The Vancouver Canucks took an optional practice on Tuesday ahead of game two on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena.
In today’s playoff notebook, we were in the room to ask questions to head coach Rick Tocchet and caught up with Pius Suter to discuss his line’s success in game one. We also got together to chat with Chris Higgins to get a player’s perspective on a variety of topics.
Let’s get to a few of the talking points in today’s notebook.
What’s Tocchet Talking About?
Rick Tocchet held a media availability that went on for over 20 minutes. He touched on a variety of topics, from the forecheck to the penalty kill, and even threw a playful shot at his old pal Craig Berube.
The emotions were high on Sunday night, but Tocchet thought his group was able to manage the game well. He believed the team worked their way up to get the game-tying goal and then Dakota Joshua’s game-winning goal with 10:49 remaining in the third period.
He gave credit to the Canucks’ play without the puck being a key factor in keeping the game close.
“One good thing that I always respect about our team is our play without the puck,” said Tocchet. “We don't give up a lot. And if we don't give up a lot, it helps on other parts of your game."
Tocchet liked a lot of his group and didn’t mention names, but he did say that he has a handful of players that he wants to see be difference-makers in game two.
“I still think there’s four or five guys that can really help us tomorrow,” said Tocchet. “I thought they were just okay yesterday. I think that I’ve got to lean on them tomorrow. They need to bring the juice force tomorrow.”
Give Me a Pius!
Pius Suter had a strong game on Sunday in terms of possession. According to Natural Stat Trick, he was on the ice for nine scoring chances for and only one scoring chance against at five-on-five.
The Canucks had 19 shot attempts and only allowed six when Suter was on the ice at five-on-five in game one.
Suter’s line played primarily against the physical second pairing of the Predators that has Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier on it. Suter was with Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller on a line, and the trio had 10:04 spent together at five-on-five. Suter picked up a goal in the game when he tipped in a Quinn Hughes shot and the trio only allowed the one scoring chance against.
“I think we got pucks back and played behind the goal line a lot and got some chances that way,” said Suter. “As the game went along, everybody was a bit tense in the first period but then it settled down a little bit and we kept playing our game and it worked well but there’s always room for improvement.”
Suter said that each player on his line understands their role and that they are going to create offence from good forechecks and playing hard on pucks down low. His personal focus is always to be around the net and help cover shooting lanes for the defencemen as well as Miller and Boeser.
As for how much fun he had on Sunday, it was a lot.
“I got a little bit of chills at the beginning, but it was quite fun to play,” said Suter. “The crowd was very loud and were very into it.”
Suter spoke on taking in the moment when the towels were waving in pregame, and the game was about to begin.
“You just try to enjoy that moment and take it all in but once the puck drops, you’ve got to just be ready to play. It obviously gives you a lot of energy and you’re just trying to take it in.”
As far as building for game two, Suter wants the group to take the energy from game one but continue to look at the next game as another day that is going to require the same work.
Higgy’s Player Perspective
We chatted with Chris Higgins about Sunday night’s game and a few other topics. So, let’s get to it in a question-and-answer format to close out our notebook.
Faber: Can you put into words the emotion for game one of the playoffs?
Higgins: I always found game one felt a little bit different, a little bit more elevated. It's your first chance to make an impression on the other team and do that physically. I find game one is the most physical of all the games in the entire playoffs. You want to get that emotion out of your body and put it into an opponent. That feels good. You are building up all day and it's finally a chance to act on that energy that you've been saving all day. You know, it is a powerful feeling for a player.
Faber: We have heard words like system, pillars, and structure all season long. How important are these things to a player or is it just something to fall back on in a media scrum?
Higgins: I just think it shows your humility as a teammate. Are you buying into these details? Do you actually believe in these details? That goes back to what Quinn said to the press in the postgame press conferences, that maturity and that belief. With game one under their belt, they have a tangible result to build off. That is in their mind now. Even when things are not looking good in the third period and you are down by a goal, they know that they have done this before. And that they have done this in a playoff game. That is powerful.
Faber: Talk to me through the forecheck that created Dakota Joshua’s game-winning goal...
