What Tocchet said after Vancouver Canucks embarrassed in crucial game for playoff hopes
With their playoff hopes hanging on by a thread, the Vancouver Canucks needed last night’s game to be a springboard for a winning streak. The result was the opposite, as they lost 5-0 to the Seattle Kraken on home ice.
Canucks fans in the crowd combined for a mixture of cheers and boos as the clock wound down to zero. The team’s playoff odds were small before the game, and after losing badly to an already eliminated Kraken team, it’s now nearly impossible for the Canucks to qualify for the postseason.
The Canucks are eight points out of the final playoff spot with a game in hand on both wild-card teams. They have just seven games remaining and can virtually not afford another loss at this point.
Just because the odds are long, that doesn’t mean the Canucks are giving up.
“You’ve got to believe in yourself. If you’re struggling as a player, you’ve got to turn your game around,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “Plus we’ve got a bunch of young guys and you owe it to them to keep pushing…I know it’s the same old thing coaches say, but you’ve got to keep getting at it, working at it.”
“There’s some plays there [to make] and some poise stuff; we’ve just got to relax in certain situations. [Play with] intensity, but relax, there’s plays there, and I just think we’re not finding them.”
The manner in which the Canucks lost tonight was just as disappointing as the result. The Kraken jumped out to an early lead and then added to it over the contest. The team struggled to create offence, sputtering on the power play and failing to generate quality scoring chances despite many shot attempts.
“I think that early on, [I] saw a lot of nervousness,” continued Tocchet. “I think we had some guys that really gave some effort but I didn’t think we had a lot of poise tonight.”
“76 shot attempts, a lot of missed nets, blocked shots, the same old story. That’s where the poise is. You know the guy is going to be in front, you’ve got to fake it, go around then shoot it. These are the poised plays. 76 shot attempts, I like it, but you’d like to see more result-orientated.”
The Canucks are back in action on the weekend with a back-t0-back against the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights. Those games are must-win if the team wants to keep their playoff hopes alive.
“Everyone is looking at the standings daily and knows what the percentages or whatnot,” said captain Quinn Hughes. “We know where we’re at.”