That was… bad. A poor and sloppy showing by the Canucks let Vegas run away with the game last night to a tune of 6-3, but realistically the game was over in the first period when the Canucks let in 4 goals on 8 shots and fell behind 4-1. With that being their eighth to last game before the playoffs start, the Canucks are running out of room to ramp up their execution. Add in the possibility that Vegas could be their first round matchup… no bueno. If you’re interested, here are your highlights:
“When you play like crap against any team in the league, it's going to be disappointing.” Astute words from Quinn Hughes. It’s even more disappointing given the context of where the team is, who they were playing, and what they’re trying to accomplish. Was there any silver lining to take away from that game at least? “Honestly, I don’t think so,” Hughes added.
The Canucks’ last win against a playoff-bound team was on March 10th against the Jets. Since then, they’re 0-4-1 against others chasing Lord Stanley’s mug. Very few teams have the ability to flip the switch, so these last seven games are going to be telling. Tocchet can sense the urgency:
“We were just a little light everywhere and that’s not the type of game you want,” he said. “We have to find it quickly. Some guys have to look at what they can do different to help the team. We have to regroup and get the negativity out. It has to happen now.”
He obviously was not a fan of last night’s game. The team has been clinical on the defensive side of the rink the past while, but last night felt like the years prior. Odd man rushes, losing battles, losing checks, bad changes…
“Penalties and odd-man rushes and I didn’t think four or five guys were ready to play,” Tocc lamented. “We had our moments in the second and third periods, but that first put us behind the eight-ball. There were three or four plays where you need to go through people. They (Golden Knights) are a good wall team.
“There were probably four plays where if we go through players, they don’t get the odd-man rush. And when you dive in and don’t get a piece of anybody, they get the odd-man rushes and I don’t know why they weren’t ready to play.”
If Tocc is feeling it on the bench, the players have to be feeling it in the room too. They know they’re not playing up to their level, as Soucy lays out:
“It's hard because we're not just happy with being in the playoffs right now. “We know that we have another level; we've seen it as a team. So it is a little disappointing when you come out like that against a good team that is opportunistic.”
Would he say it’s a concern in the room, this close to the playoffs?
“It's not a concern,” Soucy said. “It's just we're not happy about it. I guess you can call that concern. But we know that there is that other level. I think a lot of us are disappointed that we're not at it with this many games left. But the goal right now is just to get it back before Game 1 of the playoffs.”
As Tocc sees it: “We've got some individuals that they've got to start to have that fight and a little bit more will right now. You can't save it. You can't save it for two more weeks. It has to happen now.”
There are a number of players who need to step up their game: Petey, Boes, Miky, Suter have all been quiet lately. But of them all, Petey needs it the most as he’s the closest thing to a game-breaker of them. Maybe there’s a lingering injury – there’s been reports of a groin issue – but it’s something Tocc is aware of and on top of.
“It’s my job to figure ways to get him going,” Tocc explained. “When he moves his feet, and I know everybody talks about it, he drives plays. He’s a hell of a player and we just have to keep reminding him to get in those situations and attack.
“He’s got 61 goals on his wings (23 from Hoglander and 38 from Boeser). Do the right things and it could be a dangerous line for us.”
That line, those players, the team have to have a short memory and ramp it up. A good place to start is thankfully tonight in Arizona. Let’s see how the boys respond from here on out.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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