After that tough 3-2 loss against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4, evening the series at two. Vancouver Canucks Ric Tocchet wasn't holding back in the post-game presser.
The bench boss laid it all out there, expressing his frustration with the team's performance.
He didn't mince words, pointing out that some of his men seemed to be playing "pause hockey" instead of playoff hockey. He emphasized the importance of every player stepping up, especially in the playoffs, where there's no room for passengers.
There's times there we have some guys, you know where the puck's gonna go, you just gotta get there before the other guy, and I think we're pausing. Some guys are playing pause hockey. And you can't win if you have five or six passengers. I mean it's the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with some guys I don't know if they thought it was the playoffs. We can't play with 12 guys.
Tocchet has a solid group of guys who own up to their mistakes. Case in point: J.T. Miller. He texted the coach apologizing for his rough game and his mistake at the end.
It's an honest group, i mean, J.T. Miller texted me today, ‘sorry, I had a bad (game).This guy's been unreal for me. One play, two plays doesn't define (it). Who cares about that? That games over. He's been a monster force, he'll be a monster for us. That's the way we work around here.
It's an honest group, i mean, J.T. Miller texted me today, ‘sorry, I had a bad (game).This guy's been unreal for me. One play, two plays doesn't define (it). Who cares about that? That games over. He's been a monster force, he'll be a monster for us. That's the way we work around here.
We're going to be ready to play a Game 5, we got great fans, it's going to be a fun game to play in. We gotta embrace it. My message is it's there. Don't regret it in the summer, ‘I wish I would've played harder,' (or) ‘I wish I would've blocked that shot.' It's there for us.
Tocchet's not dwelling on the past though. He's already looking ahead to Game 5.
Tocchet's sticking with Miller, as he wasn't one of the passengers last contest and he will play in Game 5. He will remain on his line flanked between Pius Sueter, and Brock Boeser. He knows they've been solid throughout the series, and he's not about to break up a good thing.
Now, it's back to Vancouver for Game 5, and you can be confident Tocchet's Canucks will bring it. Let's see what they've got in store for the Oilers this time around.
As seen on Hockey Feed:
J.T. Miller sent surprising text to Rick Tocchet after Game 4
J.T. Miller sent surprising text to Rick Tocchet after Game 4
| POLL | ||
16 MAI | 245 ANSWERS JT Miller sends text back to Ric Tocchet after Game 4 postgame rant Are you confident JT Miller, Ric Tocchet and the Vancouver Canucks will win game 5? | ||
| Yes | 154 | 62.9 % |
| No | 91 | 37.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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