Tocchet doesn't want players buying into "hype" surrounding Canucks
First place in the NHL standings. Six players at the NHL All-Star Game. Stanley Cup contender. There’s no shortage of praise being heaped onto the Vancouver Canucks these days, and for good reason.
And that’s of some concern to head coach Rick Tocchet.
The All-Star break is over, as the Canucks play their first game in 10 days in Carolina on Tuesday. Many players who didn’t go to Toronto for All-Star festivities instead flew to a sunny destination for some well-earned rest and relaxation.
But it’s quite clear before their 50th game of the season that Tocchet doesn’t want his team to lose its edge.
“Preparation and discipline,” Tocchet said in response to a question from team reporter Kate Pettersen about how the Canucks can continue their success post All-Star break. “Discipline is a thing where not everybody likes it, but you’ve gotta love to do. That’s what we want to do. We want to love discipline. I know it’s hard, but for our team, with the back half of the season here, we’re getting a lot of publicity, which is great to a point.
“We just gotta make sure that we don’t buy into this hype. That we, in this room, know who we are, how we play, and we want to be a disciplined team. That’s really the message for the second half.”
It’s been a nice change of pace in Vancouver this season, as the local media has traded negativity for positivity.
Funny what success can do for coverage, isn’t it?
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The Canucks have done a masterful job so far in not getting too high after wins and not overreacting to losses. That probably helps explain why they haven’t lost three games in a row all season.
Two games is their longest losing streak, and they’ve done it just once since the fourth game of the season.
That doesn’t happen if you take another team lightly, or start patting yourselves on the back after a few wins.
“On the ice, off the ice. The way we think. Our system. Being unselfish. Going on the ice early, working on your game. Eating properly. That’s the discipline,” said Tocchet. “If you want to go far in the playoffs, if you want to make the playoffs, if you want to win, you have to go through these things. All the teams that win are the most disciplined.”
The Canucks have a tough stretch ahead of them, with five road games in eight days. It begins with Carolina on Tuesday, before stops in Boston, Detroit, Washington, and Chicago.
“We in this room know who we are, how we play, and we want to be a disciplined team…All the teams that win are the most disciplined.”
🗣 Head Coach Rick Tocchet speaks on the #Canucks mindset entering the back half of the season. pic.twitter.com/DhEBXL0C9V
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 5, 2024