The Vancouver Canucks fell in game four and are now back at Rogers Arena in preparation for game five on home ice.
With the team back on home ice, they will receive a boost from the Vancouver fan base and are looking to regain a lead in the series as we are in best-of-three territory with the clubs tied 2-2 in the best-of-seven series.
Three of the four Canucks losses in these playoffs have been one-goal games, and no team has been in more one-goal games (8) than the Canucks these playoffs. They are 5-3 in one-game games throughout the playoffs.
From the Coach
Head Coach Rick Tocchet gave his thoughts on game four after having a night to sleep on his team’s performance in game four.
“The resiliency to tie the game, I love that, we've done that all year,” said Tocchet. “[I’m] a little disappointed in the sense [that] we had a chance to go up three to one if we dug in a little bit, but playoffs are a game-to-game thing. You have to have a short memory and that's the way you look at it. We're tied two-two coming into our building, that's a pretty good situation but we do have to correct a few things.”
Regarding making a potential lineup change, Tocchet said that he is not scared and will be swinging the bat just as he told us when he was hired. He was asked and spoke about players like Arshdeep Bains, Vasily Podkolzin and even Jonathan Lekkerimäki being in the discussion.
“I'm not scared to put somebody in and when you're close to achieving something, which is trying to get the next round. You'll do whatever and then that's the way it is, and you've got to swing the bat and you can't play safe. If you want to win, you’ve got to go for it.”
He later spoke about how this team is right there and in the second round of the playoffs. This is where you can etch your name in history and become great.
“It's right there,” said Tocchet about being adamant about these playoff moments. “I'm trying to make them understand that it is there, taste it. You’ve got to do whatever you got to do to get there. I’m part of the equation, I got my presentations. I always worry about that stuff too. But as a group, we've really come together knowing that this team has always bounced back. All year.”
In the Room
Elias Pettersson talked to the media about the series and what his coach had to say to the group following game four.
“He sent a message to the group that we all need to be better,” said Pettersson. “Mostly myself, I know I can be better. I’m trying out there. Maybe [it’s] not going the best way right now but I’m trying. I want to win.”
Pius Suter spoke to the media and began by discussing coming back to home ice for game five on Thursday.
“I’m very excited,” said Suter about being back at Rogers Arena. “We’ve played in a couple of arenas now and it’s the loudest one we’ve been at. Yeah, I’m very excited.”
He was asked if there was a difference between the Oilers’ play in the first two games and their last two games.
“Last game, they tried to play a bit more aggressive, more physical compared to the first three,” said Suter. “Other than with [them having] second line change... they kind of played the similar way.”
Suter also spoke about how momentum has been building so quickly from long offensive zone possessions for both teams in this series. He mentioned the difficulties of trying to get on offence after a 30-second shift in your own zone but also how that can be so good for the next line up if you are the team with the puck in the offensive zone for a shift before a chance on the fly.
By the Numbers
- Dakota Joshua picked up 15 hits over his last two games and is now second in the playoffs with 55 through 10 games.
- Tuesday’s game four was the first game of the series where the team that scored first won.
- According to NHL EDGE, the Canucks have 12 shots above 90 mph, with Nikita Zadorov having the hardest shot at 97.3 mph.
- Brock Boeser is up to seven goals and five assists for 12 points. His 12 points are tied for seventh in the playoffs and his seven goals have him tied for fourth.
- Quinn Hughes leads the team in ice time and has played an average of 23:47 through 10 games. He has skated a total of 55 kilometres, which is roughly the same length as the Zhuhai-Macau bridge – the world's longest sea-crossing bridge, connecting Hong Kong and Macau to Zhuhai.
- Artūrs Šilovs has a 4-3 record, a .907% save percentage, and a 3.68 goals saved above average at five-on-five – good enough for third in the playoffs.
- The Canucks have bounced back with a win after each of their three losses so far in these playoffs.
- Pius Suter is eighth in the league for five-on-five scoring chances with 27.
Thursday night’s game five is a 7:00 pm PT start time and you can watch the game on Sportsnet 650 or listen to the radio broadcast on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
