breakout is the same breakout in the first, it should be the same thing in the third period with three minutes left. If the pocket’s open and you can make a play to the middle of the ice, make it.”
The Canucks have done a great job at holding onto narrow leads, even against strong opponents. They recently accomplished the feat in a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, a performance that earned them some praise from opposing players. The Canucks head coach has been happy with how his team has performed in those situations and encourages his players to stay aggressive.
“I think sometimes when pressure hits, teams, and we start to fall in that category, we start rimming pucks too much under pressure and I think we’re getting better at it. You’ve got to make a play under pressure and it’s okay. I think that’s the attitude we started right from training camp is that just because pressure hits you, don’t change your game,” Tocchet explained to media on Wednesday morning. “Don’t be all of a sudden, ‘Okay, I’m just going to throw it off the glass all night in the last 10 minutes because we’re up three to two.’ I think that’s, I don’t want to say a sign of weakness, but it’s a sign of panic.”
The Canucks have reached the 100-point mark just nine times since entering the NHL in 1970. They have given themselves a really good chance at doing it for the 10th time this year with their hot start.
The Canucks sit third in the Pacific Division per points percentage, just behind the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings. If the playoffs started today, the Canucks would face off against the Kings.